Senior Cyber Security Engineer

Compass Education; City of Melbourne; Hybrid; AUD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

PD budget

Employee Assistance Program

Parental leave

Team events

Referral program

Inclusive culture

Job summary

Compass Education, Melbourne-based, is seeking a Senior Cyber Security Engineer to partner with the Head of Technology in shaping a security roadmap and risk posture for a school-focused SaaS platform.

You will lead penetration testing, cloud security hardening, and governance across applications and infrastructure, while guiding junior team members and aligning security with business objectives. The role offers a hybrid work setup in Melbourne and growth in a scale-up environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of hands-on cyber security experience with depth in both application and infrastructure security.
• Strong penetration testing skills across web applications, APIs, network and cloud, including managing third-party engagements.
• Solid cloud security knowledge, particularly GCP or AWS (IAM, network security, audit logging, secrets management and posture tooling).
• Proven ability to identify and remediate vulnerabilities in production environments.
• Practical experience with security risk management - building a risk register, prioritising remediation and communicating risk to non-technical stakeholders.
• Familiarity with database security across relational and NoSQL systems - access control, encryption and audit logging.
• Understanding of Australian SaaS compliance obligations and privacy frameworks.
• Clear communication skills - able to translate technical risk for leadership and turn security requirements into practical guidance for engineers.
• Experience managing or mentoring junior security staff.

Responsibilities

• Build the security roadmap with senior leadership and establish security risk posture.
• Lead penetration testing across web apps, APIs, infrastructure and cloud; manage third-party engagements.
• Harden cloud and infrastructure security; review Terraform and CI/CD pipelines.
• Oversee security investigations, data governance and audit processes under privacy laws.
• Lead incident detection and response; design and test BC/DR plans for rapid restoration.
• Mentor and manage junior security staff.

Skills

Security strategy

Penetration testing

Cloud security

Vulnerability management

Incident response

Leadership

Governance

Australian privacy

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related

Tools

GCP

AWS

Terraform

CI/CD

Job description

Come shape the future of education with us.

At Compass, we're on a mission to transform the school day for everyone - from staff and students to families and administrators. We build smart, seamless technology that empowers schools to focus on what really matters: learning, growing and thriving.

That mission has fuelled our growth into a global scale-up, now supporting 5,000+ schools across three countries, backed by a team of 300+ people. Our all-in-one school management platform is redefining how education communities connect, communicate and operate.

We're now looking for a Senior Cyber Security Engineer to work closely with our Head of Technology to help build and shape the security roadmap at Compass.

About The Role

You’ll play a key role in how the organisation approaches risk, and be a trusted voice on platform, infrastructure and application.

This is a great opportunity for someone who wants to work closely with senior leadership, help build a security function from the ground up, and make a real difference to the safety of a platform used by schools every day.

What You’ll Do

Security Strategy & Risk

• Work alongside the Head of Technology to build the security roadmap, set standards and be a trusted voice on security risk and posture
• Build and maintain a formal risk register covering vulnerabilities, remediation progress and residual risk
• Advise the Head of Technology and senior leadership on security risks, incidents and investment priorities

Penetration Testing & Vulnerability Management

• Lead and conduct penetration testing across web applications, APIs, infrastructure and cloud, including managing third-party pen test engagements
• Identify and remediate security gaps including access control, database security (MongoDB, Redis, SQL), secrets management and cloud IAM

Cloud & Infrastructure Security

• Assess and improve GCP security configuration including VPC architecture, IAM policies, audit logging and Cloud Security Command Centre
• Work with DevOps and platform engineers to harden infrastructure and review Terraform and CI/CD pipelines
• Oversee application security including OWASP Top 10, code review involvement and secure SDLC guidance for the development team

Investigations & Data Governance

• Oversee and quality-assure security investigations, including school-facing audit and access cases handled by junior team members.
• Ensure investigation processes are documented, consistent and legally defensible under Australian privacy law and, where relevant, UK/EU data protection requirements
• Own data access governance - who can access what, under what conditions and with what audit trail

Incident Response & Resilience

• Lead incident detection and response across the platform
• Design, maintain and continually test Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) to ensure rapid restoration of critical services and mitigate operational impact during disruptions.
• Define, oversee and validate backup rotation strategies, ensuring strict data integrity, retention compliance and reliable restoration procedures.

Team Leadership

• Manage and mentor junior team members, including setting workload, providing direction and supporting their development

Requirements

About You

You will bring:

• 5+ years of hands-on cyber security experience with depth in both application and infrastructure security
• Strong penetration testing skills across web applications, APIs, network and cloud, including managing third-party engagements
• Solid cloud security knowledge, particularly GCP or AWS (IAM, network security, audit logging, secrets management and posture tooling)
• Proven ability to identify and remediate vulnerabilities in production environments
• Practical experience with security risk management - building a risk register, prioritising remediation and communicating risk to non-technical stakeholders
• Familiarity with database security across relational and NoSQL systems - access control, encryption and audit logging
• Understanding of Australian SaaS compliance obligations and privacy frameworks
• Clear communication skills - able to translate technical risk for leadership and turn security requirements into practical guidance for engineers
• Experience managing or mentoring junior security staff

Highly regarded:

• Relevant certifications such as OSCP, CISSP, CISM or equivalent
• Familiarity with UK/EU data protection requirements including GDPR
• Prior experience in EdTech, SaaS or a high-growth scale-up environment

Benefits

Why Join Compass

You’ll join a purpose-driven company at a genuinely exciting stage of growth, with the opportunity to make a real impact on education at scale.

What we offer:

• A hybrid working environment, based out of our Melbourne office hub
• Learning and development opportunities, including a dedicated PD budget
• 24/7 access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), including face-to-face, phone and live chat support
• A parental leave program for both primary and secondary carers
• Regular team events, social budgets and in-office perks help you stay connected, from team lunches to end-of-week socials
• Employee Referral Program
• A supportive, inclusive culture where your voice is valued and heard

Compass is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We embrace and celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Prior to commencing employment, you'll need:

• A valid Employee Working With Children Check
• A satisfactory National Police Check
• Verification of unrestricted work rights in Australia (e.g. citizenship, passport or birth certificate)

Find out more about Compass on our website - www.compass.education.