Director, Information Technology & Security

Praxis, Inc.; Dallas (TX); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited vacation

401(k) with 4% match

Two Texas offices

Parental leave

Paw-ternity leave

ClassPass

Flexible work from home

Job summary

Take Command is seeking a hands-on and strategic Director of Information Technology & Information Security to lead corporate IT operations and own the information security program end to end. The role reports to the VP, Enterprise Operations and will evolve toward the CTO as the function grows, with a small team based in the Dallas, TX office, hybrid or onsite.

You will build security governance, drive HIPAA and SOC 2 compliance, manage vendors and budgets, and partner with Engineering and

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive experience in IT operations and/or information security, incl. 2–3 years in a people-management capacity.
• Startup environment security program maturation experience.
• Regulated industry experience (health/insurance/finance).
• Hands-on HIPAA and/or SOC 2 compliance, including audit prep and evidence mgmt.
• Experience managing IT vendors, budgets, and SLAs.
• Bachelor’s degree in CS, Information Security, or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Responsibilities

• Own IT operations daily delivery, availability, and performance of corporate IT and networks.
• Lead information security strategy, policies, standards, and controls incl. PHI protection.
• Design risk management, incident response, and disaster recovery planning.
• Manage vendor relationships, budgets, and MSP/SaaS spend.
• Oversee third-party risk assessments and security requirements in vendor lifecycle.
• Collaborate with Engineering and Product to embed security in SDLC and cloud infra.
• Build security awareness training and implement EDR and monitoring capabilities.
• Lead and develop a small IT/security team and report posture to executives.

Skills

Cloud security

IAM

EDR/XDR

SIEM

HIPAA & SOC 2

Security monitoring

Budget & vendor mgmt

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related field

Tools

SIEM platforms

EDR/XDR

Vanta / Drata

Vulnerability scanners

Job description

About Take Command

Take Command is a start-up on a mission to improve the healthcare system, starting with health insurance. Pragmatically speaking, we help employers reimburse employees for individual insurance instead of offering a traditional one-size-fits-all group plan. We believe this model can empower employees (when they have the right support) to be savvy healthcare consumers and have a transformative impact on the entire healthcare system.

Let’s be honest—health insurance is usually a confusing, frustrating, and even emotional experience for people. We want to fix that with a new model, great technology, and a superior user experience. We have made a great start, but we need your help to fully realize our long-term vision.

About the Director, IT & Information Security Role:

We’re seeking a hands-on and strategic Director of Information Technology & Information Security to lead Take Command’s corporate IT operations and own our information security program end to end. Reporting to our VP, Enterprise Operations (with this reporting line expected to shift to our CTO as the function matures), you’ll keep our technology running smoothly for every employee while building the security controls, policies, and compliance posture — including HIPAA and SOC 2 — that protect our members, customers, and business. This is a unique opportunity for an experienced IT and security leader who thrives in a fast-paced, high-growth startup and is excited about building a best-in-class function from the ground up, managing a small team out of our Dallas, TX office (hybrid or onsite).

Key Responsibilities:

• IT Operations & Infrastructure: Own the day-to-day operation, availability, and performance of our corporate IT environment — including endpoint management, identity and access management (IAM), collaboration tools, cloud services, and network systems. Develop and maintain an IT roadmap that aligns technology investments with our growth.
• Information Security & Compliance: Own and continuously evolve Take Command’s information security program, including strategy, roadmap, policies, standards, and technical controls that protect company, employee, and member data, including protected health information (PHI). Establish clear security governance and decision-making frameworks, including risk escalation and acceptance processes, and advise executive leadership on material technology and security risks. Lead our HIPAA and SOC 2 compliance efforts.
• Risk Management, Incident Response, & Business Continuity: Design and maintain a proactive security risk management program, including regular risk assessments and vulnerability management. Own incident response planning and execution — detection, containment, communication, and post-incident review. Lead technology business continuity and disaster recovery planning, ensuring we have practical, tested plans to restore critical systems and operations when disruptions occur.
• Vendor & Budget Management: Manage relationships, contracts, and spend with IT vendors, managed service providers (MSPs), and SaaS providers. Own the IT budget and drive cost-effective technology decisions.
• Third-Party Risk Management: Own the security assessment and ongoing risk management of third-party vendors with access to Take Command systems or data. Partner with internal stakeholders to establish appropriate security requirements, access controls, contractual protections, and remediation plans throughout the vendor lifecycle.
• Cross-Functional Security Partnership: Partner with Engineering and Product to embed security best practices into the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and our cloud infrastructure. Serve as the primary point of contact for security questionnaires, audits, and customer due diligence.
• Security Awareness & Training: Build and maintain a company-wide security awareness training program, and implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) and security monitoring capabilities.
• Team Leadership & Development: Build, mentor, and manage a small team of IT and security professionals. Report on IT and security posture, risk, and roadmap progress to executive leadership and, as needed, the Board or external auditors.

Qualifications:

Required:

• 8+ years of progressive experience in IT operations and/or information security, including at least 2–3 years in a people-management or team-lead capacity.
• Demonstrated experience building or maturing an information security program in a startup environment
• Experience in a highly regulated industry such as health, insurance, financial services, etc.
• Hands-on experience with HIPAA and/or SOC 2 compliance frameworks, including audit preparation and evidence management.
• Experience managing IT vendors, budgets, and service-level agreements.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred (Optional):

• One or more relevant certifications: CISSP, CISM, CISA, CompTIA Security+, or equivalent.
• ITIL Foundation or similar IT service management certification.
• Strong working knowledge of cloud infrastructure security, identity and access management, endpoint security, and network security fundamentals.
• Experience with security and compliance tooling such as SIEM platforms, EDR/XDR, vulnerability scanners, and GRC/compliance automation platforms (e.g., Vanta, Drata).

Skills:

This role blends deep technical expertise with the ability to lead and communicate across the business.

Technical Skills:

• Cloud infrastructure security
• Identity & access management (IAM)
• Endpoint detection & response (EDR) and network security
• HIPAA / SOC 2 compliance frameworks
• Security monitoring, logging, and SIEM tooling

Communication & Leadership Skills:

• Translating technical risk into business terms for executives and the Board
• Team building, mentorship, and performance management
• Cross-functional collaboration with Engineering, People Ops, Legal, and Finance
• Vendor and budget management
• Problem-solving under pressure, especially during incidents

Working at Take Command

We’re excited to build a team and culture that reflects our values! We offer competitive pay and health benefits to share with this position.

• A generously funded ICHRA for medical, dental, and vision premiums and medical expenses. You get to use our own product and we think that’s so exciting and rare!
• Unlimited personal vacation in addition to regular company holidays.
• 401(k): 90-day eligibility for 4% match that vests over 4 years with a one year cliff!
• We have two beautiful offices in Richardson, Texas (City Line) and Austin, Texas. The kitchen is well-stocked and we've designed the space to have lots of different areas to work--lounge on the couch, stand near your colleague at a kiosk desk or hole up in one of our phone rooms!
• Competitive parental leave for new parents.
• Up to two paid days of Paw-ternity leave. We recognize that pets are family too - and supporting life outside of work (including four-legged members) matters!
• ClassPass corporate membership with access to over 73,000 fitness and wellness options.
• Flexible on where you work – we believe in the power of connecting with intention! While we hope to see you around the office on a regular basis, you also have the ability to work from home some when you need to get focus work done.

More About Us

We secured our Series B funding in 2023 and are thrilled to be able to expand our team. Despite being a small startup in a land of health insurance giants, we’re the recognized industry leader for what we do (health insurance reimbursements) and passionate about bringing it to market because we know we can help fix a broken system and improve our clients’ wellbeing and health outcomes. We’ve been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Dallas Morning News, and other national healthcare publications and are excited about our growth opportunities.

Take Command knows diversity and inclusion among our teammates is integral to our company’s success and growth. Our vision is to recruit, develop, and retain the best team from a diverse candidate pool. This has mostly been about us, but we’d love to hear from you--we can’t wait to hear your story!

*Take Command is an equal opportunity employer! We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.