Director of GRC & Compliance — Aerospace

Apex Technology; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Apex

Company-paid healthcare

PTO 15-20 days

401(k) matching

Parental leave

Daily lunches

Playa Vista office

Job summary

Apex Technology, a space hardware company in Playa Vista, is seeking a Director of Governance, Risk & Compliance to own and scale the GRC program. You will manage an ISSO and ISSM, align security with legal, engineering, IT, and programs, and ensure compliance across NIST, FedRAMP, SOC 2, ISO 27001, ITAR/EAR, GDPR/CCPA.

This director-level role requires hands-on governance with a strong leadership stance to mature the controls program and drive audits and certifications in a fast-growth

Qualifications

• 8+ years in governance, risk, and compliance or related field with ownership of a GRC program
• Experience leading security/compliance staff and owning ISSO/ISSM as direct reports
• Deep knowledge of NIST SP 800-171 and NIST CSF/800-53 with practical FedRAMP/CMMC experience
• Proven ownership of commercial security certifications (SOC 2 and/or ISO 27001)
• Familiarity with export controls ITAR/EAR and privacy obligations (GDPR/CCPA)
• Ability to manage audits end to end and create robust evidence/documents
• Strong cross-functional communication between regulators, auditors, engineers, and executives
• U.S. Person status required for access to export-controlled data

Responsibilities

• Own the GRC program end to end with control frameworks, policies, standards, and procedures
• Lead and mentor the GRC team, including ISSO and ISSM; set priorities and grow capability
• Drive compliance with government/defense requirements and maintain SSP/POA&M, control implementation, and audit readiness
• Own commercial security certifications (SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001) from scoping to renewal
• Partner with Legal and Trade Compliance on ITAR/EAR and GDPR/CCPA obligations
• Manage enterprise risk management: maintain risk register, lead assessments, drive remediation, report residual risk
• Oversee audit/assessment lifecycle with internal, customer, and third-party programs
• Establish centralized control framework to de-duplicate overlapping requirements
• Oversee vendor/third-party risk program against Apex security/compliance requirements
• Deliver decision-ready reports on compliance status and risk posture to leadership

Skills

GRC leadership

NIST SP 800-171

FedRAMP/800-53

SOC 2 / ISO 27001

Export controls ITAR/EAR

GDPR/CCPA

Audit management

Cross-functional comms

U.S. Person status

Job description

Apex Technology, a space hardware company in Playa Vista, is seeking a Director of Governance, Risk & Compliance to own and scale the GRC program. You will manage an ISSO and ISSM, align security with legal, engineering, IT, and programs, and ensure compliance across NIST, FedRAMP, SOC 2, ISO 27001, ITAR/EAR, GDPR/CCPA.

This director-level role requires hands-on governance with a strong leadership stance to mature the controls program and drive audits and certifications in a fast-growth