Head of Physical Security: 24/7 Ops & Risk Management

AV; Germantown (MD); On-site; USD 141,000 - 215,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

401K with company match

9/80 schedule

Holiday shutdown

Job summary

AeroVironment is seeking a Senior Physical Security Manager to lead 24/7 operations, including plant protection, incident and emergency response, and contract security personnel. This role reports to the Director of Industrial Security and manages all physical security programs and personnel in a developing security team.

Responsibilities include overseeing security assessments, risk analysis, strategy development, and cross-functional collaboration to protect company assets across multiple

Qualifications

• 13+ years of hands-on physical security experience across the full spectrum (Physical Security, Executive Protection, Crisis Management, Emergency response).
• 6+ years of demonstrated management/leadership experience developing a physical security program and budgets for small teams.
• Experience with security technology, guard force management, and defense-in-depth principles.
• Current DOD Secret clearance; Top Secret preferred.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the full physical security assessment lifecycle from analysis through mitigation tracking.
• Lead comprehensive physical security assessments across facilities and regions.
• Define and maintain the assessment strategy and ensure methodologies are applied consistently.
• Conduct risk analyses for infrastructure, identify vulnerabilities, and develop risk reduction plans.
• Develop and implement physical security control strategies balancing security with operations.
• Build repeatable processes and tools to speed security delivery.
• Communicate findings to audiences from practitioners to executives via reports and presentations.
• Lead projects across the security portfolio, track milestones, and ensure timely completion.
• Evaluate security implications of technology projects from a physical security perspective.

Skills

Security leadership

Risk assessment

Physical security

Guard force mgmt

Project management

Security technology

Tools

IT/security tools

Job description

AeroVironment is seeking a Senior Physical Security Manager to lead 24/7 operations, including plant protection, incident and emergency response, and contract security personnel. This role reports to the Director of Industrial Security and manages all physical security programs and personnel in a developing security team.

Responsibilities include overseeing security assessments, risk analysis, strategy development, and cross-functional collaboration to protect company assets across multiple