Head of Security Compliance & Authorization

Second Front Systems; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 215,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

100% employer-paid medical, dental, W&

401(k) with 3% company contribution

Equity incentive plan

New hire tech/home office stipend

Annual professional development

Job summary

Second Front Systems is seeking a Head of Security Compliance & Authorization to lead the security programs protecting our Game Warden platform and enable government use. You will own programs (SOC 2, ISO, CMMC) and government authorizations, directing the Security Authorization team and aligning with Product, Engineering, and Legal leadership.

The role demands 10+ years in cybersecurity with leadership, deep cloud/security knowledge, and experience with DoD RMF, FedRAMP, and related frameworks.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive cybersecurity experience with leadership in security, compliance, or government authorization.
• Experience owning security programs for cloud/SaaS platforms and government authorization.
• Strong knowledge of application security, cloud security architecture, vulnerability management, and software supply chain risk.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Security Authorization and Compliance team and establish the strategy for Game Warden.
• Define ownership and operating processes for security authorization and continuous monitoring across Engineering and Product.
• Build a security roadmap with capabilities gaps, investments, staffing, dependencies, and measurable outcomes.
• Partner with Engineering and Product leadership to integrate security requirements into planning and release processes.
• Oversee readiness for DoD, federal, and national security environment assessments and audits.

Skills

Security leadership

Cloud security

Compliance programs

NIST RMF / DoD RMF

FedRAMP

CISSP

Team building

Application security

Communication

Education

CISSP or equivalent

Tools

AWS

Kubernetes

CI/CD

IaC

eMASS

Job description

Head of Security Compliance & Authorization

Second Front Systems (2F) is seeking a Head of Security Compliance & Authorization to lead the security programs that protect our Game Warden platform and enable its use across national security environments. Reporting to the Vice President of Security, this leader will own corporate compliance programs (SOC 2, ISO, CMMC, etc.) and security authorization for the Game Warden platform (RMF/FedRAMP). You will lead the Security Authorization team, establish priorities and operating rhythms, and ensure the organization has the processes, technical capabilities, and evidence required to support secure product delivery and maintain government authorizations.

You will work closely with Product, Engineering, Platform, Legal, and business leadership to integrate security throughout the product lifecycle. This includes secure architecture, application security, vulnerability management, control implementation, authorization strategy, assessment readiness, and continuous monitoring.

This is a leadership role for someone who can build durable programs, develop high-performing teams, and bring structure to complex security and compliance requirements. The successful candidate will understand both cloud-native engineering and government authorization, with the judgment to balance mission delivery, customer commitments, technical risk, and regulatory expectations.

Note: Candidates must reside in our DC/Maryland/Virginia hiring hub

This is a full-time position.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the Security Authorization and Compliance team.
• Establish the product security and compliance strategy for Game Warden in alignment with the company’s business objectives, product roadmap, customer commitments, and enterprise security strategy.
• Define ownership and operating processes for security authorization and continuous monitoring, including the handoffs with Engineering and Security Operations.
• Build a security roadmap that identifies capability gaps, required investments, staffing needs, technical dependencies, and measurable outcomes.
• Provide leadership oversight for security authorization packages supporting Department of Defense, federal, and other national security environments.
• Ensure authorization packages, control implementations, assessment evidence, POA&Ms, and continuous monitoring activities remain accurate, current, and defensible.
• Establish the standards and quality controls used by Security Authorization Specialists to manage eMASS packages, DISA PPSM registrations, assessment evidence, findings, and authorization documentation.
• Direct readiness activities for security assessments, third-party reviews, government audits, and authorization decisions. Ensure teams address issues before they become assessment blockers.
• Own the corporate audit calendar.
• Partner with Engineering and Product leadership to integrate security requirements into product planning, architecture decisions, release processes, and engineering priorities.
• Track and report vulnerability/configuration findings against authorization and compliance impact of significant changes.
• Review significant product and infrastructure changes to determine their effect on security controls, authorization boundaries, inherited services, customer commitments, and existing approvals.
• Create a coordinated compliance approach across applicable frameworks, including DoD RMF, FedRAMP, CMMC, SOC 2, ISO standards, and other customer or market requirements.
• Reduce duplicate work by establishing reusable controls, shared evidence, common documentation, and cross-framework mappings.
• Expand the use of automation for control validation, evidence collection, continuous monitoring, compliance reporting, and authorization-package maintenance.
• Establish meaningful metrics for product risk, vulnerabilities, remediation performance, assessment readiness, POA&M health, authorization milestones, and program capacity.
• Provide the Vice President of Security and executive leadership with clear reporting on material risks, program status, resource constraints, and decisions requiring leadership attention.
• Manage relevant vendors, assessment partners, penetration testing providers, and GRC technology investments.
• Coordinate with Security Operations and Incident Response teams when events affect authorizations or attestations.

What You Bring

• Have 10+ years of progressive cybersecurity experience, including significant responsibility for product security, cloud security, security engineering, compliance, or government authorization programs.
• Five or more years of experience leading cybersecurity professionals, with demonstrated success setting priorities, developing talent, managing performance, and scaling teams.
• Experience owning security programs for a cloud platform, software-as-a-service product, platform-as-a-service environment, or similarly complex technology organization.
• Demonstrated success integrating security into product development and engineering workflows without creating unnecessary barriers to delivery.
• Strong knowledge of application security, cloud security architecture, vulnerability management, secure software development, and software supply chain risk.
• Practical understanding of AWS, Kubernetes, containers, CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code, identity and access management, logging, observability, and cloud-native security patterns.
• Experience establishing or governing application security capabilities such as SAST, DAST, software composition analysis, secrets detection, container scanning, and penetration testing.
• Direct experience with government security authorization programs, including NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-37, DoD RMF, FedRAMP, or comparable federal requirements.
• Experience overseeing the development, assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring of complex authorization packages.
• Familiarity with eMASS, DISA PPSM, DISA STIGs, SCAP Compliance Checker, ACAS, IAVM requirements, and the DISA Cloud Computing Security Requirements Guide.
• Experience leading formal assessments and working with Security Control Assessors, third-party assessment organizations, government sponsors, and Authorizing Officials.
• The ability to evaluate technical risk, understand competing priorities, and make sound decisions when requirements, timelines, or ownership are unclear.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain technical and regulatory issues to engineers, customers, assessors, and executives.
• Experience defining program metrics, presenting risk to senior leadership, and using data to guide staffing, investment, and remediation decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to build repeatable processes and operating structures in a fast-moving environment.
• CISSP or an equivalent advanced cybersecurity certification required.
• Must met applicable DoD 8140 qualification requirements for the assigned work role.

Preferred

• Active TS/SCI clearance or current eligibility.
• Experience supporting DoD Impact Level 4 or Impact Level 5 cloud environments.
• Experience leading FedRAMP Moderate or FedRAMP High authorization and continuous monitoring programs.
• Experience with Kubernetes-based DevSecOps platforms or multi-tenant cloud environments supporting government customers.
• Familiarity with CMMC, SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 20000-1, Cyber Essentials Plus, or international security assurance requirements.
• Experience implementing automated control testing, compliance as code, or continuous evidence collection.
• Experience developing a common control framework that supports multiple authorization and certification programs.
• Experience managing third-party assessors, penetration testing providers, GRC platforms, and security technology vendors.
• Advanced certifications such as CISM, CCSP, CSSLP, PMP, or CGRC.
• Prior experience supporting national security, defense, intelligence, or other highly regulated customers.
• A strong commitment to Second Front Systems’ mission of accelerating the secure delivery of mission-critical software to the U.S. government.

The base salary for this position will fall between $200,000 and $215,000. Your ultimate compensation will be determined by professional background, technical proficiency, seniority, and regional cost factors. Furthermore, this opportunity includes potential eligibility for equity awards and discretionary bonuses, rounding out a comprehensive total rewards offering.

Success at 2F Looks Like

• A proactive and solutions oriented mindset
• Viewing obstacles as opportunities for growth
• Having a bias toward action and tangible, measurable results
• Being team-oriented with a focus on personal responsibility and autonomy

Perks & Benefits

This role is a full time position. As a public benefit corporation, we’re a team of purpose-driven trailblazers transforming the future of U.S. national security. We hire the best to do their best and, as such, we are committed to providing the perks and benefits you need to be successful—both in- and outside the workplace.

• Competitive salary
• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents
• 401(k) with a 3% company contribution
• Comprehensive wellness benefits, including a One Medical membership, mental health resources, family planning support, and more
• Equity incentive plan
• New hire technology and home office stipend
• Annual professional development stipend
• Flexible paid time off, plus all federal holidays
• Generous parental leave
• Flexible remote work opportunities
• Employee referral bonus program

Who We Are

Second Front Systems (2F) is a public‑benefit software company powering software for the free world. We eliminate the friction that slows innovation, enabling faster, more secure development and deployment of software across government and regulated networks. Built by national security veterans and backed by top-tier venture capital, our platform is trusted by the world’s leading organizations to cut deployment timelines from years to weeks. We move fast, solve hard problems, and deliver trusted capabilities where they’re needed most. Our work strengthens global security and gives the United States and its allies a lasting competitive advantage. Learn more at secondfront.com.

One last thing

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

State notices:

Colorado

In accordance with Colorado law, applicants may redact their date of birth, dates of attendance, and dates of graduation from any uploaded documents.

Maryland

Under Maryland law, an employer may not require or demand, as a condition of employment, prospective employment, or continued employment, that an individual submit to or take a polygraph examination or similar test. An employer who violates this law is guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine not exceeding $100.