Research Cybersecurity Analyst — Secure Research Environments

The California State University; San Diego (CA); Hybrid; USD 89,000 - 106,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous time off

CalPERS retirement

Comprehensive health coverage

Tuition fee waiver for employees

Telecommute eligible (up to 3 days)

Job summary

San Diego State University seeks a Research Cybersecurity Analyst to help faculty and partners securely conduct research involving sensitive information. Working within IT Security Office, you’ll translate cybersecurity, contractual, and sponsor requirements into practical safeguards and coordinate remediation across researchers, IT, and compliance teams.

You’ll assess research environments, maintain compliance documentation (SSPs/POA&Ms), and support sponsor inquiries, audits, and readiness

Qualifications

• Equivalent to bachelor’s degree in a related field with four years of relevant experience or advanced degree substitution.
• Experience implementing/comparing NIST SP 800-171, CMMC, NIST SP 800-53 or similar security frameworks.
• Experience securing Windows, Linux, cloud or research computing environments.
• Ability to translate sponsor/regulatory requirements into practical security controls and communicate to researchers/teams.

Responsibilities

• Review research proposals and data-use agreements to identify cybersecurity requirements.
• Conduct risk, gap, and control readiness assessments and recommend remediation strategies.
• Coordinate with researchers, IT teams, privacy, legal, and compliance partners to implement requirements.
• Develop and maintain security documentation (SSPs, POA&Ms) and assist with sponsor audits/assessments.
• Support security controls across cloud and on-premises research environments.
• Help prepare environments for sponsor inquiries, audits, and assessments.

Skills

NIST SP 800-171

CMMC

NIST SP 800-53

Security frameworks

SSPs/POA&Ms

Windows/Linux/cloud

IAM/encryption/vulnerability

Communication to varied audiences

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent + 4 years experience

Job description

San Diego State University seeks a Research Cybersecurity Analyst to help faculty and partners securely conduct research involving sensitive information. Working within IT Security Office, you’ll translate cybersecurity, contractual, and sponsor requirements into practical safeguards and coordinate remediation across researchers, IT, and compliance teams.

You’ll assess research environments, maintain compliance documentation (SSPs/POA&Ms), and support sponsor inquiries, audits, and readiness