Security Specialist I

nooks; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

NOOKS is seeking a Security Specialist to join our site operations team in Arlington, VA. This entry-level role focuses on frontline security tasks within accredited spaces, including triaging client questions, verifying visitors, and provisioning access for a secure environment.

You will be trained and mentored, with increasing ownership as you grow, while thriving in a fast-paced startup-like environment that values proactive problem-solving and teamwork.

Qualifications

• 0-2 years of experience in security or related field.
• Willingness to learn about Collateral areas, SCIFs, and SAPFs.
• Comfortable working onsite daily and responding to after-hours alarms.
• Strong communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Serve as first line of defense for client security questions and concerns.
• Deliver onboarding briefings to new clients on procedures.
• Process and verify clearance eligibility and issue badges.
• Assist with construction security tasks and site inspections.

Skills

Security experience

Onsite work

Strong communication

Job description

ABOUT NOOKS

Nooks is pioneering Classified-Infrastructure-as-a-Service (CIaaS) - designing, building, and operating Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) and other secured, classified environments for the defense and national security community. We work with the agencies, contractors, and mission-driven organizations that keep the nation safe, delivering the physical infrastructure that makes classified work possible. We're growing fast, operating across multiple markets, and building a company that takes both the mission and the business seriously.

About the Role

As a Security Specialist, you’re part of the front line of Nooks’ site operations team - the person our clients see and rely on day to day inside our accredited spaces. You’ll work onsite daily, learning the governing doctrine behind Collateral areas, SCIFs, and SAPFs, and applying it in real time: triaging questions, verifying visitors, provisioning access, and helping keep our facilities compliant and ready for use. This is an entry-level role built for someone who wants to build a real career in industrial security - you’ll be trained, mentored, and given increasing ownership as you grow.

At Nooks, we move fast. While you’ll have clear ownership over your core responsibilities, startup life means priorities can shift. We’re looking for a proactive problem-solver who thrives in a fast-paced evolving environment and is ready to lean in wherever the team needs them most to drive us forward.

Key Responsibilities

Client & Site Security Operations

• Serve as the first line of defense for client security questions and concerns, triaging issues on the spot and looping in the Security Manager when a situation needs escalation.


• Deliver onboarding briefings to new clients, walking them through Nooks procedures and answering their questions so they can work comfortably in our spaces from day one.


• Process and verify clearance eligibility and access for clients, partners, and visitors, and provision badges and access credentials accordingly.


• Prep rooms ahead-of-client use and sanitize and check them afterward, and act as a first responder to after-hours alarm activations.

Compliance & Systems of Record

• Learn how to review DD254s to understand, implement, and enforce each client’s specific security requirements within our facilities.


• Assist in preparing for and completing security reviews and inspections that keep our sites compliant with NISPOM, SCI, and SAP requirements.


• Support incident response by learning and executing the actions directed by the Security Manager, building toward independent response capability.

COMSEC & Cross-Functional Support

• Learn to serve as an alternate COMSEC Custodian, helping manage the local COMSEC account - conducting inventories, intaking and keying controlled cryptographic items (CCI), completing SF-153s, and liaising directly with government COMSEC Managers.


• Work cross‑functionally with IT, Cyber, Product, and People Team to keep site operations running smoothly for every client and program.

Construction Security

• With assistance from the Security Manager execute the approved Construction Security Plan (CSP) for active secure builds at your site, by monitoring access to the secure construction areas from the front desk, verifying visitor authorization, and ensuring personnel comply with site security procedures.


• Conduct walkthroughs and inspections of secure construction sites with the Security Manager, learning to identify and report deviations or discrepancies from the CSP.


• Attend construction meetings and inform the Security Manager of site‑specific progress, documenting conditions through photos as the build progresses.

What Success Looks Like in This Role

After 12 months, you’ve earned the trust of your assigned site’s clients as their go-to point of contact for day‑to‑day security questions, and your Security Manager routinely delegates triage to you without following up. Clients and colleagues describe you as reliable, calm under pressure, and someone who flags problems before they become incidents.

Cross-Functional Expectations

You’ll report to and take direction from your site’s Security Manager, executing on their guidance rather than driving independent decisions in your first year. Day to day, you’ll work closely with IT, Cyber, Product, and the People Team to keep site operations running, and you’ll regularly liaise with government and client points of contact. As you progress toward Level 2, you will take on increased responsibility for handling routine tasks independently within established procedures.

The Skillset

Required

• 0-2 years of experience in security, military, law enforcement, or a related operational field.


• Foundational understanding of, or strong willingness to learn, the doctrine governing Collateral areas, SCIFs, and SAPFs.


• Comfortable working onsite daily and being available as a first responder to after‑hours alarm activations.


• Strong communication s