Information Security Manager
KikoffAbout the role
ABOUT THE ROLE
You'll be our first dedicated security leader, owning the technical execution of our security and compliance program. You'll drive SOC 2 and PCI DSS compliance, manage our vulnerability program, and build security capabilities that enable our engineering teams to move fast while staying secure. This is a hands-on role—you'll design controls, write policies, respond to incidents, and work directly with auditors.
This is initially an individual contributor role with high impact and visibility. As our security program matures, you'll have the opportunity to build and lead a security team.
IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL
Own Compliance
Lead SOC 2 Type II and PCI DSS programs through successful audit
Design and implement security controls without blocking velocity
Serve as primary technical contact for external auditors and assessors
Manage third-party vendor security assessments and ongoing monitoring
Build automated evidence collection and continuous compliance monitoring
Report security metrics and program status to executive leadership
Manage Security Operations
Establish vulnerability management program with defined SLAs and remediation workflows
Own end-to-end vulnerability management: identify, assess, prioritize, and drive remediation to completion across infrastructure and applications
Manage external penetration testing program with third-party vendors, including scoping, assessment review, and remediation tracking
Perform internal penetration testing and security assessments of applications, APIs, and infrastructure
Build SIEM detection rules, security dashboards, and alert triage processes
Develop and test incident response runbooks
Conduct threat modeling for critical systems and architectural changes
Lead security assessments of new technologies and third-party integrations
Enable & Collaborate
Partner with platform engineering to implement security roadmap: AWS landing zone design, PAM/JIT workflows, account segmentation, disaster recovery testing
Enforce enterprise security controls (SSO, secrets management, RBAC)
Build and deliver security awareness training program for all employees
Develop and maintain security policies, standards, and procedures
Translate compliance requirements into actionable engineering tasks and drive completion
YOU HAVE
Security & Compliance:
5+ years in information security, with 2+ years in fintech or highly regulated industry
CISSP certification (or actively pursuing - must obtain within 12 months of hire)
Hands-on experience leading SOC 2 and PCI DSS audits from start to finish
Strong incident response background—you've led real security incidents
Experience with vulnerability management platforms (Wiz, Snyk, Tenable)
Technical Skills:
Solid understanding of AWS security: IAM, Security Hub, GuardDuty, CloudTrail, KMS
Experience with SIEM platforms (Splunk, Datadog, Elastic)—you can write detection rules and build dashboards
Hands-on experience with vulnerability assessment and penetration testing tools (Burp Suite, Nessus, Qualys, or similar)
Ability to read code (Ruby, JavaScript, Python) and assess security implications
Knowledge of web application security, API security, and OWASP Top 10
Understanding of access control patterns (PAM, SSO, RBAC, least privilege)
Core Competencies:
Strong communication—you can explain risks to engineers and executives alike
Pragmatic risk management in fast-paced environments
Self-starter who builds programs from scratch
Collaborative mindset—security as enabler, not blocker
Ability to drive remediation to completion across teams
NICE TO HAVE
Additional certifications (CISM, CISA, CCSP, CEH, OSCP, CRISC)
Experience managing WAF deployments (Palo Alto, Cloudflare, AWS WAF)
Infrastructure-as-code experience (Pulumi, Terraform)
Kubernetes security knowledge
SOAR platform experience
DevSecOps or security automation background
Scripting skills (Python, Bash) for security tooling and automation
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