Senior Director, Security

Munich

Full-time

Permanent employee

Who we are

Welcome to one of Europe’s most exciting New Space companies, creating the world's first fully connected mesh network in the sky. We are an international team of experts and engineers who have spent their careers expanding the boundaries and potential of space, now united in pursuit of a single vision. We value trust, open communication and collaboration to achieve the best results together. Now we are looking for the best talents for our locations in Munich and Berlin to help us make our vision come true.

Your mission

The Senior Director, Security reports to the COO and supports all areas of the Outernet program objectives. The Senior Director, Security is responsible for managing, developing, and executing the overall security strategy for the global system and information security of the company including:

Outernet program security, providing guidelines, requirements and design to fulfil customers expected security level and Outernet security robustness
Corporate IT security in terms of guidelines and requirements. Formal roles, responsibilities, and delineation of duties are further defined in the approved and published Cybersecurity policies.

This role oversees all aspects of system, information, and physical/facility and personnel security, ensuring compliance with relevant standards, managing risks, and ensuring the protection of critical assets.
For the Outernet, it covers all the functions from the User Terminals, satellites and control centers (constellation, network, security operations center) on all security dimensions (intrusion, deny of service, traffic spying, information stealing, system break, cypher or change). Therefore, the Senior Director, Security is accountable for the actions/mitigation listed in the Security Risk Assessment.
This position is dual-hatted as the Information System Security Manager (ISSM), as defined within IA-Pre nomenclature. All ISSM duties, roles, and responsibilities are listed within RSN’s Security Policies.
The Senior Director, Security manages the security team, which plays a critical role in maturing the security architecture of the Outernet, and developing and keeping security under control with a customer and business focus mindset. The security team is responsible for defining the security elements to monitor and for delivering tools that the Security Operations Center (SOC) will operate.

Team Leadership and Development: size, lead and mentor the security team, ensuring all staff are trained in current security practices, technologies, and compliance standards. Foster a culture of security awareness throughout the organization by leading training sessions and promoting security best practices
Security Strategy and Policy Development: Develop, implement, and maintain security policies, standards, and procedures across the program and the program-related corporate environment, in line with organizational objectives and applicable regulatory requirements.
Risk Management: Support the security risk assessment to identify vulnerabilities, threats, and potential impacts to the space program and infrastructure and ensure enough resources and governance are in place to conduct the risk management process.
Compliance and Regulatory Adherence: Ensure compliance with the security baseline and security standards (such as ITAR, NIST and CCSDS) - specifically focusing on IA-Pre as RSN’s selected security of choice, and applicable regulatory frameworks. Maintain thorough documentation of security measures and prepare for regular audits, both internal and external. Manage the process of establishing and certifying an information management system (ISMS) according to IA-Pre (based on NIST 800-53), whilst maintaining the ability to cross-certify with ISO 27001 and/or SOC2
System Security Design and IV&V: Support engineering, operations, and mission teams to architect and integrate security requirements into the design, development, implementation and verification (IV&V) of space systems. Coordinate with third-party vendors and partners to ensure their compliance with security requirements when working on company assets or systems.
Operational Security: with COO stakeholders, define security elements to be monitored, specify requirements, deliver tools to the SOC and incident response plans for security breaches and ensure compliance with the BCP and the security baseline. In operational mode, validate security-related Work Orders with expected tests results, contribute to Ops Change Board, provide Level 3 support when engineering is required and to participate in incidents analysis or improvement loops.

Security budget management: define and manage the Security schedules, staffing, and related budget. Monitor expenditures, track cost savings, and identify opportunities for cost optimization.

What you bring on the table

A degree in cybersecurity, computer science, telecommunications, electrical engineering, or a related field.
Significant years of experience in security architecture, system security engineering, or operational security roles.
Ability to lead, mentor and motivate a highly skilled team.
Development and implementation of a new security strategy
Strong understanding of security frameworks, risk management, and compliance requirements.
Experience with Zero Trust architectures and modern access‑control methodologies.
Hands‑on experience with cloud security (AWS and/or Azure), including policy design and security service configuration.
Ability to work cross‑functionally with engineering, operations, and external partners.
Strong documentation, communication, and stakeholder‑coordination skills.
Fluency in English.

Additional desirable skills:

Experience in space systems, satellite communications, or aerospace environments.
Knowledge of supply chain security, secure software development, or hardware assurance.
Background in network security, cloud architecture, or systems engineering.

Why you should join us

We are an international team of space enthusiasts, following one great vision. We value equality in our work environment where different opinions, backgrounds and experiences are not only welcomed but also necessary to achieve the best result collaboratively. This permanent position was created recently and thus offers a lot of creative freedom. Our approach is to create a modern work environment with hybrid working model. We offer an attractive salary depending on your experience. Rivada Space Networks is an equal opportunity employer with the approach to create a diverse and inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, disability, or other individual characteristics.

Über uns

Rivada Space Networks is deploying the Outernet: the first unified global communications network. Rivada's global low-latency point-to-point network of 600 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites is a unique next-generation constellation combining inter-satellite laser links with advanced onboard processing and routing to create a ubiquitous optical mesh network in space. This "orbital network," in which data stays in space from origin to destination, creates an ultra-secure satellite network with pole-to-pole coverage, offering end-to-end latencies much lower than terrestrial fiber over long distances. And by routing traffic on a physically separated network, it provides a layer of defense for any organization that needs to securely share data between widely distributed sites.