IT Security Lead

IT Security Lead

Whippany Actuation Systems, a fast-paced and innovative aerospace manufacturer specializing in electromechanical actuators for both commercial and military applications, is seeking a driven, hands-on cybersecurity professional to join our IT team as our new IT Security Lead. In this role, you will help build, operate, and continuously strengthen our internal security program. Your responsibilities will span security operations, identity and access management, endpoint and network defense, vulnerability management, vendor risk, compliance, incident response, business continuity, and helping employees work securely. This role is intended for a professional with broad information technology and security experience who can operate independently, coordinate across teams, and grow into a senior internal security role.

In this role, you would typically:

• Monitor SIEM and EDR alerts, investigate threats, and support incident containment, escalation, and response.
• Manage identity and access controls, including SSO, MFA, Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, privileged access, employee transitions, and periodic access reviews.
• Maintain endpoint security through EDR, patching, secure configurations, software controls, encryption, and exception remediation.
• Support network security, including firewalls, access controls, VPNs, segmentation, wireless security, secure configurations, and monitoring.
• Coordinate vulnerability scanning, risk-based prioritization, remediation with system owners, closure validation, and reporting.
• Support incident response, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning and testing to meet recovery objectives.
• Support customer, contractual, and regulatory compliance, including CMMC, DFARS, ITAR and other U.S. export controls; where applicable, NIS2, Cyber Essentials/Plus, CMS, DCPP, ISO/IEC 27001, and GDPR.
• Maintain security policies, procedures, plans, risk registers, diagrams, control records, and audit evidence; support customer questionnaires and audits.
• Assess supplier and service-provider security risks, review controls, and track remediation and risk acceptances.
• Deliver security awareness, role-based training, phishing simulations, and onboarding guidance on incident reporting and CUI/FCI protection.
• Advise employees on security questions, suspicious emails, lost devices, access requests, and other concerns.
• Evaluate, recommend, implement, and document security technologies, standards, configurations, processes, and runbooks to scale the security program.
• Collaborate with internal teams, service providers, and assessors; participate in an on-call rotation as needed.

We require:

• 3+ years in information security, IT operations, or a related field, with hands-on experience across multiple security domains.
• Working knowledge of SIEM, EDR, vulnerability scanning, identity providers, cloud platforms, and tools such as CrowdStrike Falcon, Tanium, ThreatLocker, Microsoft Entra ID, or equivalents.
• Strong fundamentals in networking, Windows, Active Directory, Microsoft 365, authentication protocols, endpoint management, firewalls, VPNs, and secure configuration.
• Practical knowledge of CMMC and protecting Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and Federal Contract Information (FCI); familiarity with DFARS, ITAR, export controls, NIST guidance, and ISO/IEC 27001 or comparable frameworks.
• Willingness to join an on-call rotation and provide after-hours support as needed.
• Authorization to work in the US

Eligibility Requirements:

This role is restricted to U.S. persons (i.e., U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and other protected individuals under the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) due to access to export-controlled technology. Whippany Actuation Systems will require proof of status before employment.

We would really like to see:

• CISSP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, CCIE, CCNP Security, CompTIA Security+, Network+, or comparable certification
• Experience supporting or leading internal, customer, regulatory, or certification audits and managing remediation through closure.
• Experience in defense, aerospace, manufacturing, or other regulated environment that handles CUI, FCI, or export-controlled information.
• Experience with cloud security posture management and Microsoft GCC High or other regulated cloud environments.
• Familiarity with offensive security concepts, penetration-test findings, attack-path analysis, and related tooling.
• Experience developing and testing incident-response, ransomware-recovery, disaster-recovery, and business-continuity plans.
• Experience coordinating managed security service providers, security consultants, assessors, and third-party review partners.

Compensation and Benefits:

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $145,000 to $170,000 per year. Final pay determinations will depend on various factors, including, but not limited to, experience level, knowledge, skills, and abilities. If hired, the employee will be in an “at-will position.”

At Whippany Actuation Systems, we believe that our success can only be credited to the hard work and dedication of our employees. To support our employees, we offer a variety of benefit options so they can choose the coverage based on what is important to their unique lifestyle. These include medical, dental, vision, ID protection, legal insurance, pet insurance, tuition assistance program, and an employee assistance program. In addition, we provide 401K with immediate company match, life insurance, AD&D coverage, and short- and long-term disability benefits. Lastly, active employees are eligible for generous paid time off including 12 paid holidays, vacation, and sick/personal time.

Our Commitment:

Whippany Actuation Systems is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.

Individuals who have a disability and would like to request accommodation with regard to the application and selection process (i.e. the online application or interviews) or have questions regarding our website accessibility, may call 973-560-6662.