Security Operations Security Director /Cybersecurity Sr. Manager

The Security Director is the senior leader responsible for the governance, compliance, and overarching security posture of a Managed IT Security Operations contract. This role oversees adherence to regulatory frameworks, contractual requirements, and internal governance standards while ensuring the program’s security operations are executed with audit-readiness, risk awareness, and policy alignment at their core. The Security Director serves as the primary authority for cybersecurity compliance, governance controls, and enterprise-level security oversight.

Key Responsibilities:
• Lead the development, implementation, and enforcement of the contract’s cybersecurity governance framework, ensuring alignment with NIST, CIS, ISO, and all applicable regulatory requirements.
• Oversee all compliance activities, including evidence collection, control validation, audit preparation, and corrective action tracking.
• Ensure continuous compliance with federal, state, and industry standards, including data protection, privacy regulations, and customer-specific governance requirements.
• Establish and maintain policies, procedures, SOPs, and security documentation that support a consistent and mature governance posture.
• Serve as the primary liaison for compliance-related communication with customer stakeholders, auditors, and internal executives.
• Lead risk management initiatives, including risk assessments, gap analyses, plan of action and milestones (POA&M) management, and mitigation planning.
• Oversee the governance layer of SOC operations, ensuring operational practices meet internal and external compliance obligations.
• Direct enterprise reporting activities, including compliance dashboards, governance metrics, and executive summaries reflecting organizational security posture.
• Monitor changes in regulatory requirements and ensure the program is proactively positioned to meet evolving compliance expectations.
• Collaborate with security engineering, SOC leadership, and program management to ensure all operational decisions integrate governance and risk considerations.
• Support security architecture reviews and ensure technology decisions adhere to approved security baselines and compliance frameworks.
• Lead or support incident response governance, including breach notification processes, documentation standards, and compliance-related reporting.

Required Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Assurance, Compliance, or related field (or equivalent work experience).
• 10+ years of cybersecurity or compliance leadership experience, preferably within MSS/MSP or security operations environments.
• Deep knowledge of governance and compliance frameworks (NIST RMF and CSF, ISO 27001, CIS Controls, FedRAMP, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, etc.).
• Proven experience preparing for and supporting internal and external audits.
• Demonstrated ability to build and manage governance programs in complex, multi‑platform IT environments.
• Expertise in risk management, policy development, and compliance reporting.
• Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CISA, CGEIT, CRISC, or similar.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience supporting government contracts or highly regulated industries.
• Familiarity with cloud governance programs across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
• Experience with Zero Trust governance models.
• Additional certifications in audit, governance, or cloud security.

Key Competencies:
• Compliance and governance leadership
• Policy and procedure development
• Exceptional documentation and audit readiness
• Strategic risk management
• Strong communication and stakeholder alignment
• Analytical decision-making

Additional Information:

Location: Austin, TX. expect to be in office 2-5 days a week.

Timeline: This is a contingent role, expected to start between December 2026 and March of 2027.

GDIT IS YOUR PLACE:

• Full-flex work week to own your priorities at work and at home

• 401K with company match

• Comprehensive health and wellness packages

• Internal mobility team dedicated to helping you own your career

• Professional growth opportunities including paid education and certifications

• Cutting-edge technology you can learn from

• Rest and recharge with paid vacation and holidays