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 Cybersecurity Engineer, you own the security posture of Nooks' own unclassified environment — hardening it, assessing it against the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 and the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), and keeping the evidence that proves it. Our classified infrastructure gets the headlines, but protecting Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is equally critical to the mission and to partner trust. This is a hands-on, individual-contributor role reporting to the Cyber Compliance and Policy Manager in IT/Cyber: you run the compliance program and do the technical work behind it, assessing, hardening, and certifying the estate the IT team builds and operates. Your focus is Nooks' own environment, including the customer facing unclassified network deployed at all Nooks facilities.
Ownership is defined, but the program is still being built: controls need tuning, evidence needs automating, and priorities shift as new tools and vendors enter the environment. This is a "player-coach" role — you set the cadence, run the deep-dive self-assessments and internal audits yourself, and step in wherever the unclassified environment's security needs you, translating NIST controls into practical configurations rather than waiting for perfect requirements.
Key Responsibilities
NIST 800-171 Compliance & Governance
Self-Assessment & Audit Readiness
Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure Security
Vendor & Software Assurance
What Success Looks Like in This Role
Within the first year, Nooks' unclassified environment has a current, accurate SSP and a defensible SPRS score, with gaps identified and driven to closure through POA&Ms before any third-party assessment. Self-assessments run on a regular cadence, and the Google Workspace environment is configured and monitored so DLP, access controls, and MDM demonstrably protect CUI. The environment is audit-ready at all times, and when a C3PAO assessment comes, evidence and artifacts are organized and complete. New software and vendors are vetted for compliance before they enter the environment, preserving the chain of trust. Leadership relies on this role as the authoritative source of truth for the unclassified compliance posture.
Cross-Functional Expectations
This role partners closely and collaboratively with Enterprise IT to secure and monitor the Google Workspace and Microsoft environments and with IT/Cyber Operations to remediate findings across the unclassified estate. It serves as the cybersecurity point of contact for teams across Nooks introducing new software, and provides evidence and technical answers to external C3PAO assessors during audits. It executes on the compliance program owned by the Cyber Compliance and Policy Manager and reports posture and risk up through Enterprise Cyber.
The Skillset
Required
Preferred
Compensation & Benefits
Eligibility & Clearance
Candidates must be U.S. citizens (a compliance requirement for accessing CUI/ITAR data) and authorized to work in the United States. This role supports the unclassified environment; an active security clearance is not required, though a Secret or Top Secret clearance is a plus.
Salary Range for all departments
Salary Range$145,000—$163,000 USD
New Zealand