Sr. Security Engineer, GRC Fintech & Financial Services

SR. SECURITY ENGINEER - GRC FINTECH & FINANCIAL SERVICES

We are seeking an experienced Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Engineer focused on fintech and financial services regulation to help scale compliance for SpaceXSI and X Money. As we operate deeper in regulated financial environments, maintaining a robust, transparent, and technically sound GRC program is critical. You will architect the systems and processes that automate trust — a pragmatic operator who understands that GRC exists to enable the business, balancing rigorous standards with the velocity of a high-growth company. The ideal candidate brings hands-on fintech compliance experience (PCI DSS, NYDFS, FFIEC), fluency in data privacy frameworks (GDPR, CCPA), and GRC engineering skills: Compliance-as-Code, continuous evidence collection, and deep partnership with engineering so controls are designed into the platform rather than bolted on after the fact.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Own and evolve financial services and payments compliance posture across PCI DSS, NYDFS (including 23 NYCRR 500), FFIEC guidance, and related banking/fintech regulatory expectations supporting X Money across relevant jurisdictions

Build and maintain Compliance-as-Code capabilities — policy-as-code, automated control validation, continuous evidence collection, and monitoring integrated into CI/CD — so audit readiness scales with the business rather than depending on manual, point-in-time checks

Operate and extend GRC platforms (e.g., Vanta) as the backbone for control mapping, evidence management, and continuous compliance; integrate with cloud, identity, logging, and engineering systems to reduce administrative bottlenecks

Partner with Architects and Engineering Leads to bake compliance and privacy requirements; translate complex regulatory obligations into concrete technical implementations and auditor-ready narratives without slowing development

Design, implement, and validate technical controls relevant to fintech environments (cardholder data environment scoping and segmentation, access control, logging, encryption, change management, vulnerability management) — not just document them

Operate the cybersecurity and compliance risk register — identify, quantify, and track risks, distinguishing theoretical gaps from meaningful business and regulatory risk

Lead risk assessments and compliance reviews for new products, payment flows, features, vendors, and architectural changes that affect the regulated attack surface

Own and cultivate relationships with external auditors, assessors (e.g., QSAs where applicable), and regulators; serve as the bridge between auditors and internal teams so requests are reasonable, clear, and relevant to our stack

Develop, maintain, and continuously improve policies, standards, and procedures aligned to PCI, NYDFS, FFIEC, privacy laws, and complementary frameworks (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001) where they overlap

Champion pragmatic governance — prioritize issues that represent real security or business risk over checkbox compliance

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor's degree in computer science, information security, cybersecurity, or in an engineering/STEM discipline

8+ years of experience in GRC, security compliance, or technology audit roles in fintech, banking, payments, or other heavily regulated financial environments

Hands-on experience with PCI DSS and at least one of NYDFS (23 NYCRR 500) or FFIEC cybersecurity/IT examination guidance — including implementing or operating controls, not only reading the requirements

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

Experience with Compliance-as-Code practices and GRC automation tooling (e.g., Vanta, or similar), with a bias toward continuous monitoring and reducing manual evidence collection

Technical fluency sufficient to speak the language of engineering, cloud (AWS/GCP/Azure), and security architecture, and to anticipate how design decisions impact risk and compliance

10+ years of security compliance, GRC engineering, or technology audit-related experience in fintech or financial services

Hands-on experience implementing technical controls (e.g., IAM, logging and monitoring, encryption, network segmentation, infrastructure hardening) and integrating compliance checks into CI/CD pipelines

Experience supporting SOC 2 and/or ISO 27001 programs alongside fintech-specific obligations

Experience with payment ecosystems, cardholder data environments, tokenization, or similar PCI-scoped architectures

Working knowledge of data privacy frameworks including GDPR and CCPA/CPRA, and experience partnering with Legal or Privacy

Familiarity with additional financial regulatory regimes (e.g., GLBA, BSA/AML technology controls, state money-transmitter expectations, or international banking rules in the EU, UK, or other markets, e.g DORA) is valuable

Experience enabling enterprise sales through trust centers, vendor questionnaires, and customer security reviews

Proven ability to operate a risk register and apply judgment in gray areas — focusing on outcomes over optics

Exceptional analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and project management skills, with the ability to take compliance programs from conception to assessment-ready launch

Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills — able to explain regulatory and privacy requirements to engineers, legal, sales, and executives in plain language

Certifications such as CISSP, CISA, CISM, CRISC, PCIP, CIPP/US, CIPP/E, or similar

Experience with emerging AI-related financial services expectations or securing AI features in a regulated fintech product

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

This role may also include additional tasks and responsibilities as needed to support the team and evolving business priorities

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

$152,000 - $258,000 USD

Base salary is just one part of our total rewards package at SpaceXSI, which also includes equity, comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and various other discounts and perks.

ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.