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Nominal builds software that lets hardware teams test, iterate, and deploy as fast as software teams.
The Role
Leads security architecture and technical authorization readiness for classified and Special Access Program deployments. Translates NIST, CNSSI, STIG, and customer requirements into engineering controls, deployment patterns, and authorization evidence. Partners with engineering teams, government ISSMs, assessors, and authorizing officials on architecture design, SSPs, ATO packages, POA&Ms, remediation, and security findings. Requires hands-on classified deployment expertise and an active U.S. TS/SCI clearance.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Nominal
🚀 About the role
Engineers today are building some of the most ambitious machines humanity has ever seen. They should have AI that’s purpose-built for them.
Nominal is building the Hardware Intelligence Platform that gives engineers increased visibility into complex physical systems, helps them make better decisions, and ultimately gets their products into the real world faster. It brings together the systems, data, intelligence, and applications hardware engineering requires to meet the AI moment. Hardware engineering teams use Nominal to simulate, test, manufacture, and operate the physical systems that keep the world moving, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation energy systems and robotics.
Our customers span aerospace, defense, manufacturing, transportation, energy, and robotics. They include Anduril, Shield AI, Wisk Aero, Pratt Miller Motorsports, Antares, and Shinkei Systems, amongst others, alongside programs within the U.S. Air Force and Navy. Our team draws from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, Tesla, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence. We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software.
Some of the world’s leading technology investors, including Sequoia, Lightspeed, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, and Insight Partners, are backing Nominal’s ambition to change how machines are built and operated. We’re looking for teammates who want to take on hard problems and help make a new generation of world-changing hardware possible.
The Classified Security Architect leads security architecture and technical authorization readiness for Nominal’s classified deployments, with particular emphasis on Special Access Program (SAP) environments. You’ll translate customer security requirements into deployable architectures, engineering controls, and the technical evidence needed to obtain and maintain authorizations.
You’ll work directly with government security stakeholders and partner with Engineering, Platform Security, DevSecOps, and Deployability to resolve technical security challenges, establish repeatable deployment patterns, and speed delivery into highly restricted environments. Engineering owns technical implementation. This role owns classified security architecture requirements, technical design guidance, and coordination of technical authorization deliverables, and it calls for hands-on classified deployment expertise, not only accreditation process experience.
🚀 What you’ll do:
- Define security architectures and technical requirements for classified deployments, including SAP environments and other highly restricted customer environments.
- Translate customer security requirements, NIST 800-53 controls, applicable CNSSI overlays, STIGs, and program-specific constraints into actionable engineering requirements and implementation plans.
- Partner with engineering teams to design and validate security controls across infrastructure, network boundaries, identity and access management, data flows, software delivery, logging, and system monitoring.
- Lead resolution of technical security challenges that could impede classified deployments, working directly with customer security stakeholders and internal engineering teams.
- Drive technical authorization readiness, including System Security Plan (SSP) content, architecture diagrams, control narratives, supporting evidence, and other artifacts required for ATO packages.
- Coordinate with customer ISSMs, assessors, and authorizing stakeholders to validate proposed architectures, resolve security findings, and support authorization decisions.
- Develop and maintain Plans of Action and Milestones (POA&Ms), partnering with engineering on remediation planning and technical resolution.
- Establish reusable security architectures, controls, documentation, and deployment patterns across classified customer programs.
- Maintain security architecture and authorization readiness as software, infrastructure, and customer requirements evolve.
- Identify security architecture constraints early in customer engagements and inform technical feasibility, deployment planning, and program timelines.
🔍 We’re looking for someone with
- Demonstrated experience designing, deploying, or securing systems in classified environments, including SAP or similarly restricted environments.
- Hands-on technical experience with infrastructure and platform security, including Linux, network segmentation, identity and access management, and secure software delivery.
- Experience translating classified security requirements into technical architecture and engineering implementation plans.
- Experience applying NIST 800-53, applicable CNSSI overlays, STIGs, and customer-specific security requirements.
- Experience supporting authorization of classified systems, including technical contributions to SSPs, control narratives, assessment evidence, and remediation activities.
- Experience working directly with government ISSMs, security assessors, and other security stakeholders to resolve technical and authorization challenges.
- Ability to independently evaluate security architecture tradeoffs and guide engineering teams toward compliant, technically viable solutions.
- This position requires you to currently possess and be able to maintain a U.S. TS/SCI security clearance, in order to meet U.S. regulatory eligibility requirements for the access to classified information associated with this role.
⚡ Skills that supercharge us
- Direct experience with SAP deployment architectures, program-specific security requirements, and authorization processes.
- Experience obtaining and maintaining ATOs across multiple classified programs or customer environments.
- Experience with Kubernetes, containerized infrastructure, and modern DevSecOps practices in restricted or disconnected environments.
- Government-side accreditation, security engineering, or assessment experience.
- Experience establishing reusable security architectures and control implementations across multiple deployments.
- Relevant security certifications, such as CISSP, GIAC, or equivalent technical credentials.
✨ Benefits/Perks
- 🏥 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 🏖️ Unlimited PTO and sick leave
- 🍽️ Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
- 🚀 Professional Development Stipend
- 🛠️ In-office hardware lab with a $250 project stipend
- ✈️ Annual company retreat
- 👶 12 weeks parental leave
- 🌱 Fertility and family planning ($15,000 lifetime)
- 💪 Wellness stipend ($100/month)
- 🛠️ $500/year hardware sensor stipend
- 💼 401(k)
- 📈 Employee-friendly equity terms
- 🏢 In-office 5 days per week
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
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.
CompensationThe base pay range for this role is $208,000 – $255,000 per year.
Skills Required
- Demonstrated experience designing, deploying, or securing systems in classified environments, including SAP or similarly restricted environments.
- Hands-on infrastructure and platform security experience, including Linux, network segmentation, identity and access management, and secure software delivery.
- Experience translating classified security requirements into technical architecture and engineering implementation plans.
- Experience applying NIST 800-53, applicable CNSSI overlays, STIGs, and customer-specific security requirements.
- Experience supporting authorization of classified systems, including SSPs, control narratives, assessment evidence, and remediation activities.
- Experience working directly with government ISSMs, security assessors, and other security stakeholders.
- Ability to independently evaluate security architecture tradeoffs and guide engineering teams toward compliant solutions.
- Currently possess and be able to maintain a U.S. TS/SCI security clearance.
- Direct experience with SAP deployment architectures, program-specific security requirements, and authorization processes.
- Experience obtaining and maintaining ATOs across multiple classified programs or customer environments.
- Experience with Kubernetes, containerized infrastructure, and modern DevSecOps practices in restricted or disconnected environments.
- Government-side accreditation, security engineering, or assessment experience.
- Experience establishing reusable security architectures and control implementations across multiple deployments.
- Relevant security certifications such as CISSP, GIAC, or equivalent technical credentials.
Nominal Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Nominal and has not been reviewed or approved by Nominal.
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Healthcare Strength — 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage is repeatedly described as covering both employees and dependents, indicating unusually strong healthcare provisioning. Additional mentions of “Platinum” coverage reinforce the sense of a high-tier plan offering.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Unlimited PTO and paid holidays/sick time are presented as part of the core package, suggesting broad time-off benefits on paper. Parental leave is also framed as fully paid in several places, reinforcing overall leave breadth.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellness stipends, daily gourmet lunch (and sometimes dinner), and periodic retreats are consistently highlighted as meaningful lifestyle perks. Learning/development and other small stipends further round out a perks-heavy total rewards posture.
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The Company
What We Do
Nominal builds the essential software stack that enables hardware teams to test and iterate as rapidly as software teams. Nominal empowers engineers to continuously monitor, validate, and deploy innovations, transforming how mission-critical hardware is built and operated.
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