IT Security Officer

Job Summary

The IT Security Officer safeguards the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of operational technology infrastructure supporting weather observation and forecasting systems, ensuring security, resilience, and compliance with national standards.

Responsibilities

• Protect operational technology infrastructure by implementing cybersecurity measures tailored to environmental monitoring technologies
• Monitor and analyze security events using SIEM platforms to detect and respond to threats in real time
• Manage intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) and endpoint detection tools to prevent unauthorized access and malware
• Ensure compliance with national security standards and frameworks such as NIST, FISMA, and IEC 62443
• Collaborate with meteorological and technical teams to translate cybersecurity risks into actionable guidance for non-technical stakeholders
• Conduct risk assessments and vulnerability analyses on SCADA, ICS, and OT systems to maintain system resilience
• Support 24/7 mission-critical operations by maintaining continuous security monitoring and rapid incident response capabilities
• Analyze large-scale data workflows to identify anomalies and potential cyber threats affecting weather data integrity
• Maintain and update security policies and procedures aligned with government security clearance requirements

Preferred competencies and qualifications

• Familiarity with meteorological systems, remote sensing technologies, and environmental monitoring infrastructure
• Experience securing SCADA, ICS, or OT systems within critical infrastructure environments
• Knowledge of WMO data standards and international weather data sharing protocols
• Experience with cloud security in hybrid environments such as AWS and Azure Government
• Active certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CEH, or GICSP are highly valued
• Understanding of raw meteorological data ingestion pipelines including BUFR, GRIB, NetCDF, IWXXM, and GeoJSON formats

Other Information

• The role requires the ability to remain calm under pressure and make critical security decisions during severe weather events
• Strong communication skills to effectively convey cybersecurity threats and mitigation strategies to non-technical staff and executives
• Analytical mindset with exceptional problem-solving skills to detect anomalies in complex data environments