About this opportunity
The Nuclear Company lists this Director, Cloud & Security Engineering opportunity in lexington, Kentucky. Review the employer’s description below for duties, qualifications and application requirements.
Job description
The Nuclear Company is the fastest growing AI tech-enabled startup in the nuclear and energy space, pioneering a fleet-scale approach to building the next generation of nuclear reactors. Through our design-once, build-many model, we're accelerating the deployment of safe, reliable, and affordable nuclear energy.
We operate with an AI-first mindset. Every employee is expected to leverage AI, technology, and the Nuclear Operating System (NOS) as integral components of their role to improve the quality, speed, and impact of their work. We expect every team member to continuously identify opportunities to automate workflows, enhance decision‑making, improve processes, and contribute to the ongoing evolution of NOS as a strategic operating capability that enables The Nuclear Company to scale with excellence.
We hire people who are driven by purpose, thrive in ambiguity, and are energized by building what has never been built before. Our team combines intellectual curiosity with high agency, embraces candid feedback and continuous learning, and holds themselves and others to exceptional standards. Our values—Transparency, Responsibility, Unity, Scrappy, and Tenacity —guide how we hire, collaborate, and make decisions every day. They are not words on a wall; they are the standard by which we operate. TRUST is the foundation of our safety culture, fostering intellectual honesty, accountability, and open communication, while our values challenge every team member to execute with urgency, humility, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to our mission.
About the role
The Director, Cloud & Security Engineering owns cloud and security engineering across Microsoft Azure and AWS, along with network and security architecture, identity, threat detection and incident response, and vulnerability management, and produces the technical evidence needed for audits and customer security reviews. The role also owns the business-facing side of IT: demand intake and prioritization, and rolling roadmaps with priority functions so requests don’t drop or get routed around IT. This role works closely with the Director of IT Operations and Infrastructure. This is a hands‑on director role — leading a small senior team while staying technical enough to serve as an escalation point, with the team growing based on company needs.
Responsibilities
Cloud & Security Engineering Strategy
Own cloud engineering across Microsoft Azure and AWS and set network and security architecture standards, including threat modeling and solution‑level requirements
Own build‑vs‑buy decisions, vendor and contract relationships for network and security platforms, and the domain’s operating budget
Direct identity security: privileged access, MFA, conditional access, and non‑human identities
Lead threat detection and incident response — playbooks, tabletop exercises, post‑incident review — and report security posture and risk to leadership
Vulnerability & Compliance
Drive vulnerability management and remediation to closure against defined SLAs
Produce the technical evidence needed for audits and customer security reviews
Email, SaaS & AI Security
Direct email and collaboration security: anti‑phishing and BEC controls, DMARC/SPF/DKIM enforcement
Govern SaaS security posture — OAuth and third‑party app access, shadow‑SaaS discovery, vendor security review — and set enablement‑first guardrails for AI tools
Business Engagement
Own intake and prioritization of business demand through a single documented process
Maintain rolling roadmaps with priority functions (starting with NOS and Legal) and feed those priorities into annual planning and budget
Coordinate supported functions’ cloud usage with engineering platform owners
Lead and develop the engineering team, serve as a hands‑on escalation backup, and grow the team based on company needs
Experience
10+ years in security and/or network engineering, including 4+ years leading technical staff or programs
Cloud engineering and security depth across Microsoft Azure and AWS
Deep identity security experience: privileged access management, MFA, conditional access, and non‑human identities
Experience building or maturing incident response (playbooks, tabletops) and owning vulnerability management with remediation SLAs
Hands‑on familiarity with the enterprise stack — SSE/zero‑trust access (e.g., Zscaler), next‑generation firewalls (e.g., FortiGate), EDR, SIEM, MDM — deep enough to direct the work and back up the team
Fluency with compliance frameworks (NIST 800‑53, CMMC, or equivalent) and producing audit‑ready technical evidence
Demonstrated experience partnering directly with business functions and managing demand against real capacity
Strong communication skills; translates security risk for leadership and IT plans for the business
Preferred Experience
Experience in regulated industries (nuclear, defense, energy, or federal); familiarity with 10 CFR 73.54 and NRC cybersecurity requirements
Relevant certifications: CISSP, CISM, CCSP, or equivalent
Experience transitioning outsourced or contractor‑run security functions in‑house
Experience securing AI tooling, large language models, or agentic workflows
Competitive compensation packages
401k with company match
Estimated Starting Salary Range
The estimated starting salary range for this role is $198,000 - $228,000 annually less applicable withholdings and deductions, paid on a bi‑weekly basis. The actual salary offered may vary based on relevant factors as determined in the Company’s discretion, which may include experience, qualifications, tenure, skill set, availability of qualified candidates, geographic location, certifications held, and other criteria deemed pertinent to the particular role.
EEO Statement
The Nuclear Company is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an environment of inclusion in the workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We prohibit discrimination in all aspects of employment, including hiring, promotion, demotion, transfer, compensation, and termination.
Export Control
Certain positions at The Nuclear Company may involve access to information and technology subject to export controls under U.S. law. Compliance with these export controls may result in The Nuclear Company limiting its consideration of certain applicants.
U.S. Standard Demographic Questions
We invite applicants to share their demographic background. If you choose to complete this survey, your responses may be used to identify areas of improvement in our hiring process.
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Voluntary Self-Identification
For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.
As set forth in The Nuclear Company’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.
If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:
A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.
A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.
An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.
An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.
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Worksite address
lexington, KY, 40598, US
Who can apply
Review the original listing for work authorization, qualifications and employer requirements.