Sr. Security Engineer - GRC Fintech & Financial Services

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today, SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary and expanding consciousness to the stars.

SpaceXSI is building Super Intelligence to understand the universe and help expand humanity’s knowledge and capabilities. We work across the full Super Intelligence stack: compute (Colossus supercomputers), models (Grok), and applications (Grok Bot, Grok Build, Grok Imagine, Grok Voice, and X). We're creating a powerful flywheel where more compute trains better models, better models power more useful products, and what we learn from people using those products shapes what we build next.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

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 xMoney. 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.

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

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 xMoney 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 field.
• 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.
• 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.
• PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: 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 preferred.
• Experience with emerging AI-related financial services expectations or securing AI features in a regulated fintech product is a plus.

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.