Chief Information Security Officer (GAOH164)

About the Role The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) is the executive leader responsible for Defense Unicorns' enterprise-wide information technology and security strategy, governance, and risk posture. Reporting directly to the CEO and working in close partnership with senior leadership, the CISO owns the full security function, including direct oversight of the Director of Security Compliance and the Director of Information Technology. This is a mission-critical leadership role at the intersection of national security, defense technology, and enterprise IT. The CISO ensures that Defense Unicorns can pursue and execute DoD and federal contracts confidently, with a security program that is not only audit-ready but genuinely resilient. Equally, the CISO provides executive direction over the information technology function, overseeing corporate infrastructure, systems, networks, and the technology platforms that enable our Unicorns to operate effectively and securely at scale. The right person brings both the technical credibility to earn trust with engineers and operators, and the executive presence to advise leadership and represent the company's security and technology posture to customers, partners, and government stakeholders. As the organization scales, the CISO will be the architect of a security culture that is embedded, not bolted on, enabling the mission rather than impeding it. This commitment to “The Unicorn Experience” is non-negotiable. This means not only governing risk and compliance, but ensuring the IT foundation beneath the business is modern, resilient, and capable of supporting a fast-growing defense technology company operating in highly sensitive environments. This dual ownership of security and IT is intentional: at Defense Unicorns, protecting the mission and enabling the workforce are not separate problems, they require a unified leader who can hold both. Direct Reports Director of Security Compliance Director of Information Technology Key Responsibilities Enterprise Security Strategy & Executive Leadership Develop and execute the enterprise-wide information security strategy, overseeing risk management, governance, compliance, and threat mitigation to protect highly sensitive data, intellectual property, customer environments, and Mission Hero infrastructure. Serve as the organization's executive risk authority, the final decision-maker on security posture decisions with enterprise-level impact, and primary advisor to the CEO and senior leadership on cyber risk, emerging threats, and business impact. Partner with the CEO, General Counsel, and business development leadership to align security investments with contract requirements, growth objectives, and mission priorities. Represent Defense Unicorns' security posture in customer-facing engagements, contract negotiations, government interactions, and partnership discussions. Provide executive oversight to the Director of Security Compliance and Director of Information Technology, ensuring cohesion between compliance obligations, IT infrastructure, and security operations. Foster a collaborative, mission-first security culture, one that empowers Unicorns to move fast while minimizing risk to the business and our customers. Own and execute on a strategy for responsible, cross-cutting AI usage in all functions which enables Unicorns while maintaining a verifiable information security posture. Application Security Adapt Defense Unicorns application security processes to the AI-native threat hunting realities. Operate and scale bug triage and/or bounty programs that are compatible with Open Source software practices and the trends in responsible disclosure. Build and scale defensive security tooling that enables teams to shift-left and safeguard themselves and their work products, from emergent threats including software supply chain security, advanced security hunting, and advanced foreign actors. Infrastructure Security Lead cross-functional effor…