Security Compliance Engineer

At Altarum, we’re driven by a simple but powerful mission: improving the health of individuals with fewer financial resources and populations underserved by the healthcare system. We partner with federal and state agencies to design and deliver solutions that make a real, measurable difference.

About the Role

You will own Altarum's security compliance and assurance program. The role blends governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) with hands-on security operations and engineering. We protect Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) every day, and you will help make sure that work is defensible and audit-ready.

You will report to the Director of Security and Technology. You'll work closely with our Security Advisory Group (SAG) and Senior Cybersecurity Policy Advisor, support client Authority to Operate (ATO) efforts, and serve as the security and compliance partner to our Public Health Technology (PHT) team.

You will work across these frameworks: NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC Level 2, NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, FedRAMP Low and Moderate, TX-RAMP and StateRAMP (now GovRAMP), the HIPAA Security Rule, and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework. Day-to-day practices align with ITIL 4.

What You'll Do

Compliance documentation and authorization support

Work with the SAG and Senior Cybersecurity Policy Advisor to maintain System Security Plans (SSPs), Plans of Action and Milestones (POA&Ms), the Incident Response (IR) Plan, and related policies, procedures, and evidence

Prepare ATO packages and serve as the primary point of contact for client security offices, third-party assessors (3PAOs and C3PAOs), and auditors

Within the SAG's existing process, maintain our NIST SP 800-171 self-assessment and SPRS score, keeping evidence audit-ready for CMMC and client assessments

Track compliance with federal (FedRAMP, CMMC) and state (TX-RAMP, StateRAMP/GovRAMP) security programs for platforms serving government clients

Support proposals from a security perspective: review solicitation security requirements, write security and compliance sections, and answer client and vendor security questionnaires from a maintained, reusable response library

Continuous monitoring and control assessment

Run an ongoing continuous monitoring program across in-scope systems, including periodic control checks, scan review, and POA&M updates

Conduct internal control assessments and readiness reviews ahead of external assessments

Report compliance posture to leadership on a regular cadence, with clear metrics, trends, and risk-based recommendations

Security operations

Manage our vendor-maintained SOC, Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service, and SIEM (24/7/365), including detection tuning, escalations, service performance, and reporting

Run the vulnerability and patch management program, coordinating fixes with system administrators, developers, and vendors and verifying closure within defined timelines

Conduct regular access reviews across all environments, enforcing least privilege for users and privileged accounts

Review changes for security impact through our change enablement process

Review the security posture of new platforms, vendors, and subcontractors before onboarding, and monitor them for supply chain risk, flow-down requirements, and current FedRAMP or state authorizations

DevOps and engineering support

Partner with the PHT team to build security controls into CI/CD pipelines, such as automated vulnerability scanning, secrets management, and dependency checks

Review infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, CloudFormation, or similar) and cloud configurations in AWS, Azure, Oracle, and other cloud environments against compliance baselines, and recommend hardening

Support secure configuration and monitoring of cloud environments used for client system delivery

Advise on container and image security practices where applicable

Serve as the security and compliance point of contact in the PHT team's working cadence, including sprint reviews, change management, and release planning

Incident response

Support incident response, including triage coordination with the MDR, SIEM, and other relevant vendors; coordinating containment with system administrators and engineers; documentation and evidence preservation; and client notification and required government reporting

Facilitate IR tabletop exercises and feed after-action improvements back into the IR Plan

AI security and governance

Maintain an inventory of approved AI tools, monitor for unapproved use, and apply data loss protections so PHI, PII, and CUI don't reach unapproved services

Support AI vendor risk reviews and align AI practices with the NIST AI RMF and NIST's draft SP 800-53 control overlays for AI systems

What You'll Bring

5+ years in information security, including at least 2 years in a compliance-focused role supporting NIST 800-171, NIST 800-53, FedRAMP, or HIPAA

Familiarity with cloud infrastructure security in AWS, Oracle, and/or Azure

CompTIA Security+ or a higher certification, such as SSCP, CGRC (formerly CAP), CISSP, or CISM

Bachelor's degree in a related field, or equivalent experience

U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain Public Trust eligibility

Preferred qualifications

CMMC Certified Professional (CCP), or willingness to obtain it within 12 months of hire

A cloud security certification, such as AWS Certified Security – Specialty or Microsoft Azure Security Engineer Associate

Experience in consulting, professional services, or government contracting serving healthcare, state, or federal clients

Experience with federal or state security programs such as FedRAMP, CMMC, TX-RAMP, or StateRAMP (now GovRAMP)

Hands-on experience with CI/CD tooling (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins) and infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, CloudFormation, or Puppet)

Experience with a GRC platform and with scripting (PowerShell, Python, or Bash) to automate evidence collection and reporting

Why Join Our Team? Altarum is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We create and implement solutions to advance health among vulnerable and publicly insured populations. Our public sector clients include the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and various state agencies nationwide.

We also serve clients in the philanthropic and private sectors. Our areas of expertise include health data and analytics; value-based care; public health systems design, development, and information exchange; behavioral health and substance use disorders; childhood and adolescent health; medical education; food and nutrition; consumer engagement; elder care; health disparities and equity; and military and veterans' health.

Where You'll Work

Hybrid in Novi, MI with occasional in-person collaboration days

If you’re near one of our offices (Arlington, VA; Silver Spring, MD; or Novi, MI), you’ll join us in person one day every other month (6 times per year) for a fun, purpose-driven Collaboration Day. These days are filled with creative energy, meaningful connection, and team brainstorming.

Non-local employees will join these days virtually and may be asked to join us occasionally in-person.

Work Eligibility & Requirements

Candidates must be currently eligible to work in the United States; sponsorship is not available.

All work must be performed within the continental U.S. for the duration of employment, unless required by contract.

Ability to work core hours aligned with Eastern Time, unless otherwise approved by your manager.

Remote employees must maintain a dedicated, ergonomically appropriate workspace free from distractions, with reliable internet and a mobile device that supports efficient work.

Travel Requirements: <10%

Altarum is a nonprofit organization focused on improving the health of individuals with fewer financial resources and populations disenfranchised by the health care system. We work primarily on behalf of federal and state governments to design and implement solutions that achieve measurable results. We combine our expertise in public health and health care delivery with technology development and implementation, practice transformation, training and technical assistance, quality improvement, data analytics, and applied research and evaluation. Our innovative solutions and proven processes lead to better value and health for all. Altarum is an equal opportunity employer that provides employment and opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.