Security & Compliance Engineer

HEO is the world’s first commercial non-Earth imaging (NEI) and insights services company. NEI involves capturing resolved imagery of space objects using cameras mounted on other satellites, and deriving information and intelligence from the captured imagery. Our technology helps governments and commercial companies to visually monitor their spacecraft and other space objects they care about. Our vision is to image anything in the solar system on-demand. Read more about NEI here.

We are building out a high performing interdisciplinary team capable of pushing the boundaries of space technology. We are growing fast and looking for talented, passionate people that value collaboration, growth and learning to join our team.

HEO is a post Series-A company backed by high profile venture funds including Airtree, Y Combinator and In-Q-Tel. We are headquartered in Sydney with offices in London, Tokyo, UK and Washington DC.

About the role:

This is a newly created role responsible for driving HEO’s compliance, risk and governance through tooling across multiple frameworks and regions. You will be a driving force across the business who interacts with multiple stakeholders across various teams, using your creative problem solving mindset to achieve effective solutions. You’ll be maintaining compliance standards and policies, working closely with the Head of Security.

Your key responsibilities:

• Drive the continuous maintenance and annual certification cycles for SOC2, CMMC (Level 2), ISO 27001, and UK Cyber Essentials, ensuring the business remains audit-ready across global regions
• Maintain a "compliance-first" environment through daily management of Drata, proactively monitoring security training completion, background checks, and automated control evidence
• Partner with internal departments (such as HR) to uplift and automate core processes to reduce manual overhead and scale compliance efforts
• Leverage Governance, Risk and Compliance tooling to map technical controls and drive governance initiatives, ensuring that security requirements are integrated into the daily technical operations of the company
• Lead the "boots on the ground" effort for evidence collection and control mapping, identifying potential gaps before they become audit findings
• Work closely with leadership to distribute compliance workloads across teams, fostering a culture of accountability and shared responsibility for security standards

We are looking for someone with:

• 1-2+ years of experience in the Governance, Risk & Compliance space with a solid grasp of industry frameworks, paired with a genuine drive to advocate for and mature internal processes
• Technical literacy to understand how policies practically impact engineering tools and workflows, specifically within the context of incident response
• Strong communication skills who can act as a "translator" between technical teams and business leadership to ensure consistent engagement and follow-up
• The ability to execute security and compliance tasks independently, translating high-level policies into operational reality and reporting results to leadership

Nice to have skills:

• Exposure to AWS or any other cloud environment
• Experience with continuous compliance tools (DRATA, VANTA or similar)
• Experience in or supporting a formal internal or external audit process, demonstrating an understanding of evidence collection and regulatory scrutiny
• Familiarity with structured change management methodologies to ensure technical or procedural shifts are implemented smoothly and with minimal disruption
• Experience from a technical or start-up auditing environment, security consulting, compliance or similar, with the "problem-solving" mindset needed to map complex technical controls to formal requirements

HEO’s Company Values:

We value good space citizenship. We are passionate about responsible space custodianship, sustainability and trust. We believe that space should be easy and transparent. Our values help us to tackle some of the most complex issues in space for the benefit of all of humanity.

As a team, we are committed to creating a welcoming and supportive environment for employees from all backgrounds.

Perks, benefits & culture:

HEO is one of Australia’s fastest-growing space technology companies. At HEO, we’re committed to creating the best working environment where everyone thrives, values collaboration, encourages innovation and shares the common goal of making space transparent. Here’s some of the ways we achieve that goal:

• Employee Share Option Plan (ESOP). Own a piece of HEO!
• Convenient location in Sydney’s Tech Central with end of trip facilities (bicycle parking and showers)
• Flexible leave options so you can recharge and relax when best suits you – no forced leave during office shutdowns
• Paid parental leave for everyone
• A supportive environment that fosters cross-team collaboration. We learn by trial and celebrate our wins together
• Fireside chats every other Friday where we showcase what someone’s working on or something new in our industry, with some snacks and maybe a game of ping-pong or two
• Quarterly team events to share achievements we’re proud of (no matter how big or small) plus an annual event that brings together our team and customers
  
  

Our commitment to Diversity and Inclusion:

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion, as well as how you can enhance HEO and our culture. Research shows that women and underrepresented groups are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single competency or experience. If you are excited about this role, but your past experience doesn't align perfectly, we encourage you to apply anyway. You could be just the right person for this role and HEO. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at time of application and throughout the interview process.

The successful candidate must be an Australian citizen and will be required to undergo a background check.