Full-Time

Industrial Security Specialist

Integrated Security Enterprise

Nooks

Nooks

51-200 employees

Platform enabling classified government–private collaboration

Compensation Overview

$80k - $100k/yr

No H1B Sponsorship

Colorado Springs, CO, USA

In Person

US Citizenship, US Top Secret Clearance Required

Bachelor's

Category
Security & Protective Services

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Requirements
  • 3–7 years of dedicated Industrial Security experience as a Facility Security Officer, Assistant Facility Security Officer, Contractor Program Security Officer, Special Security Officer, or Security Specialist within the Defense Industrial Base or Intelligence Community.
  • Working knowledge of the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (32 CFR Part 117) and Department of Defense Manual 5105.21 Volumes 1–3.
  • A track record serving as a company liaison for Department of Defense or Department of War security assessments and inspections, including running an internal self-inspection program.
  • Hands-on proficiency with the National Industrial Security System, Defense Information System for Security / National Background Investigation Services, and Scattered Castles.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills sufficient to translate a DD Form 254 into training and policy understandable to non-security staff.
  • An active Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information eligibility clearance must be possessed and maintained.
  • U.S. citizenship is required.
  • Candidates must be capable of maintaining eligibility up to the Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information level within 45 days of hire.
Responsibilities
  • Serve as the liaison to Field Command and Direct Reporting Unit Special Security Officers on industrial security regulations, guidance, and DD Form 254 questions, resolving issues before they become inspection findings.
  • Run a continuous, enterprise-wide self-inspection program against Department of Defense Manual 5105.21 and program-specific security guides, tracking gaps to closure.
  • Own audit readiness for Defense Intelligence Agency and Command Security Assessments, managing preparation, deficiency remediation, and closeout.
  • Manage the full lifecycle of DD Forms 254, including receiving, reviewing, processing, and distributing them.
  • Verify and monitor subcontractor and vendor facility clearance status in the National Industrial Security System, ensuring requirements flow down accurately before work begins.
  • Maintain an auditable register of every classified contract and its associated DD Form 254.
  • Support Insider Threat Program participation across Special Security Officer organizations, ensuring reportable information is shared and mandated procedures are followed.
  • Draft and maintain the command's Standard Practice Procedures and related Industrial Security standard operating procedures.
  • Oversee the accountability, control, transmittal, and destruction of classified material.
  • Build and run the industrial security Security Education, Training & Awareness program, including new employee indoctrinations, annual refreshers, derivative classification, and foreign travel/contact reporting.
  • Deliver mandatory briefings and debriefings on schedule.
  • Promote a security-first culture by translating National Industrial Security and Department of Defense Manual requirements into effective training.
  • Work with Program Security and Facility Security teams on shared classified material control standards across active contracts.
  • Partner with the Contracts team to keep DD Form 254 flow-down accurate as subcontractors are added to a program.
  • Coordinate with the People team on scheduling and content for Security Education, Training & Awareness training.
  • Drive the relationship with the U.S. Space Force Special Security Officer Combat Forces Command and Defense Intelligence Agency assessment teams on industrial security matters.
Desired Qualifications
  • Current Industrial Security Professional, Security Fundamentals Professional Certification, or Security Professional Education Development certification, or equivalent.
  • Direct, embedded experience supporting the U.S. Space Force or a similar Combatant Command Special Security Officer in an Industrial Security capacity.
  • A Bachelor's degree in Security Management, National Security, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Nooks offers a platform-as-a-service that enables government agencies and private defense/space firms to collaborate on classified projects. It accelerates tech adoption in national security by handling facility clearance sponsorship and personnel clearances, simplifying compliance and onboarding. The platform provides secure workflows and vendor-access controls, expanding options for vendors while managing the complexities of clearance processes. Its veteran-led team focuses on moving faster, reducing costs, and letting clients concentrate on their core work within the government–private sector ecosystem.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Series A

Total Funding

$32.7M

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2021

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • The June 9, 2025 $25M Series A funds expansion into Colorado Springs and Arlington.
  • Defense customers value faster classified access; Nooks' 2026 awards validate urgent market demand.
  • Updated July 2026 site activity and leadership changes suggest active scaling, not retrenchment.

What critics are saying

  • Federal contract dependence makes a WHS protest or award delay immediately painful in 2026.
  • Cisco, Microsoft, and incumbent SCIF landlords can undercut Nooks on security procurement and scale.
  • A missed clearance, facility-accreditation, or cybersecurity failure would destroy trust and stop revenue.

What makes Nooks unique

  • Nooks sells classified-infrastructure-as-a-service, not just software, with subscription access to secure workspaces.
  • Lockheed Martin, SAIC, and Zigg Capital backed the $25M Series A on June 9, 2025.
  • Nooks won MDA SHIELD IDIQ and a WHS SBIR Phase III contract in 2026.

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Benefits

Stock Options

Company Equity

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

8%

1 year growth

6%

2 year growth

0%
FinSMEs
Jun 9th, 2025
Nooks Closes $25M Series A Funding

Nooks, a Crystal City, VA-based classified-infrastructure-as-a-service (CIaaS) model company for workspaces, raised $25M in Series A funding.

Nooks
Jun 9th, 2025
Nooks Closes $25M Series A Funding Round with Unmatched Team of Industry Leaders

Nooks raises $25M Series A to expand its subscription-access classified workspaces. Backed by Zigg Capital, Upper90, SAIC, and Lockheed Martin, Nooks is redefining access to secure, flexible classified workspaces for government and defense.

MB News
Jun 9th, 2025
Nooks Raises $25M in Series A Funding

Nooks has closed a $25M Series A funding round, partnering with Zigg Capital, Upper90, SAIC, and Lockheed Martin. The funding will enhance Nooks' Classified-Infrastructure-as-a-Service (CIaaS) model, aiming to improve secure collaboration for government and industry. The investment will support Nooks' growth in key markets and its integration of advanced technologies, with a focus on transforming classified infrastructure access.

Forbes
Aug 3rd, 2023
Small Companies Can’T Access Classified Work Without A Secure Space To Work In

A modular SCIF facility designed by Maryland-based builder, Modular Genius. Modular GeniusIf your small defense business has desirable technology that the government considers classified, you’ll need a secure workspace before you can secure government work. It’s a Catch-22 that Congress wants to alleviate.The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act includes language from both the House and Senate meant to open up existing classified work-spaces to small businesses.Building or gaining access to a government-approved secure workspace is a costly burden that adds to the already thorny problems defense startups face in getting security clearances for their employees and in getting their companies as a whole “covered” or cleared to work on classified projects.Such hurdles curb or prevent innovative, potentially war-winning technologies and ideas from being embraced and applied by the Pentagon says Andrew “Scar” Van Timmeren, vice president of government solutions for Blue Force Technologies, a small North Carolina-based business which recently secured a contract to build prototype unmanned adversary training aircraft for the Air Force.A former USAF F-22 pilot, Van Timmeren has seen the problem surface repeatedly among the cohort of defense startups traveling in the same circles as Blue Force, shutting them out of potentially meaningful contracts and contributions to national security.“It’s remarkably easy for continued contracts to go to incumbents within the cleared [classified] space because of the time and effort it takes to increase the number of new businesses that have access to cleared [workspace].”Van Timmeren cites an example wherein defense program managers are evaluating candidates to perform radar cross section survivability analysis of an aircraft. There’s already a cleared company with its own approved secure workspace. Another new firm may want to enter into that mix. But for DoD, “the easy button is to just go to the incumbent which may not be a small business.”Setting up a secure workspace isn’t easy

Intelligence360 News
Jul 19th, 2022
San Francisco California based Nooks is raising $5,000,000.00 in New Equity Investment.

San Francisco, CA - According to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Nooks is raising $5,000,000.00 in new funding. Sources indicate as part of senior management Chief Executive Officer, Sean Blackman played a