Senior Director, Cybersecurity

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.

Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members.

What You’ll Do:

Archer is seeking a strategic cybersecurity leader to protect FAA-certified eVTOL systems and global supply chains. This role drives Archer’s enterprise cybersecurity strategy, achieving NIST CSF Adaptive/Resilient maturity. The Senior Director will oversee cybersecurity operations, including threat detection, vulnerability management, and incident response, reporting to the Chief Information Officer (CIO).

• Oversee security operations, including monitoring, vulnerability assessments, and incident response.
• Design and implement enterprise-wide cybersecurity solutions to safeguard critical infrastructure.
• Lead authentication modernization, access infrastructure, and security policy enhancement.
• Develop and enforce security policies in compliance with NIST, FAA, CMMC, and ISO 27001 standards.
• Implement AI-driven Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) and zero-trust architecture.
• Co-chair cross-functional working groups with Engineering (Avionics Security) and Legal (GDPR/CCPA compliance).
• Collaborate with FAA regulators, industry partners, and suppliers to enhance cybersecurity resilience.
• Establish cybersecurity training partnerships and workforce development programs.

Key outcomes

• Achieve NIST CSF Adaptive/Resilient certification.
• Implement 24/7 AI-driven threat detection and response (SOAR/SIEM).
• Ensure CMMC Level 3 compliance by Q4 2025 and eliminate TLS 1.3 non-compliance.
• Deploy supplier risk orchestration, achieving ISO 27001 compliance across 650+ vendors.
• Scale a world-class security team and embed security-by-design in R&D and engineering.

Additional Focus Areas

• Establish cyber-physical security measures to protect avionics systems, OT environments, and supply chain infrastructure.
• Implement cyber resilience testing to simulate attacks and enhance incident response preparedness.
• Develop and enforce cloud security frameworks to support hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
• Drive risk-based vulnerability management programs, ensuring timely remediation of critical threats.
• Create board-level cybersecurity reporting with key risk indicators (KRIs) and security performance metrics.
• Lead third-party security assessments to strengthen supplier and vendor cybersecurity compliance.

What You Need:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Security, or a related field.
• 10+ years of cybersecurity leadership in aerospace, defense, or regulated industries.
• Proven expertise in NIST CSF 4.0, avionics cybersecurity compliance (DO-326A, DO-355, RTCA), and FAA SFAR 2105G.
• Technical proficiency in cloud security, Zero Trust, AI-driven threat detection, and supply chain security.
• Strong leadership experience in fast-growing companies; CISSP, CISM, or ISO 27001 certification preferred.
• Experience with cryptographic security and next-generation frameworks (NIST 800-207).

Please note that this job description is intended to provide a general overview of the position and does not include an exhaustive list of responsibilities and qualifications

At Archer we aim to attract, retain, and motivate talent that possess the skills and leadership necessary to grow our business. We drive a pay-for-performance culture and reward performance that supports the Company’s business strategy. For this position we are targeting a base pay between $288,000 - $360,000. Actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Archer is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to job applicants with physical or mental disabilities, and those with sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants who may require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should provide their name and contact information to Archer’s People Team at people@archer.com. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Information collected and processed as part of any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Archer's Candidate Privacy Policy.

Archer is unable to provide work visa sponsorship for this position at the present time.

Archer is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. All aspects of employment are decided on the basis of merit, qualifications, and business needs. We do not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Archer Aviation does not engage with external recruiting agencies/individual recruiters with whom it does not have a prior written agreement. Archer reserves the right to make use of any unsolicited resumes that it receives and bears no responsibility for payment of any fees asserted from the use of unsolicited resumes. If you are a recruiting agency or individual recruiter wishing to do business with Archer, please reach out to People@archer.com. All employment processes are managed by the Archer People Team.