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Associate Cybersecurity Specialist

Research Triangle Park, NC

Vulcan Elements is manufacturing American rare-earth permanent magnets for a secure, resilient future. With a focus on national security and economic resiliency, we serve critical industries such as defense, aerospace, and automotive powering a high-technology future. Vulcan Elements is building a team of ambitious professionals committed to Mission Focus, Technical Excellence and Transparency. 

As an Associate Cybersecurity Specialist, you will support the security and compliance posture of our converged OT and IT environments. You will work alongside our external CMMC compliance partner to learn and implement NIST 800-171 controls, assist in maintaining security documentation, and develop hands-on experience across both our manufacturing and business systems. We are looking for someone hungry to learn, detail-oriented, and genuinely interested in the intersection of industrial and IT security. 

Responsibilities 

  • Support the maintenance and continuous improvement of NIST 800-171 controls across IT and OT environments working alongside our external CMMC compliance partner. Assist in tracking the Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) and help drive closure of open items. 
  • Assist in keeping the System Security Plan (SSP) current and accurate. Learn to map controls to actual systems, configurations, and personnel as you develop familiarity with the environment. 
  • Assist in identifying and documenting security risks across IT and OT systems. Learn to apply risk-based prioritization that accounts for OT safety constraints and production impact. 
  • Support implementation and monitoring security controls across IT infrastructure and OT environments including MES, historians, and network boundary devices. 
  • Monitor security events across IT and OT environments. Investigate alerts under guidance, assist in incident response efforts, and document findings. 
  • Assist with vulnerability scanning across IT systems and help coordinate safe assessment approaches for OT assets. Track remediation items with system owners. 
  • Support delivery of security awareness training. Help ensure personnel with CUI access understand their responsibilities under CMMC policy. 
  • Support third-party CMMC assessments and internal audits. Assist in gathering and organizing evidence of control implementation. 

Responsibilities and tasks outlined are not exhaustive and may change as determined by the needs of the business. 

Qualifications 

  • 2+ years in an IT, cybersecurity, or related technical role. Internship or lab experience considered. Manufacturing or industrial exposure is a plus but not required. 
  • Foundational understanding of cybersecurity concepts including access control, network security, logging, and incident response. Formal coursework, self-study, or hands-on lab experience accepted. 
  • Basic awareness of NIST 800-171 or CMMC framework. You do not need to have implemented controls, but you should know what they are and why they matter. 
  • Curiosity about how OT and IT systems work together. Willingness to learn ICS/SCADA concepts, industrial protocols, and the safety-first mindset required in a manufacturing environment. 
  • Comfortable working in Windows environments. Familiarity with Active Directory, networking basics, and security tooling (SIEM, endpoint protection, vulnerability scanners) a plus. 
  • Strong attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate documentation. Security compliance lives and dies on good records. 
  • Prior exposure to DoD, federal contracting, or CUI handling environments a plus. 
  • Ability to work in a manufacturing environment. Occasional physical work in production or server areas may be required. 
  • CompTIA Security+ required within 6 months of hire if not already held. CCP (Certified CMMC Professional) supported and expected within 12-18 months. 

Must be a U.S. Person due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information or facilities. 

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