Chief Information Security Officer

CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER
THE POSITION IN A NUTSHELL

Sciens is seeking a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), who will be responsible for establishing and operating a right-sized, risk-based cybersecurity program that protects the company, supports growth initiatives, and aligns with value-creation objectives. This role balances hands-on execution with strategic oversight, ensuring security enables business performance and mergers & acquisitions (M&A) activity.

The key objectives of the role will be to:

- Reduce cyber risk that could impact valuation

- Establish repeatable, scalable security controls across the company

- Support due diligence, integrations, and audits

- Build a roadmap that will improve cyber maturity without enterprise-level cost or complexity

- Provide clear, board-level visibility into risk posture

- Deliver measurable reduction in critical vulnerabilities and incident risk

- Perform successful audits and customer security assessments

- Improve/reduce cyber insurance terms and premiums

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING (and doing well!)
1. Security Strategy & Governance

- Develop and maintain a pragmatic cybersecurity strategy and roadmap aligned to business objectives

- Define security policies, standards, and procedures appropriate for a fast growing SMB environment

- Establish cybersecurity governance, risk appetite, and reporting mechanisms

- Present cyber risk updates to executive leadership and private equity (PE) stakeholders in plain business terms

2. Risk Management & Compliance

- Identify, assess, and prioritize cyber risks using a risk-based approach

- Oversee vulnerability management, penetration testing, and remediation efforts

- Lead compliance initiatives, such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST, CMMC, HIPAA, PCI-DSS

- Ensure third-party and vendor risk management processes are in place

3. Incident Response & Resilience

- Own the incident response plan, tabletop exercises, and breach readiness

- Lead response to security incidents, ransomware events, or data breaches

- Coordinate with legal, insurance, forensics, and external advisors as needed

- Oversee backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning

4. Technology & Operations

- Oversee core security tooling (IAM, endpoint security, SIEM/MDR, email security, cloud security)

- Ensure secure configuration of cloud, SaaS, and on-prem environments

- Partner closely with IT and operations teams to embed security into operations

- Make cost-effective build vs. buy decisions

5. M&A Support

- Support cybersecurity due diligence for acquisitions

- Assess security posture of acquisition targets and provide risk summaries

- Lead or advise on post-acquisition security integration and remediation

- Align security maturity with PE exit strategy (strategic buyer or IPO readiness)

6. Culture & Awareness

- Build a security-aware culture through training and phishing simulations

- Act as a business-friendly security advisor

- Educate leadership on cyber risk, insurance implications, and regulatory exposure

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT YOU

- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent work experience).

- 10+ years in information security, IT risk, or cybersecurity leadership

- Experience in SMB, PE-backed, or high-growth environments

- Strong working knowledge of:
- Cloud security (AWS, Azure, GCP, SaaS)

- Identity & access management

- Endpoint and network security

- Incident response and ransomware defense

- Proven ability to communicate cyber risk to non-technical executives and investors

- Experience with at least one recognized security framework (NIST, ISO, CIS)

- Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.

- Strong communication and interpersonal abilities.

- Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

- Prior experience supporting private equity portfolios or M&A

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