Principal Security Engineer – GRC Team Lead (Remote Eligible)

Smartsheet's GRC function is at an inflection point. As we scale our compliance programs across multiple frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, HIPAA, and emerging regulations), the manual work is becoming unsustainable. We need a technical GRC leader—someone who understands both compliance deeply and how to engineer solutions. As GRC Team Lead, you'll architect the technical foundation for how Smartsheet manages risk and compliance at scale. You'll design policy-as-code systems, build custom control frameworks aligned with our unique architecture, manage full audit cycles, and lead process improvements that make our GRC function a scalable engine. This is a principal-level role combining compliance expertise with technical execution. You'll be responsible for the strategy and delivery of GRC automation, evidence collection systems, audit readiness, risk management workflows, and technical control implementation. You'll work across security, engineering, and product teams to embed compliance into operations and reporting. This is an excellent opportunity to define how a world-class SaaS company approaches GRC in 2026 and beyond.

What You Will Do

• Own the end-to-end GRC strategy and roadmap: Lead the planning and prioritization of GRC initiatives that drive compliance maturity, reduce audit risk, and improve operational efficiency.
• Design and implement policy-as-code systems: Translate compliance frameworks (SOC 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, HIPAA) into enforceable code, leveraging Infrastructure-as-Code (Terraform, CloudFormation) and automated compliance validation.
• Build custom control frameworks: Design Smartsheet-specific Unified Control Frameworks (UCF) and Secure Control Frameworks (SCF) that map to our cloud architecture, multi-framework requirements, and organizational risk appetite.
• Lead full audit cycles: Manage preparation, execution, and resolution for SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, and other certification audits. Own evidence gathering, audit readiness tracking, and post-audit remediation.
• Architect GRC platform strategy: Evaluate, select, configure, and integrate GRC tooling (Vanta, Drata, or similar) with our cloud infrastructure, identity systems, ticketing systems, and CI/CD pipelines to enable continuous compliance monitoring.
• Design automated evidence collection and validation: Build data pipelines and integrations that automatically collect compliance evidence from AWS, application logs, identity systems, and operational tools; validate accuracy and reduce manual verification.
• Translate compliance requirements into technical implementations: Work with engineering and security teams to express policies and regulatory requirements in a way they can execute and monitor—breaking down silos between compliance and technical teams.
• Establish risk management and governance processes: Design and operate risk registers, control effectiveness assessments, continuous monitoring workflows, and escalation processes that provide leadership with real-time visibility into compliance posture.
• Build and lead the GRC team: Mentor and develop your team, establish technical and operational practices, define the playbooks for compliance execution, and create a culture of continuous improvement.

What You Have

• 10+ years of experience in GRC, compliance, security engineering, or related roles, with 5+ years in a technical or leadership capacity managing compliance programs at scale.
• A degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Cybersecurity or a related field or equivalent practical experience.
• Deep hands-on expertise in running full audit cycles across multiple frameworks, particularly SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and FedRAMP. You've managed evidence preparation, control testing, audit remediation, and continuous monitoring.
• Strong technical foundation in cloud architecture and compliance: Working knowledge of AWS/GCP/Azure, infrastructure-as-code (Terraform), CI/CD pipelines, identity and access management, encryption, and logging—sufficient to design control implementations and validate technical posture.
• Hands-on experience with GRC platform administration and customization (Vanta, Drata, ServiceNow GRC, or equivalent), including integration design and workflow automation.
• Proficiency in policy-as-code and compliance-as-code principles: Experience implementing automated controls, policy enforcement, and continuous compliance validation through code and configuration.
• Fluency in multiple compliance frameworks: Deep knowledge of SOC 2 Trust Service Criteria, ISO 27001 control objectives, NIST 800-53 (or 800-171 for government), and experience with HIPAA, GDPR, and industry-specific frameworks.
• Scripting and automation skills: Comfortable with Python, Bash, or similar for building integrations, data pipelines, and automated control validation.
• Excellent communication and program management: Ability to distill complex compliance concepts for both technical and business audiences, manage multi-workstream programs, and drive alignment across teams.
• Some federal/government sector experience is valuable but not required: Understanding of FedRAMP processes, government compliance nuances, and federal contractor requirements is a plus.
• US Person Status: Must be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. National to meet federal compliance requirements.

Nice to Have

• Professional certifications: CISSP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, GRCP, or AWS Certified Security – Specialty.
• Experience with AI governance frameworks (NIST AI RMF, ISO 42001) as emerging compliance requirements.
• Background in DevSecOps or security operations with hands-on CI/CD and Infrastructure-as-Code experience.
• Experience with SaaS-scale operations and rapid compliance scaling in high-growth environments.