Senior Cyber Security Engineer

With a wide array of necessities ranging from food and feed to farm and home products, Rural King serves over 130 locations across 13 states and is constantly expanding. Our annual sales exceed $2.5 Billion, and our heart beats in Mattoon, IL, home to our corporate office, distribution center, and flagship store.

One thing our customers appreciate is our unique shopping experience, complete with complimentary popcorn and coffee. It's just one way we show our appreciation for their support.

At Rural King, we value our associates and strive to create a positive, rewarding workplace. We offer growth opportunities, competitive benefits, and a people-first environment where dedicated individuals come together to serve rural communities passionately. Join us, and you'll find not just a job but a chance to grow professionally, contribute meaningfully, and make a difference in the lives of those we serve.

How we reward you

401(k) plan that provides a 100% match on the first 3% of your contributions and 50% of the next 2%

Healthcare plans to support your needs

Virtual doctor visits

Access to Centers of Excellence with Barnes Jewish Hospital and Mayo Clinic’s Complex Care Program

15% Associate Discount

Dave Ramsey’s SmartDollar Program

Associate Assistance Program

RK Cares Associate Hardship Program

24/7 Chaplaincy Services

Company paid YMCA Family Membership

What You’ll Do

As the Senior Cyber Security Engineer, you’ll drive vision and direction for Rural King’s security posture while supervising a small team of Security Analysts. You’ll architect and operate a Cisco-centered security stack, champion Zero Trust principles, mature identity as the new perimeter, and drive continuous improvement through automation and measurable risk reduction. You’ll partner across infrastructure, applications, and business stakeholders to communicate risk clearly and deliver pragmatic, timely risk mitigation.

• Coach, prioritize work, set goals, and create growth paths for a small team of Security Analysts; define on-call and incident roles.
• Design/operate Cisco Secure Firewall (Firepower/FMC), ISE (802.1X/NAC), Duo MFA, Umbrella (DNS-layer/SIG), Secure Client/AnyConnect, and email security solutions.
• Design policy, segmentation, and monitoring across HQ, DCs, and stores.
• Design and implement a Zero-Trust Architecture (ZTA), including least privilege, continuous verification, strong device and user trust signals, and micro-segmentation.
• Assist in guiding enterprise IAM with Entra ID/Azure AD; govern SSO/MFA (DUO), SCIM lifecycle, RBAC, privileged access.
• Support external partners for MDS/SIEM, coordinate red/blue activities, and run incident response end-to-end.
• Own vulnerability intake, risk scoring, SLAs, and remediation tracking.
• Support PCI and other retail/security obligations; maintain policies/standards, evidence, and control testing; partner with Internal Audit and external assessors.
• Drive patching, endpoint/server hardening, secure configs (CIS/NIST), EDR, and tabletop exercises.
• Deliver clear, audience-appropriate updates to executives and cross-functional teams; publish playbooks, runbooks, and metrics dashboards that show risk reduction and program maturity.
• Use discretion and independent judgment in daily decisions while maintaining high confidentiality and professionalism.
• Actively participate in learning initiatives such as training programs, workshops, and webinars. Leverage these opportunities to acquire new knowledge, refine existing skills, and stay current on the latest developments.
• Provide friendly, proactive, and professional internal and external support to others, assisting with inquiries, concerns, and issues promptly and effectively.
• Demonstrate behaviors that exemplify Rural King’s Values: People First, Integrity, Attitude, Initiative, Teamwork, Accountability, and Continuous Improvement.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Yes

Essential Qualities for Success

• 10+ years of hands-on cybersecurity/IT security engineering, plus 2+ years leading or supervising security teams.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (or equivalent experience).
• CISSP, CISM, CCNP Security, and Cisco ISE/Duo/Umbrella certifications preferred.
• Demonstrated Zero Trust design and implementation across identity, device, network, and application layers.
• Working knowledge of NIST CSF/800-53, CIS Controls, and PCI DSS; risk assessment and control design experience.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite.
• Comfortable navigating computer systems and software to assist customers or manage activities.
• Excellent verbal and written interpersonal and communication skills

Physical Requirements

• Ability to maintain a seated or standing position for extended durations.
• Prolonged periods working at a computer.
• Occasional travel to stores/DCs as needed for deployments, audits, or incidents.
• Capability to lift 15 pounds periodically.
• Ability to navigate and access all facilities.
• Close vision for computer-related activities.