Cybersecurity Engineer – Cyber Defense Operations (ISSE)

Description

All hired employees are expected to have experience with Microsoft Copilot or an approved equivalent AI tool.

The company, a contractor, needs a TS/SCI-cleared cybersecurity engineer to help keep enterprise systems in a secure DoD environment secure, compliant, and accredited. The role supports cyber readiness, Risk Management Framework (RMF) work, and protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of mission-critical systems.

You will work with both technical and compliance teams on vulnerability fixes, control implementation, RMF documentation, and keeping authorizations current. The role suits people with a solid grounding in DoD cybersecurity operations.

The job is onsite at the National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) in Charlottesville, VA. Candidates who are willing to relocate to the Charlottesville area are encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

• Act as the hands-on technical authority for cybersecurity, solving hard security problems across DoD systems, applications, networks, and enterprise environments.
• Advise architects, system owners, engineers, administrators, and other cybersecurity staff on security requirements, system design, technical risk, and secure builds.
• Review system architectures, configurations, technologies, and proposed solutions to find vulnerabilities and risks, and recommend mitigations.
• Run vulnerability assessments and remediation with ACAS, Tenable/Nessus, SIEM, and other security tools.
• Apply, validate, and troubleshoot DISA STIGs, SCAP benchmarks, security controls, configuration baselines, and system hardening requirements.
• Support incident response, Continuous Monitoring (ConMon), vulnerability management, and ongoing checks of system security posture.
• Implement and validate controls across operating systems, applications, networks, endpoints, and enterprise infrastructure.
• Look for ways to automate security assessments, vulnerability management, configuration checks, control testing, and other security processes.
• Assess emerging technologies, modernization work, and architecture changes for cybersecurity requirements, technical risk, and secure implementation approaches.
• Provide engineering guidance for Zero Trust, ICAM, cloud, DevSecOps, data-centric security, software supply chain security, security automation, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives.
• Provide technical support for RMF, ATO, and continuous authorization, including SSPs, POA&Ms, eMASS, security controls, risk assessments, and technical evidence.
• Explain cyber risks, technical findings, remediation plans, and security posture to technical teams, system owners, mission stakeholders, and leadership.
• Hold a BS in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field. Experience may be substituted for the degree.
• Hold TS/SCI clearance and DoD 8140 (8570) IAT Level II certification.

Requirements

• At least 4 years of hands-on cybersecurity engineering experience, preferably in DoD or Intelligence Community environments.
• Solid understanding of cybersecurity engineering principles and DoD requirements, and the ability to turn them into practical technical solutions.
• Experience reviewing system architectures and implementations and advising architects, engineers, administrators, and system owners on security.
• Hands-on work with vulnerability management, system hardening, DISA STIGs, SCAP, ACAS, Tenable/Nessus, and fixing technical findings.
• Strong working knowledge of Windows and Linux, networking, authentication, access control, and enterprise security technologies.
• Experience implementing, assessing, and validating security controls across systems, applications, networks, and enterprise environments.
• Practical knowledge of RMF, Continuous Monitoring, NIST SP 800-53, eMASS, POA&Ms, SSPs, and ATO processes.
• Able to work through complex security problems on your own, build workable technical solutions, and explain risks and recommendations clearly to technical teams and leadership.
• Preferred: CISSP, CGRC/CAP, CISM, CASP+/SecurityX, CySA+, CEH, or another relevant advanced cybersecurity certification.
• Preferred: experience with SIEM, endpoint security, IDS/IPS, firewalls, incident response, or defensive cyber operations.
• Preferred: experience with Zero Trust, ICAM, cloud security, DevSecOps, data-centric security, continuous authorization, or software supply chain security.
• Preferred: experience evaluating AI/ML technologies and advising on their secure integration into enterprise environments.
• Preferred: experience with PowerShell, Python, Ansible, APIs, or other scripting and security automation tools.
• Preferred: experience building cybersecurity requirements into system architecture, modernization, emerging technologies, and technology refresh work.

Conditions

Onsite at NGIC in Charlottesville, VA.

Relocation to the Charlottesville area is welcome.

Pay range: $140,000 - $170,000 USD. This is a good-faith estimate; actual pay depends on qualifications, experience, skills, and other job-related factors.