Principal Cybersecurity Architect

Lead secure enterprise and cloud architecture work for government customers, with a focus on zero trust, AI/ML, and modern networking.

• Location: McLean, VA (Onsite)
• Salary: USD 172,800 - 259,200 per year (range shown as $172,800 - $216,000 - $259,200)
• Experience: Typically 10+ years (or education-adjusted equivalent)
• Education: Bachelor’s degree
• On-site requirement: Minimum 3 days/week onsite
• Clearance: Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Top Secret U.S. Government issued Security Clearance (U.S. Citizen required)

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver innovative, secure architectures, solutions, and strategies for enterprise IT and cloud environments serving government customers
• Partner with senior government officials by providing technical and strategic guidance to address cyber challenges identified by the government
• Apply expertise in network architectures, security technologies, zero trust, and cyber threats to help customers protect, detect, and respond to attacks targeting their systems
• Use vision and subject matter expertise to advance state-of-the-art approaches using AI/ML and zero trust to strengthen government system security posture

Requirements

• Typically requires a minimum of 10 years experience with a Bachelor’s degree; alternatively 8 years with a Master’s degree, or 5 years with a PhD, or an equivalent combination of related education and work experience
• Advanced ability to architect secure enterprise-level solutions and apply zero trust principles to complex systems
• Expertise applying security controls and best practices across: network security, identity and access management, application security, data protection, and endpoint security
• Knowledge of security logging, telemetry, analytics, and orchestration technologies and how to apply them within enterprise security architectures and zero trust
• Experience creating security reference architectures, standards, and design patterns for enterprise use
• Familiarity with emerging security technologies and patterns
• Strong knowledge of common attack techniques and threat landscapes
• Experience with cybersecurity technologies and tools, trends, and emerging capabilities
• Ability to lead and collaborate with others to solve challenging technical problems
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including communicating effectively with government senior executives
• Top Secret clearance eligibility: must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Top Secret U.S. Government issued Security Clearance; must be a U.S. Citizen
• Onsite: minimum 3 days/week

Technologies

• Cloud computing
• Zero trust architecture
• AI/ML
• Network architectures
• Security technologies
• Security logging
• Telemetry, analytics, orchestration technologies
• Identity and access management
• Application security
• Data protection
• Endpoint security
• SIEM
• Security data lakes
• NIST RMF
• NIST CSF
• DoD 8500
• CNSSI Instructions
• Cybersecurity Executive Orders
• NIST SP 800 Series
• NISPOM

Preferred Qualifications

• U.S. Government security clearance
• Relevant professional certifications
• Understanding of security architecture frameworks and methodologies
• Experience conducting or consuming threat modeling and translating results into design requirements
• Experience with U.S. Government policy guidance, including: NIST RMF, NIST CSF, DoD 8500, CNSSI Instructions, Cybersecurity Executive Orders, NIST SP 800 Series instructions, and NISPOM
• Experience implementing or managing security incident and event management (SIEM) tools and security data lakes