Penetration Testing Engineer, Senior — Army; TS​/SCI

Location: Arlington, VA
Clearance Required: Active TS/SCI Clearance (U.S. Citizen)
Employment Type: Full-Time (W-2 or 1099)

About Praescient Analytics: Praescient Analytics is a mission-focused technology and analytics company dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that empower decision-makers across the defense, intelligence, and law enforcement communities. We integrate cutting-edge technologies, data-driven methodologies, and technical expertise to address complex operational challenges and enhance our clients’ capabilities.

Praescient Analytics is seeking a seasoned Senior Penetration Testing Engineer to join our team supporting Army programs. The ideal candidate will be an experienced offensive security practitioner with strong hands‑on technical skills in penetration testing, vulnerability management, and software/system assurance. This role requires creativity in attack development, excellent reporting skills, and the ability to collaborate with developers, system owners, and leadership to reduce risk across complex environments.

• Plan, develop, and execute comprehensive penetration tests against applications, services, hosts, and networks to identify security weaknesses and exploitability.
• Perform hands‑on offensive activities including reverse shells, SQL injection, buffer overflow analysis, trojan/backdoor development, password‑cracking, privilege escalation, and social‑engineering campaigns where authorized.
• Conduct threat and vulnerability assessments, risk analysis, and recommend pragmatic mitigation strategies.
• Develop attack vectors, perform reconnaissance, OSINT collection, enumeration, foot printing, and build exploit payloads/backdoors for testing purposes.
• Test system and software modifications to validate security posture prior to deployment.
• Document findings clearly and concisely in vulnerability reports and trackers; maintain databases of known defects and test artifacts.
• Participate in software design and architecture reviews to provide security input on requirements and operational characteristics.
• Integrate vulnerability management processes and tools into development/operational workflows; advise on secure coding and configuration baselines.
• Mentor junior testers and contribute to team best practices, playbooks, and test automation.
• Support red team / purple team engagements and collaborate with defensive teams to validate mitigations.

• Active TS/SCI clearance
  - Required
• GPEN (GIAC Penetration Tester)
  or OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional) —
  Required.
• Minimum 5+ years hands‑on experience in penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, or offensive security roles.
• Strong practical experience with common pentest tools and frameworks (e.g., Metasploit, Burp Suite, Nmap, Wireshark, Empire, Cobalt Strike, password‑cracking tools) and offensive distributions (Kali, Parrot).
• An IAT Level III certification (one of the following: CASP, CCNP, CISA, CISSP, or GCIH)
• Proven ability to develop and modify exploits, payloads, and backdoors; experience with reverse engineering and debugging.
• Solid programming/scripting skills (Python, Bash, Power Shell). Comfortable reading or writing C/C++/assembly when needed for exploit development or binary analysis.
• Deep understanding of web application vulnerabilities (OWASP Top 10), network protocols, authentication systems, and privilege escalation techniques.
• Experience with vulnerability management workflows and bug‑tracking systems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to produce high‑quality technical reports tailored to technical and non‑technical stakeholders.
• U.S. citizenship required.

• Experience with targeting cloud platforms (AWS, Azure) and containerized environments.
• Familiarity with CI/CD security, SAST/DAST tooling, and secure SDLC practices.
• Experience with red team operations, social engineering campaigns, or physical/technical assessment integration.
• Additional certifications: OSCE, CREST, CISSP, GWAPT, GPYC, or similar.
• Prior experience in or supporting Army / DoD programs and mission environments.

• Rea…