ISSO Specialist

ISSO Specialist

Clearance Level: TS clearance with SCI eligibility required. Must be US Citizen. Must be within 100 miles from Lexington, Massachusetts.

Aquila Technology is seeking an ISSO Specialist to support a premier defense research organization.

• Assist and support required compliance activities (e.g., ensure system security configuration guidelines are followed and compliance monitoring occurs).
• Continuously validate the organization against policies, guidelines, procedures, regulations, and laws to ensure compliance.
• Ensure plans of action and milestones or remediation plans are in place for vulnerabilities identified during risk assessments, audits, inspections, etc.
• Promote awareness of security issues among management and ensure sound security principles are reflected in the organization’s vision and goals.
• Track audit findings and recommendations to ensure appropriate mitigation actions are taken.
• Recommend resource allocations required to securely operate and maintain an organization’s cybersecurity requirements.
• Provide technical documents, incident reports, findings from computer examinations, summaries, and other situational awareness information to key stakeholders. Recognize a possible security violation and take appropriate action to report the incident, as required.
• Assist Program Managers and the ISSM in developing and maintaining System Security Plans (SSP) and associated artifacts such as the Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M), Risk Assessment Report, and Continuous Monitoring Strategy.
• Ensure systems are operated, maintained, and disposed of in accordance with organization security policies and procedures.
• Conduct network, system, and application vulnerability scanning, configuration assessment, and remediation.
• Lead and align IT security priorities with the security strategy.
• Prepare for and participate in periodic organization compliance assessments. Interpret patterns of noncompliance to determine their impact on levels of risk and overall effectiveness of the enterprise’s cybersecurity program.

• Current DoD 8570 IAT Level II Certification (GSEC, Security+ CE, SSCP, CCNA‑Security)
• 4 years – System Auditing
• 4 years – Regulatory & Compliance
• 4 years – Government Policy/Regulations
• 4 years – STIGs/SCAP
• 4 years – Assessing Security Controls (CS105.16)
• 4 years – Assessment and Authorization
• 4 years – Authorizing Systems (CS106.16)
• 4 years – Categorization of the System (CS102.16)
• 4 years – Continuous Monitoring (CS200.16)
• 4 years – Implementation of Controls (CS104.16)
• 4 years – Monitoring Security Controls (CS107.16)
• 4 years – NIST 800‑53
• 4 years – NIST SP 800‑37
• 4 years – Risk Management Framework (RMF)
• 4 years – Selecting Security Controls (CS103.16)

• Security Plus is the minimum 8570 certification requirement.
• HBSS
• NIST 800‑171

• BS degree is preferred but not required

Aquila team members experience a fast‑paced, customer‑focused, technically innovative work environment.

• PTO – 15 days (vacation/sick) – 10 paid holidays – 6 standard (New Year’s, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) – 4 floating holidays prorated based on your day of hire
• 1.5 paid days, or 12 hours, for approved volunteer work
• 1 week of paid maternity/paternity LOA after 1 year of Full‑time employment
• Tuition & Training Reimbursement – 5K annually for pre‑approved, job‑related tuition, certification, or professional conferences
• 401K with Fidelity 100% immediate vesting;
  Plan eligibility begins 90 days following the date of hire. Aquila matches 50 cents on the dollar, up to 6%.
• Cell Phone & Internet Reimbursed up to $150 monthly to cover cell phone, data, and home internet expenses.
• Buy Your Own Device (BYOD) Allowance Reimbursed up to $1500 for the purchase of a qualified technology device. Eligible after 90 days of employment, and benefit renews every three years.

Lexington, MA. 100% onsite. 5 days/wk onsite.

Flexible, occasional off‑hours, weekend work, on‑call rotation, overtime as needed.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.