Senior Cybersecurity Engineer Security Clearance

Position: Senior Cybersecurity Engineer with Security Clearance
Job Title:

Senior Cybersecurity Engineer
Type of Employment:
Full Time + benefits

Location:

McLean, VA (Onsite)
Clearance:
Active Top Secret Job Overview:
We are seeking a highly skilled Cybersecurity Engineer (CSE) with extensive experience in air-gapped and classified container platforms, CI/CD pipelines, security automation, and federal cybersecurity requirements. The ideal candidate will possess hands-on expertise in Kubernetes, Open Shift, registry management, security test automation, and the implementation of cybersecurity controls in compliance with federal standards like NIST 800-53, DISA STIGs, and RMF/ATO workflows.

Required Clearance
• Top Secret minimum Required Skills
• 12 years of experience and a Masters degree. Degree can be substituted for 6 additional years of applicable experience
• IAT/IAM Level 3 Certification in compliance with DoD 8570/8140 guidelines
• Extensive experience working with Kubernetes, Open Shift, RKE2, and container registry management in air-gapped and classified environments.
• Deep understanding of CI/CD pipeline architectures, especially in disconnected networks.
• Expertise in federal cybersecurity frameworks, such as NIST 800-53, DISA STIGs, RMF, and ATO processes.
• Familiarity with security testing tools (SAST, DAST, IAST, IaC) and automated compliance validation.
• Proven track record of enforcing Zero Trust principles, PKI management, and network segmentation in a classified environment.
• Strong ability to map pipeline artifacts to RMF/ATO controls and support security operations during incidents.
• Extensive experience in cybersecurity design and architecture. Required Work Experience
A) Air-Gapped / Classified Container Platforms (Kubernetes/Open Shift/RKE2)
• Designing a Disconnected Cluster
• Design and manage a multi-container Open Shift hosted platform in an air-gapped enclave.
• Expertise in cross-domain CI/CD, blue-green testing, and platform deployment within disconnected environments.
• Familiar with image/helm/chart mirroring, FIPS 140 validated crypto, OS hardening (e.g., Alpine), and SELinux enforcing.
• Registry and Artifact Governance
• Maintain and govern a disconnected container registry, ensuring content sources, image signing, SBOMs, and vulnerability gating.
• Familiarity with tools such as Cosign, Syft, Grype, Trivy, OCI level attestations, and curated repository promotions.
• Admission Control & Policy Enforcement
• Enforce security baselines and policies without internet dependencies using tools like OPA Gatekeeper, Kyverno, and image provenance verification.
• Cluster Multi-Tenancy in SCIFs
• Implement RBAC, namespace isolation, and mTLS for mixed-sensitivity workloads within a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility).
• Patching and CVE Response Offline
• Manage critical Kubernetes CVEs in air-gapped enclaves through risk triage, change windows, and mirrored updates.

B) CI/CD & Security Test Automation (Disconnected)
• Pipeline Architecture for Classified Enclaves
• Design CI/CD pipelines to build, test, sign, scan, and promote containers across Dev ? Test ? Prod in closed networks.
• Familiarity with Git Lab/Jenkins runners, artifact promotion, and “compliance as code” practices.
• Automated Security Testing Coverage
• Implement automated tests for SAST, DAST, IAST, SCA, and IaC scanning within CI/CD pipelines.
• Ensure pipeline failures persist if discrepancies are detected.
• Evidence Generation for RMF
• Generate RMF/ATO evidence via automated pipeline outputs, mapping artifacts to NIST controls.
• Knowledge of OSCAL output, control mappings, and integration with evidence stores like eMASS.
• Promotion Gates & Provenance
• Ensure artifacts meet quality and security criteria (e.g., reproducible builds, signed/provenanced artifacts, passing STIG checks) before promotion to higher environments.
• Testing for Platform + App Security Regressions
• Implement tests for platform upgrade regressions using tools like kube-bench, kube-hunter, and e2e integration suites.

C) Federal Cybersecurity Requirements (RMF/ATO, STIGs, CNSS, FedRAMP)
• RMF Tailoring in Containerized Systems
• Tailor NIST 800-53 controls for…