Cyberspace Concept Developer & Validator

CYBERSPACE CONCEPT DEVELOPER & VALIDATOR

Norfolk, United States | Posted on 02/18/2026

Sandy Mac Evolution LLC is a Veteran-Owned company dedicated to connecting top talent with meaningful opportunities.

CYBERSPACE CONCEPT DEVELOPER & VALIDATOR

Location:

Norfolk, VA

Compensation: $48 – $72 per hour (1099 Independent Contractor)

Clearance Requirement: ACTIVE DoD SECRET (or higher) required at time of submission. Candidate will be read on to NATO SECRET if selected.

IMPORTANT:
This is a 1099 independent contractor position. No benefits are provided.

We are seeking a senior-level Cyberspace Concept Developer & Validator to support military cyberspace capability development efforts in Norfolk, VA. This role focuses on the authoring, development, engineering, and validation of cyberspace operational concepts in support of NATO operational requirements.

This is not a traditional Dev Sec Ops  or IT operations role. This position requires hands‑on authorship of cyberspace concepts, architectures, and engineering artefacts within a military context.

• Identify cyberspace operational capability concepts based on NATO operational needs, literature reviews, and strategic guidance
• Develop and author full lifecycle cyberspace capability concepts including research, stakeholder input collection, drafting, submission, and approval
• Produce engineering artefacts supporting capability development, including:
  • Capability requirements definition (across DOTMLPFI domains)
  • Information Exchange Requirements (IERs)
  • Analysis of Alternatives (AoA)
  • Operational evaluation and validation documentation
• Build and maintain Communities of Interest across NATO organizations, nations, industry, and academia
• Contribute to experimentation and validation efforts, including feasibility analysis, experiment design, preparation, and assessment
• Support broader warfare development initiatives related to concept implementation and engineering
• Participate in meetings, workshops, and conferences within NATO boundaries (travel up to approximately 20 days per year)

• Education:
  • Master’s degree in Engineering, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
  • OR Bachelor’s degree plus a minimum of five (5) years of recent experience in systems engineering, capability concept development, and implementation in a military context
• Certifications:
  • Professional cybersecurity certification such as CISSP, CISM, GIAC Security Expert (GSE), or equivalent post‑degree cyber defense credential
• Experience:
  • Recent (minimum three engagements within the last five years) hands‑on experience authoring cyberspace concepts, specifications, architectures, functional analyses, and designs in military cyber environments
  • Experience must be direct authorship. Oversight or management‑only roles will not qualify.
  • Hands‑on architecture development experience using NATO Architectural Framework (NAF) or comparable frameworks such as TOGAF
  • Experience in planning, coordinating, and executing technical workshops involving governmental agencies, academia, and industry stakeholders
  • Experience supporting military capability development across engineering domains such as:
    • Operational and Tactical Command & Control (C2)
    • Cyberspace Situational Awareness (CySA)
    • Operational and Tactical Planning
    • Cyberspace Command & Control (CyC2)
  • Participation (5+ years within the last 7 years) in large (20+ personnel) program teams supporting military cyberspace capability development in roles such as:
    • Military software development contributor
    • Community of interest lead
    • Planning and coordination of multinational events
• Language:
  High proficiency in English (professional working level)

• Hourly Rate: $48 – $72/hour (commensurate with experience and qualifications)