Senior Cyber Systems Engineer

Department: Engineering

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: San Diego, CA

Compensation: $164,000 - $328,000 / year

Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT), a leading defense technology company, is seeking a Senior Cyber System Engineer to be part of our Integrated Mission Systems (IMS) team and based out of our San Diego, CA location.

This Senior Cyber Systems Engineer will lead and support cybersecurity accreditation activities for mission-critical Department of War systems, including Authority to Operate (ATO) efforts, Risk Management Framework (RMF) implementation, vulnerability management, continuous monitoring through the Navy and DoW’s DEVSECOPS deployment pipelines, and security engineering activities supporting U.S. Navy programs. Duties will also include providing and maintaining documentation for processes and procedures, while also providing support to internal engineers or customers on-site.

• All applicants must be able to obtain/maintain an active Secret U.S. Security Clearance.
• This is an on-site position. Requiring at least 4 days in office, based out of our San Diego, CA location and nearby government facilities.

• Help design and implement secure, high-performance architectures for autonomous systems, AI-driven platforms, and edge-computing devices.
• Embed automated security gates (SAST, DAST, IAST, SRM) into CI/CD pipelines to ensure that security is "code-driven" rather than a manual bottleneck.
• Lead the transition from static RMF cycles to Continuous Authority to Operate (cATO) by automating control verification and continuous monitoring.
• Architect secure multi-tenant environments using advanced virtualization (Type-1 Hypervisors) and container orchestration (Kubernetes) tailored for IL5/IL6 mission sets.
• Engineer Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) solutions that enforce Zero Trust principles across distributed hardware and software nodes.
• Lead RMF efforts across all six RMF steps including Categorization, Control Selection, Control Implementation, Assessment, Authorization, and Continuous Monitoring.
• Develop and maintain RMF artifacts including SSPs, SARs, SAPs, POA&Ms, inventories, architecture diagrams, and continuous monitoring documentation.
• Coordinate directly with U.S. Navy Authorizing Officials (AOs), Security Control Assessors (SCAs), ISSMs, ISSOs, and Program Managers. Performing regular server updates, patch management, and software installations.
• Manage cybersecurity authorization packages and support ATO, IATT, and IATO activities.
• As needed, performing ACAS Scans on various devices across multiple systems
• Collect, review, and submit various STIG checklists for RMF processes
• Develop and maintain access control policies for various organization assets
• Remediate Vulnerabilities and documenting POAMs as required.
• Work with developers and engineers to implement, maintain, and review security processes to maintain compliance and ensure user permissions are accordingly
• Help develop and maintain various golden images in support of business area activities to include operating system images and virtual machines.
• Creating and maintaining detailed documentation of systems and networks for usage by both technical and non-technical stake holders
• Manage local area IDT network infrastructure per awarded contracts and network expansion efforts to support project needs. Serve as Information Systems Security Manager (ISSM) for product ATOs and, as required, IDT infrastructure networks and supported products in coordination with IDT’s CIO. As required, serve as principle on-site representative to Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) and other government…