Information Systems Security Engineer; ISSE); TS​/SCI Poly R

Information Systems Security Engineer (ISSE)

GCI embodies excellence, integrity and professionalism. The employees supporting our customers deliver unique, high-value mission solutions while effectively leverage the technological expertise of our valued workforce to meet critical mission requirements in the areas of Data Analytics and Software Development, Engineering, Targeting and Analysis, Operations, Training, and Cyber Operations. We maximize opportunities for success by building and maintaining trusted and reliable partnerships with our customers and industry.

At GCI, we solve the hard problems.

As an Information Systems Security Engineer (ISSE), a typical day will include the following duties:

We are seeking a hands-on Cyber Security Engineer at the Subject Matter Expert (SME) level to lead and execute security engineering activities across complex, enterprise-scale environments. This role requires deep technical expertise across infrastructure, platforms, and applications, combined with expert-level, hands-on experience implementing the NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF) within federal government environments. The ideal candidate is a technical practitioner, not just an advisor-someone who can design, implement, assess, and secure systems end-to-end while directly supporting system authorization, continuous monitoring, and risk-based decision-making.

This role also serves as the technical focal point for all security incidents, leading triage, investigation, and resolution efforts in coordination with program and enterprise security teams.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, IT, or other related technical discipline; or the equivalent combination of education, technical training, or work/military experience
• Minimum ten (10) years applied experience or relevant degree plus five (5) years of Cybersecurity expertise with demonstrated ability to successfully shepherd IT projects of varying types through the authorization lifecycle

Required Knowledge/

Skills:

• Expert-level experience with NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF) in federal government environments.
• Strong knowledge of:
• NIST SP 800-53
• NIST SP 800-37
• NIST SP 800-30
• Direct involvement in ATO packages, control implementation, and assessments.
• Hands-on experience with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms (e.g., Splunk, ELK Stack, Arc Sight, Qradar).
• Demonstrated experience in security incident detection, analysis, and response.
• Proven ability to triage security alerts and determine criticality and impact.

Infrastructure & Platforms (Hands-On):

• Networking (e.g., routing, switching, firewalls, load balancers, network security controls)
• Operating Systems:
• Windows Server
• Linux (RHEL, CentOS)
• Virtualization and storage platforms
• Databases (SQL and/or No
  
  SQL)
• Data Platforms (e.g., HPCC, Hadoop/Cloudera)
• Web services, APIs, and application architectures
• Software development environments and CI/CD pipelines
• Security tooling (e.g., vulnerability scanners, endpoint protection, SIEM)

Engineering

Experience:

• Security engineering and system hardening
• Vulnerability discovery and remediation
• Secure system design and architecture reviews
• Technical documentation supporting RMF compliance
• Experience in cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP, CI) within federal RMF contexts
• Experience with Dev Sec Ops  practices

Desired

Skills:

• Hands-on experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Hands-on experience with infrastructure-as-code
• Knowledge of federal overlays (e.g., DoD, FISMA High/Moderate)
• Relevant certifications (preferred, not required):
• CISSP
• CAP
• CISM
• Security+
• Cloud Security
• Certified Ethical Hacker
• Experience with guiding and directing junior engineers and information systems security officer (ISSO)
• Experience with security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) platforms
• Background in threat hunting and proactive security monitoring
• Relevant incident response certifications

Ideal Candidate Profile:

• Proven hands-on Cyber Security Engineer SME, not policy-only or audit-only
• Comfortable working across network, system, platform, and application layers
• Deep understanding of how security controls are actually implemented and…