Cyber Defense Analyst I: Grow in CMMC & Microsoft Security

Smiths Detection; Edgewood (MD); On-site; USD 76,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Smiths Detection in Maryland is seeking a Cyber Security Analyst I to join our growing team in a real DIB environment. You will learn CMMC and NIST 800-171 practices while gaining hands-on experience with the Microsoft security stack alongside a senior analyst.

This entry-level role focuses on security operations, vulnerability tracking, evidence management, documentation, and policy support as you develop toward RP/Security+/SC-200 within the first year.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Systems, IT, or related field OR equivalent combination of certifications, internship experience, and demonstrable hands-on skills.
• 0–2 years of professional experience. Internships, lab work, home-lab projects, IT help-desk time, and military IT experience are all considered.
• Familiarity with the Microsoft 365 admin center and eagerness to go deeper.
• Coursework, certifications, or lab work in NIST 800-171, CMMC, or the Risk Management Framework; Microsoft fundamentals certs are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Security Operations Support: Triage Defender alerts, monitor phishing results, review Entra ID risk events, and elevate anomalies to the senior analyst.
• Vulnerability Tracking: Pull weekly vulnerability reports, update tracker, and follow up with remediation owners.
• Documentation & Evidence: Maintain evidence folders for NIST 800-171 and CMMC; update procedures and checklists as systems change.
• Policy Support: Assist in drafting policies; own version control, review cycles, and distribution.
• Training & Awareness: Support phishing simulations and track annual security training completion.
• Tickets & Access Requests: Own security-ticket queue for access requests, exceptions, and security questions.
• Program Development: Shadow senior analyst on incident response, audits, and policy work; pursue RP/Security+/SC-200 within the first year.

Skills

Vulnerability tracking

Documentation & evidence

Ticketing systems

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

ServiceNow

Jira

SharePoint

Confluence

PowerShell

Job description

Smiths Detection in Maryland is seeking a Cyber Security Analyst I to join our growing team in a real DIB environment. You will learn CMMC and NIST 800-171 practices while gaining hands-on experience with the Microsoft security stack alongside a senior analyst.

This entry-level role focuses on security operations, vulnerability tracking, evidence management, documentation, and policy support as you develop toward RP/Security+/SC-200 within the first year.