Cybersecurity Engineer – Operational Technology (OT)

Swoon; Pottstown (Montgomery County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Swoon in the United States is seeking a hands-on Cybersecurity Engineer to join our OT security team, focusing on defensive infrastructure for critical plant systems. You’ll design, build, test, and maintain cyber defenses in a highly regulated environment.

The ideal candidate brings strong Cisco firewall administration, Splunk monitoring, and change-management experience, with a focus on meticulous documentation and plant-system reliability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field and 5+ years of cybersecurity/OT experience.
• Hands-on Cisco firewall administration and Splunk engineering experience.
• Experience in regulated, mission-critical OT environments with change control.
• Strong documentation skills and ability to work independently.

Responsibilities

• Configure, administer, and maintain Cisco firewalls and traffic controls.
• Develop and optimize Splunk monitoring, alerts, dashboards, and use cases.
• Design, build, test, and support cybersecurity infrastructure for OT systems.
• Support SIEM capabilities and intrusion detection in plant environments.
• Test configurations in lab environments before plant implementation.
• Maintain detailed documentation of configurations and test results.
• Follow change-control processes and established procedures.
• Collaborate with senior engineers to resolve complex issues.
• Contribute design input within established engineering standards.

Skills

Cisco Firewall

Splunk monitoring

Network traffic control

Documentation

Independent work

OT environment

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Cisco Firepower

Splunk

Job description

Job Title: Cybersecurity Engineer - Operational Technology (OT)

Experience: 5+ years

Contract Duration:12 Months/W2

About the Role

We are seeking a hands-on Cybersecurity Engineer to join an established cybersecurity engineering team supporting critical plant infrastructure and operational technology (OT) systems. This role focuses on designing, building, configuring, testing, and maintaining defensive cybersecurity infrastructure in a highly regulated environment.

The ideal candidate will bring strong technical expertise in Cisco firewall administration, network traffic control, and/or Splunk monitoring and detection engineering, along with experience working in controlled operational environments where system reliability, configuration management, and detailed documentation are essential.

This is an individual contributor position working alongside senior engineers and subject-matter experts (SMEs). The successful candidate will progressively learn the plant environment, initially working primarily with lab systems before taking on greater responsibility for supporting plant systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Configure, administer, and maintain Cisco firewalls, including firewall rule sets, traffic filtering, and network security controls.
• Develop, maintain, and optimize Splunk monitoring capabilities, including detection rules, alerts, dashboards, and security monitoring use cases.
• Design, build, test, and support cybersecurity infrastructure protecting critical operational technology systems.
• Support network security technologies, including intrusion detection systems, security servers, and SIEM capabilities.
• Conduct testing, verification, and validation of cybersecurity configurations and solutions in lab environments before supporting implementation in operational systems.
• Monitor and enhance security controls as new technologies are introduced into the plant environment.
• Troubleshoot technical issues, investigate security monitoring gaps, and collaborate with senior engineers and SMEs to resolve complex problems.
• Maintain detailed technical documentation covering configurations, testing procedures, development activities, verification results, and lab findings.
• Follow established change-control processes, work schedules, approval procedures, and implementation windows.
• Execute assigned technical work independently, follow documented procedures, and elevate issues to the appropriate SME when necessary.
• Contribute technical recommendations and design input to project components while working within established engineering standards and direction.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant technical field.
• At least 5 years of relevant cybersecurity engineering, network security, or security monitoring experience.
• Hands-on experience with Cisco firewall administration, firewall rule sets, and network traffic control, and/or Splunk engineering, monitoring, alerting, and dashboard development.
• Working familiarity with the complementary technical area—firewall/network security or Splunk-based security monitoring.
• Experience implementing, testing, troubleshooting, or maintaining technical security infrastructure.
• Experience working in a regulated, mission-critical, or operational technology environment with formal change management and configuration control.
• Strong documentation skills, including the ability to record technical configurations, testing procedures, and verification results accurately.
• Ability to work independently on defined assignments, follow established procedures, manage priorities, and collaborate effectively with senior engineers.
• Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills.
• Willingness and ability to work onsite at either the Peach Bottom or Limerick plant.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting cybersecurity systems within the nuclear power industry or at a nuclear utility.
• Experience in other highly regulated operational technology environments, such as power generation, utilities, industrial control systems, or similar critical infrastructure.
• Experience with Splunk detection engineering, alert tuning, dashboard development, and monitoring integration for new technologies.
• Experience with Cisco Firepower firewalls and intrusion detection technologies.
• Familiarity with OT network segmentation, controlled network traffic, configuration management, and formal change windows.
• Understanding of the operational impact of cybersecurity changes in environments where system availability and reliability are critical.

Work Environment and Expectations

• This is a fully onsite, critical-group assignment supporting plant equipment and operational technology systems.
• The initial assignment will focus primarily on learning the environment and working with lab systems, with progression to plant-system support as readiness is demonstrated.
• The engineer will work closely with experienced engineers and SMEs and will not be expected to serve as the final design authority or lead entire projects.
• Candidates must be comfortable working within highly controlled processes, maintaining detailed records, and following established safety, security, and operational requirements.