HPC Cybersecurity Engineer

Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Oak Ridge (TN); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Life Insurance

Parental Leave

401(k)

Retirement Plan

Relocation Assistance

Job summary

Oak Ridge National Laboratory seeks a senior HPC cybersecurity engineer to help shape the security architecture for high-performance computing projects. The role focuses on translating governance into implementable standards, automating security controls, and guiding secure DevSecOps across multi-tenant HPC environments.

You will lead security reviews, develop scalable security patterns, and collaborate with researchers, operations, and leadership to maintain audit-ready security posture in a

Qualifications

• BS degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or related field.
• Minimum of five years of relevant experience.
• Equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered.

Responsibilities

• Translate complex technical concepts to communicate with researchers, operations and management staff.
• Lead security reviews of new capabilities, services and designs against security plans.
• Design, implement and automate policy/compliance assessments for cybersecurity and operations.
• Engineer secure software development frameworks and guardrails for HPC at scale.
• Define and implement best practices, standards and baselines within the organization.
• Analyze, triage, and respond to security events across systems and networks.
• Serve as a security liaison for projects of national interest and external partners.
• Interpret cybersecurity policy and lead implementation with stakeholders.
• Lead vulnerability management, remediation planning, and penetration testing coordination.
• Document procedures, standards, control narratives, and decision records for audits and improvements.
• Participate in a 24/7 on-call incident response rotation.

Skills

Security engineering

Policy & standards

Incident response

Linux security

Team collaboration

Education

BS in Computer Science / Cybersecurity

MS preferred

Tools

SIEMs

Vulnerability scanners

NIDS/HIDS

Linux forensics

Job description

• life insurance
• parental leave
• 401(k)
• retirement plan
• relocation assistance

The Team:

The HPC Cybersecurity Engineering team is one half of the NCCS Security and Information Engineering Group. We architect, develop, deploy, and maintain the supercomputing-specific security program (an enclave within the broader ORNL authorization boundary) and provide HPC security expertise to projects of national interest. We collaborate across incident response, blue team engineering, vulnerability research, policy architecture, and DevSecOps. We work closely with scientific and operations teams and act as liaisons to ORNL's broader risk management framework. We are a Linux focused environment with security challenges that prioritize scale, performance, and scientific computing integrity.

About You:

You automate wherever possible, using Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and repeatable patterns so security can scale with operations. You can translate governance requirements into implementable standards and aggregate technical realities into clear risk-based decision options for leadership. You collaborate well, document what matters, and enjoy driving improvements that are both technically sound and audit ready. You may have more than a couple of our Preferred Qualifications and probably do not yet have any prior HPC experience. You may have technical leadership experience and/or want to grow into this role. You may or may not think Hackers is an incredible movie.

Major Duties/Responsibilities:

• Translate complex technical concepts to communicate effectively with scientific, operations, project, and management staff
• Help shape the Supercomputing security architectural vision and lead security reviews of new capabilities, services, and designs against core security plans
• Design, implement, and automate policy/control assessments to verify cybersecurity and operational policy compliance
• Engineer secure software development frameworks, tools, and guardrails that enable teams to deliver securely at HPC scale
• Define and implement best practices, standards, and technical baselines within the organization
• Analyze, triage, and respond to application, system, and network security relevant events
• Serve as a security liaison for projects of national interest and external partners
• Interpret cybersecurity policy and requirements; recommend enhancements to current policies/standards and lead implementation efforts with stakeholders
• Lead vulnerability management activities including remediation coordination, patch planning, verification, and approved penetration testing
• Document cybersecurity procedures, standards, control narratives, and decision records to support operations, audits, and continuous improvement
• Participate in a 24/7 on-call incident response rotation

Basic Qualifications:

• BS degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or related field
• Minimum of five years of relevant experience
• Equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered

Preferred Qualifications:

• MS degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or related field and at least eight years of relevant experience
• Strong understanding of U.S. Federal cybersecurity frameworks, standards, and guidelines including FISMA, NIST RMF (SP 800-37) and SP 800-53, FIPS 199/200, FedRAMP, and OMB Memorandums
• Experience as an Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO) and/or administering systems in UNIX/Linux environments
• Solid understanding of networked computing concepts and common protocols (DNS, DHCP, LDAP, SNMP, SMTP, HTTP(S), TLS/SSL)
• Experience representing organization during security cybersecurity audits
• Familiarity building or operating security tools such as SIEMs, vulnerability scanners, NIDS/HIDS, server telemetry, and detection engineering
• Experience with incident response and Linux forensics
• Familiarity with automated configuration management tools
• Experience in network, application, and/or security architecture and design, including threat modeling and security review practices
• Experience in a high-performance computing environment, including multi-tenant compute, high-speed interconnects, and parallel filesystems

Special Requirements:

• This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a clearance from the Department of Energy. As such, this position is a Workplace Substance Abuse (WSAP) testing designated position. WSAP positions require passing a pre-placement drug test and participation in an ongoing random drug testing program.

About ORNL:

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an impressive 80-year legacy of addressing the nation's most pressing challenges. Our team is made up of over 7,000 dedicated and innovative individuals! Our goal is to create an environment where a variety of perspectives and backgrounds are valued, ensuring ORNL is known as a top choice for employment. These principles are essential for supporting our broader mission to drive scientific breakthroughs and translate them into solutions for energy, environmental, and security challenges facing the nation.

ORNL offers competitive pay and benefits programs to attract and retain individuals who demonstrate exceptional work behaviors.

• medical and retirement plans
• flexible work hours

The laboratory provides a range of employee benefits, including medical and retirement plans and flexible work hours, to support the well-being of you and your family.

• on-site fitness
• banking
• cafeteria facilities

Employee amenities such as on-site fitness, banking, and cafeteria facilities are also available for added convenience.

• Prescription Drug Plan
• Dental Plan
• Vision Plan
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Contributory Pension Plan
• Life Insurance
• Disability Benefits
• Generous Vacation and Holidays
• Parental Leave
• Legal Insurance with Identity Theft Protection
• Employee Assistance Plan
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Accounts
• Wellness Programs
• Educational Assistance
• Relocation Assistance
• and Employee Discounts.

If you have difficulty using the online application system or need an accommodation to apply due to a disability, please email: [e-mail]

This position will remain open for a minimum of 5 days after which it will close when a qualified candidate is identified and/or hired.

We accept Word (.doc, .docx), Adobe (unsecured .pdf), Rich Text Format (.rtf), and HTML (.htm, .html) up to 5MB in size. Resumes from third party vendors will not be accepted; these resumes will be deleted and the candidates submitted will not be considered for employment.

ORNL is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants, including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans, are encouraged to apply. UT-Battelle is an E-Verify employer.