Incident Management Lead

AIS (Applied Information Sciences); Alexandria (VA); On-site; USD 138,000 - 209,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Ownership

Continuous Learning

Inclusive Culture

Job summary

AIS (Applied Information Sciences) is seeking a qualified Security Architect to lead incident response activities and manage cybersecurity threats effectively. The candidate will develop strategies, frameworks, and ensure adherence to security protocols, working closely with various stakeholders.

The ideal candidate will hold a Master’s degree in Information Technology, along with a minimum of 10 years in incident response and extensive knowledge of digital forensics and malware analysis. Competitive salary range is $138,000–$209,000 annually.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in incident response and security operations.
• Proven ability to design and implement cybersecurity strategies.
• Excellent communication skills with senior leadership required.

Responsibilities

• Lead incident response teams in detecting and managing cybersecurity incidents.
• Develop incident response strategies and ensure proper execution.
• Communicate updates and risks to senior management.

Skills

Incident response leadership

Threat analysis

Cybersecurity strategy design

Digital forensics

Malware analysis

Education

Master of Science in Information Technology or related field

Tools

SIEM/SOAR platforms

EDR solutions

Threat intelligence platforms

Job description

Why AIS?

When you join AIS, you’re joining a mission‑driven team that’s passionate about making a difference. You’ll work on projects that matter, alongside industry‑leading experts, in an environment that fosters innovation, drives client success, and empowers our team to make a lasting impact. As an employee‑owned company, we value collaboration, inclusivity, continuous growth, and shared success.

• Employee Ownership: Your contributions directly impact the company’s success, and you share in its achievements.
• Continuous Learning: Access to resources, training, and mentorship to support your professional growth.
• Inclusive Culture: A workplace where diversity is celebrated, and everyone’s voice is valued.
• Mission‑Driven Work: Engage in projects that make a meaningful difference for our clients and communities.

What are we looking for?

At AIS, we're looking for more than just skills - we're looking for driven individuals who are passionate about making a difference, eager to grow, and aligned with our core principles.

What you will be doing?

This position is contingent upon contract award. We are currently pursuing a proposal and are seeking qualified candidates to include in our submission and identify candidates for future hiring needs on the program once awarded.

At AIS, we are dedicated to providing our employees with diverse opportunities to grow their careers while supporting a variety of impactful projects. For this position, we are seeking a talented individual to join AIS as a Security Architect.

• Core Knowledge & Skills: Develop enterprise security architectures, frameworks, and standards; utilize advanced forensics and integrate solutions with IT systems.
• Work & Complexity: Design secure architectures, manage integration projects, lead strategic initiatives, and enforce policies and standards.
• Quality & Independence: Ensure integrity and scalability, develop comprehensive strategies, and optimize solutions for performance and efficiency.
• Teamwork & Communication: Lead architectural teams, build partnerships, manage knowledge, and communicate strategies and executive reports.
• Consulting & Engagement: Provide architectural consulting, lead innovation initiatives, evaluate enterprise technologies, and build strategic partnerships.

As your initial project assignment, you will support the unique needs of our client as an Incident Management Lead.

Project Summary

The Incident Management Lead is responsible for directing enterprise‑wide incident response activities, managing advanced cyber defense operations, and guiding teams in identifying, analyzing, and responding to cybersecurity threats. This role will develop incident response strategies, lead technical investigations, collaborate with senior leadership on threat intelligence sharing, and ensure the organization maintains a proactive and resilient cyber defense posture. The ideal candidate has deep expertise in incident response, malware analysis, forensics, security engineering, and penetration testing, with a strong record of leading high‑performing cyber operations teams.

Key Responsibilities

Incident Response Leadership

• Lead and manage incident response teams responsible for detecting, analyzing, containing, and eradicating cybersecurity incidents.
• Direct responses to cyber events involving advanced threats, malware, indicators of compromise (IOCs), and complex attack patterns.
• Oversee the development and execution of incident handling procedures, playbooks, and escalation processes.
• Conduct after‑action reviews and drive continuous improvement across incident response capabilities.

Threat Analysis & Cyber Defense Operations

• Provide expert oversight for investigations involving threat actors, malware analysis, and digital forensics.
• Ensure timely analysis and dissemination of threat intelligence, indicators of compromise, and trends to stakeholders.
• Maintain readiness of incident response tools, technologies, and methodologies.

Strategic Planning & Security Architecture

• Formulate both short‑ and long‑term strategies to strengthen cybersecurity controls, monitoring, and detection capabilities.
• Design, architect, and engineer security solutions that enhance threat visibility and reduce risk exposure.
• Collaborate with engineering and operations teams to support deployment strategies and ensure alignment with security requirements.

Stakeholder Communication & Relationship Management

• Serve as the primary liaison to senior managers regarding ongoing threats, incident updates, and intelligence sharing.
• Provide executive‑level summaries and technical briefings on incidents, risks, and mitigation strategies.
• Build strong relationships across IT, security leadership, and operational teams to support a unified response posture.

Team Development & Operational Oversight

• Mentor and guide incident responders, analysts, and penetration testers to develop their technical and analytical skills.
• Establish operational metrics, reporting standards, and performance indicators for incident response activities.
• Ensure team members follow best practices in threat analysis, forensic handling, and incident documentation.

Required For This Opportunity

• Master of Science in Information Technology, Information Security, or related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in incident response, security operations, and penetration testing.
• Minimum of 5 years managing and directing incident response teams.
• Strong, hands‑on experience with:
• Threat intelligence and threat sharing
• Indicators of compromise (IOCs)
• Malware analysis techniques
• Digital and network forensic analysis
• Proven ability to design and implement cybersecurity strategies, controls, and solutions.
• Experience developing and executing incident response plans and cyber defense procedures.
• Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills with senior leadership.
• Clearance: TS/SCI

Certifications

• EC‑Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
• EC‑Council Licensed Penetration Tester (LPT)
• EC‑Council Certified Security Analyst (ECSA)

Nice To Have Skills

• Experience in highly regulated, federal, or complex enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with SIEM/SOAR platforms, EDR solutions, and threat intelligence platforms.
• PMP certification (preferred).

Compensation

At AIS, we are committed to offering competitive and fair compensation that reflects the skills, experience, and contributions of each team member. The targeted base salary range for this role is $138,000–$209,000 per year. We value transparency in our hiring process and are happy to discuss how your unique qualifications align with our compensation structure during the interview process.

EEO Statement

Applied Information Sciences does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, religion, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis. Employment decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs.