Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO)

Skysoft Inc.; Maryland; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Skysoft Inc. seeks a Senior ISSO to support a U.S. government agency in the National Capital Region.

You will validate security controls, develop artifacts, and coordinate authorization across on‑prem and cloud environments. The role emphasizes risk management, continuous monitoring, and compliance rather than hands-on engineering. The ideal candidate has extensive federal security experience, operates independently with engineers and owners, and can produce precise documentation in English.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 8+ years of cybersecurity-related experience.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a public trust (US Citizenship/Green Card).
• Hands-on experience in a technical role evaluating implementations and controls.
• Experience supporting federal authorization activities (SSPs, POA&Ms, SIAs).
• Working knowledge of NIST RMF, NIST SP 800-53, FISMA, and federal laws.
• Familiarity with AWS, Azure, M365, Entra ID, AD, VMware, Cisco, Oracle, etc.
• Knowledge of IAM, encryption, hardening, logging, and monitoring.
• Experience with GRC tools such as Archer, eMASS, JCAM/CSAM, Xacta.
• Strong writing and communication; ability to document technically.
• Proficient with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.

Responsibilities

• Support the security authorization lifecycle and continuous monitoring.
• Develop and maintain SSPs, SARs, POA&Ms, SIAs per policy.
• Coordinate for Security Control Assessments ensuring defensible evidence.
• Conduct SIAs for changes to hardware, software, or cloud infrastructure.
• Review architecture and evidence to validate controls and resolve gaps.
• Support change management, POA&M management, and remediation efforts.
• Engage stakeholders to support policy compliance and risk reporting.
• Develop dashboards and risk briefings for leadership and ISSO lead.

Skills

Cybersecurity expertise

RMF knowledge

ISSO experience

Technical writing

Stakeholder communication

Cloud/enterprise tech familiarity

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

Archer

eMASS

JCAM/CSAM

Xacta

Job description

Role: Senior Information Systems Security Officer

Location: Washington, DC, United States// Hybrid

Schedule: Full-Time

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain: Public Trust

Potential for Remote Work: Hybrid

Description

Our client is seeking a technical Senior Information System Security Officer (ISSO) to support a critical U.S. government agency in the National Capital Region. This role supports authorization, compliance, continuous monitoring, and risk management activities across assigned systems. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced cybersecurity professional with a strong technical background to support the secure authorization and ongoing compliance of systems across on-premises and cloud environments. This is not a hands-on engineering position. Instead, the Senior ISSO leverages prior experience as a Systems Administrator, Cloud Engineer, Infrastructure Engineer, Network Engineer, Security Engineer, or similar technical role to independently validate security implementations, assess technical risk, and ensure authorization decisions are supported by accurate technical evidence. The successful candidate must be comfortable engaging engineers, architects, and system owners to validate security controls, identify inconsistencies, and challenge unsupported technical assumptions.

Responsibilities:

• Support the security authorization lifecycle and ongoing continuous monitoring activities for assigned systems.
• Develop, review, and maintain security documentation and authorization artifacts, including SSPs, SARs, POA&Ms, SIAs, and related documentation, in accordance with NIST SP 800-53, RMF, FISMA, and agency policies.
• Coordinate and prepare systems for Security Control Assessments (SCAs), ensuring documentation and evidence are complete, accurate, and technically defensible.
• Conduct Security Impact Analyses (SIAs) for changes to hardware, software, cloud infrastructure, connectivity, or system architecture.
• Review system architecture, technical documentation, and supporting evidence to validate security controls, independently assess technical implementations, identify inconsistencies, and collaborate with engineers, architects, administrators, and system owners to resolve discrepancies.
• Support change management, continuous monitoring, POA&M management, risk acceptance, audit responses, and remediation activities to maintain ongoing authorization and compliance.
• Coordinate with system owners, engineers, architects, and governance stakeholders to support standards reviews, exception requests, policy implementation, compliance reporting, and risk management activities.
• Develop dashboards, executive risk briefings, status reports, and other stakeholder communications while supporting the Lead ISSO in operational execution and coordination activities.

Qualifications Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree and 8+ years of relevant experience, in cybersecurity, RMF, ISSO, systems security engineering, systems administration, cloud engineering, network engineering, or a related field.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a public trust requiring U.S. Citizenship or Green Card.
• Prior hands-on experience in a technical role such as Systems Administrator, Cloud Engineer, Infrastructure Engineer, Network Engineer, or Security Engineer, with the ability to evaluate technical implementations, validate controls, assess evidence, and challenge unsupported assumptions.
• Experience supporting federal authorization activities, including SSPs, POA&Ms, SIAs, continuous monitoring, and Security Control Assessments.
• Working knowledge of NIST RMF, NIST SP 800-53, FISMA, and federal cybersecurity requirements.
• Familiarity with enterprise and cloud technologies such as AWS, Azure, Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Active Directory, VMware, Cisco, Oracle, or similar platforms.
• Working knowledge of identity and access management, encryption, system hardening, network and cloud security, secure baselines, logging, and monitoring.
• Experience with GRC or security authorization tools such as Archer, eMASS, JCAM/CSAM, Xacta, or similar platforms.
• Strong analytical, technical writing, organizational, and communication skills, including demonstrated professional proficiency in written and spoken English. Ability to independently produce polished, technically accurate documentation; communicate clearly and effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders; work independently; and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Security+, CGRC (formerly CAP), CISSP, CISM, CCSP, or similar cybersecurity certification.
• Experience supporting federal systems, ATO processes, FedRAMP, federal privacy requirements, or other government compliance programs.
• Knowledge of modern cybersecurity practices including OWASP Top 10, Zero Trust, application security concepts, and MITRE ATT&CK.
• Experience participating in incident response, security architecture reviews, technical design reviews, or security remediation efforts.
• Experience operating in fast-paced, high-visibility environments with competing priorities.