Lead Identity Cybersecurity Engineer

Mitre Corporation; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 159,000 - 238,000; Full time

Job summary

MITRE in McLean, VA is seeking an experienced ICAM professional to drive Zero‑Trust architectures, identity governance, and secure access across government programs. You will design and engineer authentication/federation solutions (SAML/OIDC), manage credentials and trust services (PKI), and lead IGA workflows while collaborating with engineers, testers, and external partners on on-site government facilities.

Required: BS with 8–10 years (or MS 6–8; PhD 3–5), U.S.

Qualifications

• BS with 8-10 years relevant experience, or MS with 6-8 years, or PhD with 3-5 years; or equivalent combination.
• Strong analytical/problem-solving skills and sound technical judgment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver results and collaborate across teams.
• Ability to work effectively in secure/classified environments.
• This position requires a Secret Clearance and US citizenship.

Responsibilities

• Translate mission needs into ICAM requirements and measurable outcomes.
• Design and assess Zero‑Trust ICAM architectures.
• Engineer authentication, authorization, and federation solutions (SAML/OIDC).
• Lead Identity Governance & Administration (IGA) including provisioning workflows.
• Develop RBAC/ABAC/PBAC models, entitlement/attribute strategies, and privileged-access controls.
• Build solutions for constrained environments and define test strategies and integration plans.
• Partner with security assessors and stakeholders to ensure auditable solutions that map to controls.
• Collaborate with engineers, integrators, and vendors on evaluation and reusable assets.
• Providing ICAM leadership on-site in government facilities.

Skills

ICAM concepts

Zero Trust

SAML/OIDC

PKI

IGA

RBAC/ABAC/PBAC

Team leadership

Security architecture

Education

BS/MS/PhD in CS/Cybersecurity

Job description

At MITRE, your passion fuels work that impacts our nation and improves lives. This is where your skills strengthen national security, cybersecurity, health, transportation, and citizen services. We’re a nonprofit engineering, applied research, and advanced technology organization working in the public interest. With objectivity and integrity at our core, we lead federally funded research and development centers for U.S. government agencies – collaborating with industry and academia to deliver integrated, high-impact solutions that advance our nation’s health, security, and prosperity. Our people tackle the toughest technical challenges, supported by competitive benefits, meaningful career development, and a culture of innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence. Choose MITRE for a career with purpose — and help shape the future.

The Cryptography, ICAM, & System Assurance (L527) Department is comprised of an inspired multi-disciplinary team of researchers and practitioners driving innovation in the department’s technical areas of focus, with particular emphasis in Cryptography; System Assurance; and Identity, Credential and Access Management (ICAM). We develop and apply scalable approaches for systems and software, evaluate technology and solutions, lead and foster external partnerships within the communities we support, and conduct novel research and development. We serve in critical roles including:

• Aiding the Federal Government as a community in architecting and applying modern ICAM technologies to secure systems, software, and protocols. We specialize in the application of well-founded ICAM techniques including the design and application of emerging ICAM technologies for security and privacy, zero trust architectures, post-quantum cryptography, non-human and agentic identity, and secure multi-party federation, among others.

• Developing strategies, assessing policy and technical constraints, and facilitating the deployment of ICAM solutions into cloud, hybrid, and on-premises infrastructures for enterprise and tactical environments. As senior trusted advisors and leaders within the ICAM community internally and external to MITRE, we apply our knowledge of industry trends, advances in commercial technology, and relevant industry standards and protocols to inform our sponsors’ decision-making.

• Working at the intersection of Cybersecurity and AI on trustworthy approaches to applying AI to ICAM applications (e.g., autonomous network defense, assessing code for software weaknesses) as well as developing and applying frameworks for evaluating the assurance of AI-based techniques.

• Performing research and development, evaluation and testing and operational support for high-priority sponsor mission applications, MITRE Labs strategic initiatives, and MITRE’s internal research and development program.

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Translate mission needs into ICAM technical requirements, interfaces, and measurable outcomes.

• Design and assess Zero‑Trust‑aligned ICAM architectures and reference designs.

• Engineer authentication, authorization, and federation solutions (e.g., SAML/OIDC, step‑up auth) and manage credentials/trust services (PKI, certificates).

• Lead Identity Governance & Administration (IGA) including provisioning, joiner‑mover‑leaver workflows, and authoritative source integration.

• Develop, evaluate, and steer RBAC/ABAC/PBAC models, entitlement/attribute strategies, and privileged‑access controls.

• Build solutions for constrained environments (limited connectivity, offline sync) and define test strategies, roadmaps, and integration plans.

• Partner with security assessors and stakeholders to ensure auditable solutions that map to required controls.

• Collaborate with engineers, integrators, and vendors on technology evaluation, trade studies, reusable assets, and mentorship.

• Providing ICAM leadership on‑site in lab environments at government‑operated facilities.

Basic Qualifications:

• BS with 8-10 years relevant experience, or MS with 6-8 years, or PhD with 3-5 years; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

• Strong analytical/problem-solving skills and sound technical judgment.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Demonstrated ability to deliver results and collaborate across teams.

• Ability to work effectively in secure/classified environments.

• Continued employment on this work is contingent upon meeting and maintaining government security eligibility requirements (requirements may change based on sponsor needs).

• This position requires a Secret Clearance

• Per the U.S. Government’s eligibility requirements for a clearance, U.S. Citizenship is required.

• This position requires a minimum of 4 days a week on‑site

Preferred Qualifications:

• Degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or related field.

• Systems engineering experience (requirements, architecture, integration, test) and familiarity with development lifecycles.

• Experience applying security principles to enterprise architecture and system design.

• Strong understanding of ICAM concepts supporting a Zero Trust security model.

• Familiarity with threats/attack patterns relevant to identity and access systems.

• Interest in applied research and building reusable, scalable technical approaches.

• TS/SCI eligibility preferred;

• Preferred that candidate has willingness to take and successfully complete a CI polygraph.

• Active TS/SCI with CI polygraph preferred.

This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s):

Secret

This requisition requires the hired candidate to have or obtain, within one year from the date of hire, the following clearance(s):

Secret

Salary compensation range and midpoint:

$158,800 - $198,500 - $238,200 Annual

Work Location Type:

Onsite

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.Commitment to Non-Discrimination

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local or international law.

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