Mission-Critical Cyber Defense Lead (TS/SCI)

Leidos; Riverdale (UT); On-site; USD 87,000 - 157,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos is seeking an on-site Cyber Defense Team Lead to manage a security operations group within a classified environment. The role requires Top Secret/SCI clearance, DoD 8570 IAT II, and CSSP certifications, plus hands-on incident response and threat analysis across endpoints, networks, and SIEM platforms.

You will mentor staff, coordinate training, ensure compliance, and partner with shift leadership to maintain mission readiness at Hill AFB, UT, with a 2-hour recall window.

Qualifications

• Active DoD Top Secret / SCI clearance.
• Current DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II baseline certification (e.g., Security+ CE, SSCP, GSEC, CySA+).
• Current CSSP-A or CSSP-IR certification (e.g., CySA+, CEH, GCIA, GCIH), or ability to obtain within 180 days.
• Foundational knowledge of TCP/IP networking, packet analysis (Wireshark/tcpdump), OSI model, and defense-in-depth.
• Level III or Level IV education requirements: Bachelor’s + 4 or 8 years of relevant cyber defense/SOC experience.
• On-site SCIF requirement with 5x8 schedule and 2-hour recall commute to Hill AFB UT / Scott AFB IL / Columbus OH.

Responsibilities

• Coach and mentor team members with Biweekly 1-on-1s to guide career growth and retention.
• Partner with Operations Managers to deliver advanced technical training and certifications.
• Establish clear performance expectations and ensure policy compliance and accountability.
• Maintain a strong security culture and collaboration with HR and leadership.
• Coordinate shift coverage, training schedules, and mission readiness within the SCIF.
• Lead analysts to triage alerts across endpoints, IDS/IPS, NetFlow, and network sensors in classified enclaves.
• Correlate log data to CIRs, integrate threat feeds into SIEM, align with MITRE ATT&CK and Cyber Kill Chain.
• Direct incident reporting and containment actions to leadership, JFHQ-DODIN, and USCYBERCOM per DoD standards.

Skills

Leadership

Incident response

Threat analysis

Team mentoring

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree + 4 years cyber defense or SOC experience

Bachelor’s degree + 8 years cyber defense or SOC experience

DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II certification

CSSP-A or CSSP-IR certification

Tools

Splunk

Elastic

Sentinel

Wireshark

tcpdump

NetFlow

Job description

Leidos is seeking an on-site Cyber Defense Team Lead to manage a security operations group within a classified environment. The role requires Top Secret/SCI clearance, DoD 8570 IAT II, and CSSP certifications, plus hands-on incident response and threat analysis across endpoints, networks, and SIEM platforms.

You will mentor staff, coordinate training, ensure compliance, and partner with shift leadership to maintain mission readiness at Hill AFB, UT, with a 2-hour recall window.