Penetration Testing Lead

Peraton; Reston (VA); Remote; USD 104,000 - 166,000; Full time

Job summary

Peraton is seeking a Penetration Testing Lead to guide offensive security assessments across networks, applications, APIs and cloud environments. This remote role requires EST hours and strong collaboration with security and development teams.

You will mentor junior testers, define testing strategies, and apply standards such as NIST SP 800-115 and MITRE ATT&CK to strengthen the organization’s security posture.

Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. Citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain the required Public Trust level clearance.
• One or more of the following certifications: OSCP, OSCE, GXPN or CEH.
• Demonstrated experience conducting penetration testing across network infrastructure, web applications, APIs, and AWS cloud environments.
• Experience planning and executing red team exercises, adversary emulation, and attack simulations.
• Working knowledge of NIST SP 800-115, MITRE ATT&CK, and DHS RVA standards.
• Experience configuring, maintaining, and optimizing penetration testing tools and platforms.
• Ability to identify and validate vulnerabilities, assess risk and communicate remediation to technical teams.
• Experience mentoring junior testers and promoting best practices.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and technical documentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute penetration testing assessments across network infrastructure, applications, APIs, and AWS cloud environments.
• Plan and conduct red team exercises to simulate adversaries and test detection/response.
• Apply testing methodologies and standards to ensure comprehensive assessments.
• Analyze results, validate findings, assess business impact, and provide remediation recommendations.
• Maintain and optimize penetration testing tools and frameworks.
• Collaborate with security, cloud, dev, and infrastructure teams to communicate findings and improve security posture.
• Mentor junior penetration testers and promote best practices.
• Continuously evaluate emerging attack techniques and tooling.

Skills

Penetration testing

Red team exercises

NIST SP 800-115

MITRE ATT&CK

Threat modeling

Team leadership

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree

Masters degree

Associates degree

Tools

Pentera

Cymulate

Picus Security

Intruder

AWS cloud

Job description

Penetration Testing Lead

Job Locations

US

Peraton Overview

Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world's leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace. The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and supports every branch of the U.S. armed forces. Each day, our employees do the can't be done by solving the most daunting challenges facing our customers. Visit peraton.com to learn how we're keeping people around the world safe and secure.

Responsibilities

Peraton is seeking a Penetration Testing Lead to join our Team. This person will be responsible for leading and executing comprehensive offensive security assessments to identify, validate, and help remediate security vulnerabilities across the organization's applications, infrastructure, networks, cloud environments, and systems. This role provides technical leadership for penetration testing activities, develops testing strategies and methodologies, and oversees the delivery of high-quality security assessments aligned with industry best practices and organizational risk management objectives.

Work Location: This is a remote position, but candidate must be willing to work during the hours of 8am - 5pm EST

What You Will Do

• Lead and execute penetration testing assessments across network infrastructure, applications, APIs, and AWS cloud environments to identify, validate, and assess security vulnerabilities.
• Plan and conduct red team exercises to simulate real-world adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures and evaluate the organization's ability to detect and respond to threats.
• Apply industry-recognized testing methodologies and standards, including NIST SP 800-115, MITRE ATT&CK, and DHS Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) standards, to ensure consistent and comprehensive security assessments.
• Analyze testing results, validate findings, assess potential business impact, and provide actionable, risk-based remediation recommendations to technical teams and stakeholders.
• Maintain, configure, and optimize penetration testing tools, frameworks, and supporting technologies to support effective and efficient security assessments.
• Collaborate with security, cloud, application development, and infrastructure teams to communicate findings, support remediation efforts, and improve the organization's overall security posture.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to junior penetration testers, fostering technical growth, knowledge sharing, and adherence to established testing methodologies and best practices.
• Continuously evaluate emerging attack techniques, vulnerabilities, and offensive security tools to enhance penetration testing capabilities and address evolving threats.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications

• Must be a U.S. Citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain the required Public Trust level clearance
• Bachelors Degree and 12 years of experience, a Masters Degree and 10 years of experience, an Associates Degree and 14 years, or a High School Diploma or equivalent and 16 years of experience
• One (or more) of the following certifications: OSCP, OSCE, GXPN or CEH
• Demonstrated experience conducting penetration testing across network infrastructure, web applications, APIs, and AWS cloud environments.
• Experience planning and executing red team exercises, adversary emulation, and attack simulations to identify security weaknesses and evaluate defensive capabilities.
• Working knowledge of established penetration testing methodologies and security frameworks, including NIST SP 800-115, MITRE ATT&CK, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) standards.
• Experience configuring, maintaining, and optimizing penetration testing tools, frameworks, and automated security validation platforms.
• Ability to identify and validate vulnerabilities, assess risk and potential business impact, and communicate actionable remediation recommendations to technical teams and stakeholders.
• Experience mentoring junior penetration testers, providing technical guidance, and promoting adherence to testing methodologies and security best practices.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and technical documentation skills, with the ability to translate complex security findings into clear, actionable recommendations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with automated penetration testing and security validation platforms such as Pentera, Cymulate, Picus Security, Intruder, or similar

Target Salary Range

$104,000 - $166,000. This represents the typical salary range for this position. Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the individual's experience, education, knowledge, skills, and competencies, as well as geographic location and business and contract considerations. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay.

Benefits Statement

Peraton offers eligible employees a variety of benefits including medical, dental, vision, life, health savings account, short/long term disability, EAP, parental leave, 401(k), paid time off (PTO) for vacation, and company paid holidays. A full listing of available benefits can be viewed at https://www.careers.peraton.com/benefits.

EEO

EEO: Equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veterans, or other characteristics protected by law.