Principal Information System Security Officer (ISSO)

ZipStaff Inc.; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k) + matching

Paid time off

Referral Program

Job summary

ZipStaff is hiring a Principal Information System Security Officer (ISSO) for our client, a major U.S. passenger rail transportation organization based in Washington, DC.

You will serve as an embedded cybersecurity subject matter expert and risk advisor, championing secure-by-design principles across enterprise Agile Release Trains and ensuring security controls are built into architecture and delivery from the start.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of cybersecurity experience, including 5+ years as an ISSO.
• Experience embedding security governance in Agile/SAFe and CI/CD pipelines.
• Deep knowledge of NIST SP 800-series, FISMA, FedRAMP, ISO 27001 and CIS Benchmarks.

Responsibilities

• Provide cybersecurity design oversight, threat modeling and risk governance across Agile Release Trains and delivery pipelines.
• Embed security architectures and baseline controls early in the SDLC to reduce technical debt and deployment risk.
• Act as the primary cybersecurity liaison between product managers, enterprise architects, engineering teams and senior stakeholders.
• Author and evaluate SSPs, RARs, SAPs and POA&Ms.
• Ensure compliance with NIST SP 800-37, 800-53, FISMA, FedRAMP and internal governance directives.
• Partner with engineering leads to operationalize DevSecOps, automate continuous monitoring and enforce secure coding and configuration standards.
• Facilitate risk-based trade‑off decisions, review architecture deviations and lead remediation of complex vulnerabilities.

Skills

Cybersecurity leadership

Risk governance

DevSecOps

Cloud security

NIST RMF

CI/CD security

Security architecture

Leadership to stakeholders

Education

CISSP

CISM

CRISC

CCSP

CISA

Tools

AWS

Azure

GCP

Job description

Job Title

Principal Information System Security Officer (ISSO)

Location

Washington, DC (Onsite)

Employment Type

W2 Contract

Duration

11 months

About the Opportunity

ZipStaff is hiring a Principal Information System Security Officer (ISSO) for our client, a major U.S. passenger rail transportation organization based in Washington, DC. You will serve as an embedded cybersecurity subject matter expert and risk advisor, championing secure-by-design principles across enterprise Agile Release Trains and ensuring security controls and compliance are built into architecture and delivery from the start.

What You'll Do

• Provide cybersecurity design oversight, threat modeling and risk governance across Agile Release Trains and delivery pipelines.
• Embed security architectures and baseline controls early in the SDLC to reduce technical debt and deployment risk.
• Act as the primary cybersecurity liaison between product managers, enterprise architects, engineering teams and senior stakeholders.
• Author and evaluate SSPs, RARs, SAPs and POA&Ms.
• Ensure compliance with NIST SP 800-37, 800-53, FISMA, FedRAMP and internal governance directives.
• Partner with engineering leads to operationalize DevSecOps, automate continuous monitoring and enforce secure coding and configuration standards.
• Facilitate risk-based trade‑off decisions, review architecture deviations and lead remediation of complex vulnerabilities.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of cybersecurity experience, including 5+ years as an ISSO, in Information Assurance or Security Architecture in enterprise or government-adjacent environments.
• Experience embedding security governance in Agile/Scrum/SAFe and modern CI/CD pipelines.
• Deep knowledge of NIST SP 800-series (800-37 RMF, 800-53, 800-160), FISMA, FedRAMP, ISO 27001 and CIS Benchmarks.
• Experience evaluating cloud (AWS, Azure or GCP), containerized platforms, APIs and hybrid infrastructure for risk.
• Ability to translate security requirements into actionable technical guidance and communicate risk to leadership.
• Active CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CCSP or CISA certification.
• Based in the greater Washington, DC area; able to obtain or maintain a public trust or clearance as required.

Benefits

• Health Insurance.
• Dental Insurance.
• Vision Insurance.
• 401(k) + 401(k) matching.
• Paid time off.
• Referral Program.

About ZipStaff

ZipStaff connects skilled technology professionals with leading organizations across the United States, matching top talent with impactful contract and full-time opportunities.