Red Team Operator

Leidos LLC; Springfield (VA); On-site; USD 131,000 - 237,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos is seeking a highly skilled Red Team Operator to conduct advanced penetration testing and red team exercises within the DHS CISOD framework. You will identify and exploit vulnerabilities across systems, networks, and applications, coordinating with the Blue Team to strengthen defenses.

The ideal candidate has deep offensive security expertise, relevant certifications, and DHS/public trust eligibility.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree with 6+ years of experience in cybersecurity testing.
• Experience with advanced penetration testing and red team exercises.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute red teaming exercises to simulate real-world cyberattacks against our infrastructure and applications.
• Identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities through active exploitation and testing.
• Collaborate with the Blue Team and other cybersecurity professionals to improve security posture.
• Provide detailed remediation reports and recommendations based on red team findings.
• Stay current on threats, vulnerabilities, and exploitation techniques to enhance red team operations.

Skills

Penetration testing

Blue team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline

Master’s degree in related field

Tools

Kali Linux

Metasploit

Burp Suite

Nmap

Cobalt Strike

BloodHound

Responder

Nessus

WebInspect

Scuba

AppDetective

Job description

The mission of the DHS Chief Information Security Officer Directorate (DHS CISOD) is to support the Department’s implementation of all applicable regulatory requirements—including the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), relevant OMB circulars, Executive Orders, Federal laws, directives, policies, and regulations—while providing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a secure and trusted computing environment. Information security is an essential business function, critical to enabling DHS to conduct its operations and deliver service to the public. We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced individual to join our cybersecurity team as a Red Team Operator. In this role, you will be responsible for conducting advanced penetration testing and red team exercises to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in our organization's systems, network, and applications. The ideal candidate will bring deep technical expertise, proven experience in vulnerability research and exploitation, and the ability to work as part of a collaborative offensive security team.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute comprehensive red teaming exercises to simulate real-world cyberattacks against our organization's infrastructure and applications.
• Identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities in our systems and network through active exploitation and testing.
• Collaborate with the Blue Team and other cybersecurity professionals to enhance our organization's overall security posture.
• Provide detailed reports and recommendations for remediation based on the findings of red team exercises.
• Stay up-to-date on the latest cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities, and exploitation techniques to continually improve red team operations.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 8+ years of professional experience, or Master’s degree and 6+ years of professional experience.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in penetration testing.
• Experience with at least 3 of the following tools: Kali Linux Metasploit Burp Suite Nmap Cobalt Strike Bloodhound Responder Tenable Nessus WebInspect Scuba AppDetective.
• Must hold one or more of the following certifications: GPEN, GWAPT, GISF, GXPN, OSCP, OSCE, OSWP, OSEE, CISSP, or CEH.
• U.S. Citizenship required; must be able to obtain DHS Public Trust and EOD clearance.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior DHS IT security or audit experience.
• Previous system administration experience.
• Familiarity in at least one of the following languages: Python PowerShell Go Ruby.
• Familiarity with common payload obfuscation techniques.
• Malware Analysis experience.
• 7+ years of IT experience in a Computer Science discipline.

Pay Range:

Pay Range: Pay Range $131,300.00 - $237,350.00 The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

Original Posting: October 6, 2026 For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

About Leidos

Leidos Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $17.2 billion for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2026. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That’s why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers.

• Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement.

More details are available here.

Securing Your Data

Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information at any part of the employment application process. And Leidos will communicate with you only through emails that are sent from a Leidos.com email address. If you receive an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information, please report the email to [e-mail].

Commitment and Diversity

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.