Senior Cyber Systems Engineer - JobID-0324

Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT)

San Diego (CA)

On-site

USD 164,000 - 328,000

Full time

4 days ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Generous benefits package

Paid holidays

401(k) match

9/80 optional schedule

Job summary

Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT) is hiring a Senior Cyber System Engineer in San Diego, CA. You will lead RMF activities for DoD systems, implement cATO, and oversee vulnerability management while collaborating with Navy officials and on-site engineers.

Role requires active Secret clearance, DoD cyber credentials, and extensive experience in securing complex mission-critical environments with CI/CD pipelines and containerized workloads.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in cyber security, information assurance, computer science, or equivalent experience.
DoD 8570/8140 IAM Level III certification (CISSP, CISM).
10+ years in cybersecurity or systems engineering within the DIB with RMF mastery.
Willingness to travel up to 10%.

Responsibilities

Design and implement secure, high-performance architectures for autonomous systems and edge devices.
Embed automated security gates into CI/CD to ensure code-driven security.
Lead RMF to continuous authorization and automate control verification.
Architect secure multi-tenant environments with Type-1 hypervisors and Kubernetes.
Develop and maintain RMF artifacts and related documentation.
Coordinate with Navy AOs, SCAs, ISSMs, ISSOs, and PMs; manage patches and updates.

Skills

RMF mastery

CI/CD pipelines

Zero Trust

Container security

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Cyber Security

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

Ansible

Job description

Department: Engineering

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: San Diego, CA

Compensation: $164,000 - $328,000 / year

Description

About The Role

Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT), a leading defense technology company, is seeking a Senior Cyber System Engineer to be part of our Integrated Mission Systems (IMS) team and based out of our San Diego, CA location.

This Senior Cyber Systems Engineer will lead and support cybersecurity accreditation activities for mission-critical Department of War systems, including Authority to Operate (ATO) efforts, Risk Management Framework (RMF) implementation, vulnerability management, continuous monitoring through the Navy and DoW’s DEVSECOPS deployment pipelines, and security engineering activities supporting U.S. Navy programs. Duties will also include providing and maintaining documentation for processes and procedures, while also providing support to internal engineers or customers on-site.

Clearance & Location Requirements

All applicants must be able to obtain/maintain an active Secret U.S. Security Clearance.
This is an on-site position. Requiring at least 4 days in office, based out of our San Diego, CA location and nearby government facilities.

Key Responsibilities

What You Will Do

Help design and implement secure, high-performance architectures for autonomous systems, AI-driven platforms, and edge-computing devices.
Embed automated security gates (SAST, DAST, IAST, SRM) into CI/CD pipelines to ensure that security is "code-driven" rather than a manual bottleneck.
Lead the transition from static RMF cycles to Continuous Authority to Operate (cATO) by automating control verification and continuous monitoring.
Architect secure multi-tenant environments using advanced virtualization (Type-1 Hypervisors) and container orchestration (Kubernetes) tailored for IL5/IL6 mission sets.
Engineer Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) solutions that enforce Zero Trust principles across distributed hardware and software nodes.
Lead RMF efforts across all six RMF steps including Categorization, Control Selection, Control Implementation, Assessment, Authorization, and Continuous Monitoring.
Develop and maintain RMF artifacts including SSPs, SARs, SAPs, POA&Ms, inventories, architecture diagrams, and continuous monitoring documentation.
Coordinate directly with U.S. Navy Authorizing Officials (AOs), Security Control Assessors (SCAs), ISSMs, ISSOs, and Program Managers. Performing regular server updates, patch management, and software installations.
Manage cybersecurity authorization packages and support ATO, IATT, and IATO activities.
As needed, performing ACAS Scans on various devices across multiple systems
Collect, review, and submit various STIG checklists for RMF processes
Develop and maintain access control policies for various organization assets
Remediate Vulnerabilities and documenting POAMs as required.
Work with developers and engineers to implement, maintain, and review security processes to maintain compliance and ensure user permissions are accordingly
Help develop and maintain various golden images in support of business area activities to include operating system images and virtual machines.
Creating and maintaining detailed documentation of systems and networks for usage by both technical and non-technical stake holders
Manage local area IDT network infrastructure per awarded contracts and network expansion efforts to support project needs. Serve as Information Systems Security Manager (ISSM) for product ATOs and, as required, IDT infrastructure networks and supported products in coordination with IDT’s CIO. As required, serve as principle on-site representative to Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) and other government organizations, as needed, to ensure IT and network security requirements are met.

Who You Are (Required)

Bachelor’s Degree in in Cyber Security, Information Assurance, Computer Science, Information Technology or equivalent full-time professional experience
DoD 8570/8140 IAM Level III (CISSP, CISM) Certified
10+ years experience in Cybersecurity or Systems Engineering within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), with a mastery of the Risk Management Framework (RMF).
Ability to travel up to 10% of the time as needed

What Makes You Stand Out

5+ years in Cybersecurity or Systems Engineering within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), with a mastery of RMF; this includes:
- Experience navigating the Department of the Navy RAISE 2.0 process to achieve continuous cyber readiness and inherit platform Authority to Operate (cATO/eATO) for containerized mission applications.
- Familiarity with the Overmatch Software Armory (or similar Navy DevSecOps Platforms / RAISE Platforms of Choice) for pipeline execution, automated security gating, SBOM generation, and container scanning.
- Familiarity with deploying, hardening, or integrating software services within Navy tactical environments, specifically ACS and CANES architectures.
- Proficient in CI/CD pipelines, including automated STIG compliance, SAST/DAST, vulnerability remediation, and container hardening to meet Navy Cyber Ready directives.
Expert-level knowledge of securing OCI-compliant containers (Docker) and Kubernetes (K8s) clusters, including network policies, service meshes (Istio), and runtime security.
Significant experience with Server Virtualization (ESXi, KVM) and Desktop Virtualization (VDI), including hardware-root-of-trust and secure hypervisor configuration.
Firm grasp of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) deployments of secure, reproducible environments using Terraform, Ansible, or CloudFormation.
Experience with automated security assessment tools (ACAS/Nessus, SCAP) and the technical integration of security data into eMASS.
Experience with configuring multiple forms of authentication to include PKI concepts.
Experience with having to identify hardware and/or software for purchase to meet various use-cases.
Experience with Ansible, PowerShell, Chef, Salt, Puppet, or any other configuration automation software.

Pay Range*

$164,000 - $273,000 or $198,000 - $328,000
Pursuant to California Senate Bill 1162, IDT is required to disclose the "pay scale" or "pay range" associated with a job posting. Notably, however, this amount may not be reflective of actual compensation that may be earned as pay is dependent on a candidate’s experience, skills, and education. The posted range does not include bonuses, commissions, tips, or other benefits. Click here for additional information about Senate Bill 1162. IDT is often looking to place multiple candidates at various levels. Therefore, more than one pay range has been included, commensurate with experience.

Why Work At Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT)

IDT is a growing company with a vibrant, entrepreneurial culture. We are headquartered in Arlington, VA with additional offices in Fall River, MA; Mount Laurel, NJ; and San Diego, CA. At each location, our employees work together in a modern, snack-filled, and social office space, designing innovative solutions for our defense industry customers. We offer employees competitive pay and benefits including: