Senior Defensive Cyber Operations Lead

Nightwing; Sterling (VA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Nightwing seeks an exceptional Defensive Cyber Operations Lead to manage daily cyber defense tasking and operational tempo, interfacing with military partners and mission counterparts to ensure seamless coordination. You will translate operational requirements into actionable defensive missions and lead threat detection, response, and threat hunting across large networks.

The role requires senior technical authority, extensive experience in DCO, and a proven track record managing large, 24/7

Qualifications

• 10+ years cybersecurity operations with leadership experience.
• 8+ years leading SOC operations for large programs.
• 10+ years incident response, threat hunting, or network defense for national security missions.
• Security+ and at least one of CISSP/CISM/CCISO/GCDA/CE/CySA+ or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Serve as senior operational authority for defensive cyber operations across the portfolio valued at $50M+ annually.
• Manage 24/7/365 cyber defense tasking and mission tempo.
• Lead threat detection, incident response, and threat hunting across enterprise networks.
• Direct SOC activities ensuring continuous monitoring and rapid response capabilities.
• Interface with military cyber operations teams and mission partners on operational matters.

Skills

Cybersecurity operations

Incident response

Threat hunting

SOC management

Education

Security+ certification

CISSP

CISM

CCISO or CySA+

Tools

Splunk

Elastic

Sentinel

EDR/XDR

Job description

Nightwing seeks an exceptional Defensive Cyber Operations Lead to manage daily cyber defense tasking and operational tempo, interfacing with military partners and mission counterparts to ensure seamless coordination. You will translate operational requirements into actionable defensive missions and lead threat detection, response, and threat hunting across large networks.

The role requires senior technical authority, extensive experience in DCO, and a proven track record managing large, 24/7