Senior Defensive Cyber Operations Lead

Nightwing; Sterling (VA); On-site; USD 147,000 - 296,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, vision & dental insurance

401(k) plan

Paid time off (PTO)

Job summary

Nightwing seeks an exceptional Defensive Cyber Operations Lead to direct and optimize cyber defense mission execution. You will translate operational requirements into actionable defense tasks, lead threat detection, incident response, and threat hunting across enterprise networks, while ensuring readiness of teams in accredited environments.

The role requires senior technical authority with demonstrated leadership of large cyber programs and close alignment with Intelligence Community

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, IT, or related STEM field.
• Security+ and at least one: CISSP, CISM, CCISO, GCDA, CE, CySA+, or equivalent certification.
• 10+ years cybersecurity operations experience with demonstrated defensive leadership.
• 8+ years leading SOC operations or cyber defense missions for programs of similar size and scope (50+ FTEs, $50M+ budgets).

Responsibilities

• Provide defensive cyber operations leadership across the program portfolio.
• Manage daily cyber defense tasking and 24/7/365 operational tempo.
• Lead threat detection, incident response, and threat hunting activities.
• Coordinate with military, intelligence, and contractor teams.
• Direct SOC activities ensuring continuous monitoring and rapid response.
• Maintain the operational readiness of defense teams and compliant environments.

Skills

Defensive Cyber Ops

Leadership

Incident response

Threat hunting

SOC operations

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in CS/Cybersecurity

Security+ and CISSP/CISM/CCISO/GCDA/CE/CySA+ or equivalent

Tools

SIEM (Splunk)

EDR/XDR tools

Threat intelligence platforms

Job description

Nightwing seeks an exceptional Defensive Cyber Operations Lead to direct and optimize cyber defense mission execution. You will translate operational requirements into actionable defense tasks, lead threat detection, incident response, and threat hunting across enterprise networks, while ensuring readiness of teams in accredited environments.

The role requires senior technical authority with demonstrated leadership of large cyber programs and close alignment with Intelligence Community