Senior Penetration Tester (TS/SCI) – Cloud & Zero-Trust

GovCIO; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 124,540 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Corporate Discounts

Learning & Development platform

Training, Education and Certification

Referral Bonus Program

Internal Mobility Program

Pet Insurance

Flexible Work Environment

Job summary

GovCIO is seeking a Senior Penetration Tester with an active TS/SCI clearance to support DHS onsite in Washington, DC. You will lead advanced pentesting within a TS/SCI environment, guiding testing teams and delivering actionable findings to strengthen federal security postures.

Ideal candidates have 12+ years of penetration testing experience, hands-on cloud and enterprise security expertise (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), and a track record in complex environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's with 12+ years of penetration testing experience (or commensurate experience).
• 8+ years in enterprise security architectures and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud).
• Proven, extensive experience as a Penetration Tester in complex or classified environments.
• Advanced knowledge of penetration testing methodologies, offensive security techniques, and industry tools.
• Experience with AWS, Azure, RHEL, Linux, and Tenable.
• Hands-on experience with Kali Linux, Burp Suite Pro, and Metasploit.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills with an attacker mindset.
• Excellent communication skills for technical and executive stakeholders.
• Preferred certifications: CEH, OSCP, or equivalent offensive security certifications.
• Clearance Required: Active TS/SCI clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead, plan, and oversee penetration testing operations for systems, networks, cloud resources, and web‑based applications in a TS/SCI environment
• Execute comprehensive vulnerability assessments and software assurance evaluations; document findings and drive remediation strategies
• Conduct deep technical analysis of vulnerabilities including buffer overflows, SQL injection, CSRF, XSS, race conditions (TOCTOU), XXE, encryption weaknesses, authentication bypass, and similar issues
• Assess and advise on security considerations during software acceptance activities, including criteria definition, risk acceptance evaluation, documentation review, and independent validation approaches
• Apply advanced security defense functions (encryption, access control, identity management) to reduce exploitation risks, including those related to supply chain considerations
• Provide threat intelligence insights and vulnerability research aligned with frameworks such as NIST 800‑53 and MITRE ATT&CK to inform cloud security architecture decisions
• Develop new or enhanced penetration testing methodologies to identify emerging vulnerabilities and expand organizational capability
• Serve as a senior technical advisor and mentor to penetration testing staff; ensure consistency, quality, and rigor in testing execution
• Represent the penetration testing function in discussions with leadership, engineering teams, and mission stakeholders as required for Key Personnel roles

Education

Bachelor's with 12+ years of penetration testing experience (or commensurate experience)

Job description

GovCIO is seeking a Senior Penetration Tester with an active TS/SCI clearance to support DHS onsite in Washington, DC. You will lead advanced pentesting within a TS/SCI environment, guiding testing teams and delivering actionable findings to strengthen federal security postures.

Ideal candidates have 12+ years of penetration testing experience, hands-on cloud and enterprise security expertise (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), and a track record in complex environments.