Senior Solutions Engineer

Software Engineering Institute | Carnegie Mellon University; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Carnegie Mellon University’s CERT Division within the Software Engineering Institute seeks a senior leader to guide security architecture, mission engineering, and program strategy for government and critical infrastructure programs. You will mentor staff, oversee multiple projects, and drive SoS architectures from concept to deployment.

The role requires experience with zero trust, cyber resilience, and advanced analytics, with frequent collaboration across sponsors and CMU partners in

Qualifications

• PhD in CS/Engineering or equivalent experience with cybersecurity focus.
• Experience leading complex security architecture efforts across multiple projects.
• Background checks and eligibility for security clearance required.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategy and architecture efforts for government programs.
• Mentor staff and oversee multiple projects across sponsors.
• Develop and evaluate security solutions and roadmaps.
• Coordinate with stakeholders to elicit requirements and design SoS architectures.
• Present technical concepts to executives and technical teams.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Security architecture

Zero Trust

Stakeholder management

Technical presentation

Government experience

SoS architecture

Research & writing

Education

PhD in Computer Science & Engineering

MS or PhD in related field

Bachelor's degree

Tools

MBSE tools

Network monitoring infra

Cloud platforms

Job description

Who We Are

You will work within the CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). Carnegie Mellon University’s SEI researches complex software engineering, cyber, and AI problems; creates and tests innovative technologies; and transitions mature solutions into practice for the Department of War (DoW) and federal government.

What We Do

The CERT Situational Awareness helps organizations, particularly those within the DoW, federal government, and critical infrastructure sectors, develop and maintain awareness of their cyber hybrid environments (cloud, on-premises, mobile), identify risks, and make informed decisions concerning cybersecurity, cyber resiliency, and cyber survivability. The team applies cybersecurity, systems engineering, and operational analysis techniques to understand complex architectures and the relationships among systems, missions, workflows, data, and stakeholders.

Position Summary

As a member of the team, you will be responsible for:

• Providing strategic technical support to senior decision makers.
• Leading teams in the development of security architectures.
• Mission engineering, system of systems (SoS) architectures, systems requirements development, engineering, analysis, technology evaluation and deployment guidance.
• Developing SoS architectures, systems requirements, engineering, analysis, technology evaluation and deployment guidance.
• Develop and evaluate advanced analytical techniques, including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), behavioral analytics, and data-driven approaches for cyber operations.
• Documenting current-state architectures, identifying capability and coverage gaps, evaluating technology integration strategies, recommending security solutions, and developing mission threads/workflows.
• Supporting organizations in planning, assessing, and implementing Zero Trust and cyber resilience strategies.
• Evaluating, piloting, and transitioning new technologies into operational environments.
• Developing of cybersecurity, technology, and architecture roadmaps aligned with mission and business objectives.
• Assessing organizational capabilities, security architectures, operational processes, and cyber resilience to identify strengths, weaknesses, risks, and opportunities for improvement.
• Acts in a managerial capacity when needed by leading, mentoring, and motivating less-senior staff.
• Oversees multiple projects.
• Acts independently with general direction and limited guidance from SEI senior management while working in an environment where requirements are not well defined.

Requirements

• BS with ten (10) years or MS with eight (8) years or equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Willingness to travel to various locations to support the SEI’s overall mission. This includes within the SEI and CMU community, sponsor sites, conferences, and offsite meetings on occasion. Moderate Travel (20%).
• You will be subject to a background check and must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Department of War security clearance.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Ability to present technical topics to audiences from senior leadership to technical experts.
• Ability to work with multiple stakeholders to promote practical solutions to tough security problems.
• Strong understanding of networking, security, systems administration, programming, and cloud.
• Ability to work at the SoS architecture level to identify and understand tradeoffs
• Experience working with the government, or within a critical infrastructure sector.
• Strong research and writing skills.

Desired Experience

• PhD in Computer Science & Engineering, System Engineering or related discipline with two (2) years of experience in cybersecurity/network operations, Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), or workflow/process analysis; or equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Experience in one or more of the following areas:
  • Security and/or enterprise architecture
  • Security operations deploying or supporting large-scale network security monitoring infrastructures.
  • Security research
  • Programming or software engineering
  • Networking
  • Testing
• Prior responsibility in leading a body of work consisting of numerous large-scale projects and multiple customers or external sponsors.
• History of contributions to the broader industry or research community and experience in a variety of network security areas.

Job Function Breakdown

75% Lead support to government program offices in the areas of strategy; process/policies; requirements elicitation; design and architecture; operations; outreach; and training.

15% Enable the transition and appropriate focus of situational awareness analysis and engineering approaches and tools into operational environments.

10% Design, prototype, and transition tactical analysis studies and tools appropriate for operational use in situational awareness.

100% total effort

Location

Arlington, VA, Pittsburgh, PA

Job Function

Software/Applications Development/Engineering

Position Type

Staff – Regular

Full time/Part time

Full time

Pay Basis

Salary

More Information

• Please visit “Why Carnegie Mellon” to learn more about becoming part of an institution inspiring innovations that change the world.
• Click here to view a listing of employee benefits
• Carnegie Mellon University is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran.
• Statement of Assurance