Senior Zero Trust Architect for Federal Deployments

Guidehouse; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 149,000 - 248,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

401(k) Plan

Tuition Reimbursement

Mobility Stipend

Job summary

Guidehouse is seeking a senior Zero Trust strategist to lead large-scale IT deployments for federal civilian and defense environments. You will bring hands-on expertise with Zscaler, Okta, and CrowdStrike, and you will translate complex security architectures into executable roadmaps.

In this role you will design reference architectures, drive cross-functional programs, manage vendor relationships, and present executive-level briefings to CISOs and leaders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university.
• Minimum of 8 years of overall work experience.
• US Citizenship is required.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Federal or DoD Public Trust prior to onboarding.
• Experience in IT or managing large-scale deployments with US Federal government consulting experience.
• Experience in federal civilian, defense contractor, or highly regulated environments.
• Familiarity with federal compliance frameworks (FISMA, FedRAMP, NIST 800-53).
• Hands-on experience with Zero Trust platforms (CrowdStrike Falcon, Zscaler, Okta).
• Excellent communication and client-facing skills; able to present to CISO level stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Design, document, and maintain enterprise Zero Trust architectures across identity, device, network/environment, application/workload, and data pillars.
• Define strategic roadmaps and reference architectures aligned with mission requirements.
• Embed Zero Trust principles into modernization, cloud transitions, and cybersecurity initiatives.
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams to ensure cohesive implementation and maturity.
• Perform organizational assessments using Zero Trust maturity models.
• Produce gap analyses and remediation plans aligned with maturity expectations.
• Develop and maintain project plans with timelines, budgets, and resources.
• Identify and mitigate risks, issues, and dependencies to ensure on-time delivery.
• Provide regular status updates to leadership and stakeholders.
• Manage cross-functional teams, vendor relationships, and external consultants.
• Lead development of Zero Trust program strategies and executive briefings.
• Independently design Zero Trust reference architectures and capability roadmaps.
• Act as senior Zscaler and CrowdStrike product expert for the engagement.
• Translate Zscaler and CrowdStrike technologies into business outcomes and maturity recommendations.
• Coordinate with Zscaler and CrowdStrike engineering teams to ensure alignment while maintaining operational continuity.

Skills

Analytical skills

Project management

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

Independent consulting

Team leadership

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Zscaler

Okta

CrowdStrike Falcon

Job description

Guidehouse is seeking a senior Zero Trust strategist to lead large-scale IT deployments for federal civilian and defense environments. You will bring hands-on expertise with Zscaler, Okta, and CrowdStrike, and you will translate complex security architectures into executable roadmaps.

In this role you will design reference architectures, drive cross-functional programs, manage vendor relationships, and present executive-level briefings to CISOs and leaders.