Zero Trust Strategist

Jobtailor; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Guidehouse in Washington, DC seeks a senior consultant to lead Zero Trust programs, architect reference models, and coordinate cross-functional teams across federal civilian, defense, and regulated environments.

You will translate capabilities into business outcomes for CISO-level audiences and manage multi-vendor integrations (Zscaler, CrowdStrike, Okta) while driving maturity roadmaps aligned with NIST 800-53 and FedRAMP.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited university.
• Minimum of 8 years of overall work experience.
• US Citizenship is contractually required.
• Must obtain and maintain a Federal or DoD "PUBLIC TRUST" prior to onboarding with Guidehouse.
• Experience in IT or managing large-scale deployments and cross-functional technical teams with US Federal government consulting experience.
• Experience working in federal civilian, defense contractor, or highly regulated environments.
• Familiarity with federal compliance frameworks (e.g., FISMA, FedRAMP, NIST 800-53).
• Experience collaborating with teams for IT security operations, threat response, or security architecture development, including IAM system requirements, design, implementation, integration, testing, or change management.
• Demonstrated expertise across all pillars of Zero Trust.
• Hands-on experience with Zero Trust technology platforms (e.g., CrowdStrike Falcon, Zscaler, and Okta).
• Hands-on experience with automating security workflows and integrating Zero Trust technology platforms.
• Deep understanding of identity-centric security, segmentation, continuous monitoring, and least privileged access.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and verbal and written communication abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong customer service and stakeholder management skills.
• Attention to detail and commitment to security best practices.
• Demonstrated ability to operate as an independent consultant, leading strategic discussions, developing executive-ready deliverables, and facilitating program-level decision making without reliance on product engineering teams.
• Proven experience developing Zero Trust program roadmaps, maturity plans, and strategic capability adoption aligned to CISA and DoD Zero Trust frameworks.
• Exceptional communication and client-facing skills, including presenting to CISO-level stakeholders and translating technical detail into strategic business guidance.
• Experience driving multi-vendor Zero Trust integration approaches involving identity, endpoint, cloud, and network platforms.
• Ability to influence architecture decisions across engineering, operations, governance, and security architecture teams.
• Active security clearance (nice to have).
• Knowledge of NIST 800-53, 800-207, RMF, FedRAMP, and related frameworks (nice to have).
• Experience with SIEM, SOAR, SASE, and identity threat detection and response technologies (nice to have).
• Strong practical experience applying and assessing organizations against DoD and CISA Zero Trust Maturity Models (nice to have).
• Familiarity with SDLC process, including designing and developing applications (nice to have).
• Previous consulting experience delivering Zero Trust architecture guidance (nice to have).

Responsibilities

• Demonstrates expertise in designing and implementing Zero Trust architectures, managing cross-functional teams, and developing strategic roadmaps aligned with organizational objectives.
• Proficient in translating complex technical details into actionable business outcomes while ensuring compliance with federal frameworks.
• Lead Zero Trust program strategies and executive-level briefings for CISO and senior leadership audiences.
• Independently design Zero Trust reference architectures and capability roadmaps.
• Translate Zscaler and CrowdStrike technologies, including ZIA/ZPA, Falcon Insight/XDR, and Falcon DLP, into business outcomes and maturity recommendations.
• Coordinate separate Zscaler and CrowdStrike engineering teams while driving architectural decisions autonomously.

Skills

Zero Trust Architecture Design

CrowdStrike Falcon Expertise

Zscaler Technology Integration

Federal Compliance Frameworks

Project Management

Executive Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Zscaler

CrowdStrike

Okta

SIEM

SOAR

SASE

Job description

• Help clients solve complex business issues from strategy through execution as part of an integrated team of developers and consultants
• 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 organizational objectives and mission requirements
• Embed Zero Trust principles into technology modernization, cloud transitions, and cybersecurity initiatives
• Coordinate with cybersecurity, network engineering, cloud, DevSecOps, and governance teams for cohesive implementation and maturity
• Perform organizational assessments using the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model
• Produce gap analyses and prioritized remediation plans
• Develop and maintain project plans covering timelines, milestones, budgets, and resource allocation
• Identify, track, and mitigate project risks, issues, and dependencies
• Provide project status updates to leadership, technical teams, and stakeholders
• Manage cross-functional project teams, vendor relationships, and external consultants
• Lead Zero Trust program strategies and executive-level briefings for CISO and senior leadership audiences
• Independently design Zero Trust reference architectures and capability roadmaps
• Serve as senior Zscaler and CrowdStrike product expert, advising on capabilities, constraints, and adoption patterns
• Translate Zscaler and CrowdStrike technologies, including ZIA/ZPA, Falcon Insight/XDR, and Falcon DLP, into business outcomes and maturity recommendations
• Coordinate separate Zscaler and CrowdStrike engineering teams while driving architectural decisions autonomously

Requirements

• Bachelors degree from an accredited university
• Minimum of EIGHT (8) years of overall work experience
• US Citizenship is contractually required
• Must be able to OBTAIN and MAINTAIN a Federal or DoD "PUBLIC TRUST"; candidates must obtain approved adjudication of their PUBLIC TRUST prior to onboarding with Guidehouse
• Experience in IT or managing large-scale deployments and cross-functional technical teams with US Federal government consulting experience
• Experience working in federal civilian, defense contractor, or highly regulated environments
• Familiarity with federal compliance frameworks (e.g., FISMA, FedRAMP, NIST 800-53)
• Experience collaborating with teams for IT security operations, threat response, or security architecture development, including IAM system requirements, design, implementation, integration, testing, or change management
• Demonstrated expertise across all pillars of Zero Trust
• Hands-on experience with Zero Trust technology platforms (e.g., CrowdStrike Falcon, Zscaler, and Okta)
• Hands-on experience with automating security workflows and integrating Zero Trust technology platforms
• Deep understanding of identity-centric security, segmentation, continuous monitoring, and least privileged access
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and verbal and written communication abilities
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Strong customer service and stakeholder management skills
• Attention to detail and commitment to security best practices
• Demonstrated ability to operate as an independent consultant, leading strategic discussions, developing executive-ready deliverables, and facilitating program-level decision making without reliance on product engineering teams
• Proven experience developing Zero Trust program roadmaps, maturity plans, and strategic capability adoption aligned to CISA and DoD Zero Trust frameworks
• Exceptional communication and client-facing skills, including presenting to CISO-level stakeholders and translating technical detail into strategic business guidance
• Experience driving multi-vendor Zero Trust integration approaches involving identity, endpoint, cloud, and network platforms
• Ability to influence architecture decisions across engineering, operations, governance, and security architecture teams
• Active security clearance (nice to have)
• Knowledge of NIST 800-53, 800-207, RMF, FedRAMP, and related frameworks (nice to have)
• Experience with SIEM, SOAR, SASE, and identity threat detection and response technologies (nice to have)
• Strong practical experience applying and assessing organizations against DoD and CISA Zero Trust Maturity Models (nice to have)
• Familiarity with SDLC process, including designing and developing applications (nice to have)
• Previous consulting experience delivering Zero Trust architecture guidance (nice to have)

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in designing and implementing Zero Trust architectures, managing cross-functional teams, and developing strategic roadmaps aligned with organizational objectives. Proficient in translating complex technical details into actionable business outcomes while ensuring compliance with federal frameworks.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Zero Trust Architecture Design
• CrowdStrike Falcon Expertise
• Zscaler Technology Integration
• Federal Compliance Frameworks
• Project Management

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Zero Trust Principles
• Identity and Access Management
• Security Workflow Automation
• Gap Analysis
• Risk Mitigation
• Project PlanningTechnical Documentation
• Cybersecurity Initiatives
• Threat Response
• Strategic Capability Adoption

Soft Skills

• Analytical Skills
• Problem-Solving
• Communication Skills
• Stakeholder Management
• Attention to Detail

Certifications & Qualifications

• Federal or DoD Public Trust

Industry Keywords

• CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model
• FISMA
• FedRAMP
• NIST 800-53
• DoD Zero Trust Framework

Tools & Technologies

• Zscaler
• CrowdStrike
• Okta
• SIEM
• SOAR
• SASE