Cybersecurity Incident Commander

Valiant Solutions is seeking a Cybersecurity Incident Commander to join our rapidly growing and innovative team!

The Cybersecurity Incident Commander will direct and manage multiple work streams and resources during/after Incident Response & Recovery engagements. You will be tasked with incident response coordination and project management in a matrixed triage environment, forensic imaging and analysis, breach containment, and infrastructure recovery planning and execution, after-action reporting, and analysis. This role will often interface with multiple groups, including external agency IR functions, third-party contracting companies, external law firms, etc.), internal direct contract and third-party resources, and customer resources (C-Suite, Legal, Compliance, Risk, Security, Cybersecurity, Auditing, Operations, IT, Call Centers, Communications, Public Relations). Additionally, the Incident Commander will collaborate with Security Operations and Security Engineering practice leaders to evaluate the direction of our offerings, establish ongoing relationships with third parties and clients, and work closely with stakeholders to understand business objectives and advise on security risks/mitigation strategies during incident response work.

Named one of the Washington Business Journal’s Best Places to Work every year since 2014, Valiant is proud of our employee-centric culture and commitment to excellence. If you are interested in learning more about Valiant and this opportunity, we invite you to apply now!

Location: This position allows for 100% remote work. Remote work requires a high level of trust in our employees, and we strictly adhere to the details outlined in our Remote Work Policy below. 

Clearance Requirements: Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility

Required Experience:

• Minimum of 10+ years of experience within the incident response, cybersecurity, and/or IT risk management arena 
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Mathematics, Engineering, or related degree or an additional three (3) years of relevant experience.
• Leadership experience and high level of confidence with incident response management, i.e., technical recovery, legal or compliance notifications, incident response plan development, forensic investigation, and tabletop testing - required
• Advisory experience in compliance or regulatory frameworks (i.e., FISMA, PCI, GDPR, NIST, ISO)
• Experience owning the critical process steps with incident response: detection, validation, containment, remediation, and communication – for computer-based security events and incidents such as malware infections, potential compromise, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), etc.
• Experience driving the strategy for Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM) and overseeing the effectiveness of the technology and process. Involves appropriate tuning, correlation of critical logs, connection to our incident response process, and reporting of relevant metrics.
• Experience responding to critical security incidents and leading escalation teams to close with response, containment, and remediation.
• Experience creating, maintaining, and promoting a set of security operation playbooks with Agilent’s IT teams to effectively trigger and execute the security incident response process.
• Experience managing the current state of logging and monitoring while maintaining a vision of the ideal state and driving a prioritized roadmap to reduce the gaps.
• Experience acting as an Information Security & Risk consultant to various IT and business-driven projects and operations.
• Solid understanding of the application, database, authentication, and network security principles; able to demonstrate how network services and protocols interact to provide communications, evidence recovery techniques, log data analytics, Incident categories, IR event handling methodologies, intrusion detection systems, network protocol, and packet analysis
• Understanding of system and application security, systems and network administration, and operating system hardening techniques
• General cyber-attack stages, profiling techniques, and techniques for detecting host and network-based intrusions
• Evidence recovery techniques, Preservation of evidence integrity, and collection of forensically sound collection images, logs, and other critical components to discern possible mitigation/remediation of systems
• Ability to perform or direct malware analysis, Threat Hunting, and incident response
• Understanding of Computer Network Defense (CND) policies, procedures, and regulations
• Ability to convey complex technical security concepts to technical and non-technical audiences during crises, i.e., executive or board-level presentations
• Ability to work with senior business leaders to understand business objectives/functions, identify risk factors, and communicate effective mitigation strategies
• Excellent organizational, verbal, presentation/facilitation, and written communication skills
• All candidates must have US work authorization and the ability to pass a federal background check and credit check. 

Preferred, not required: 

• CISSP, CISM, or equivalent cybersecurity certifications 
• PMP
• At least 8 years of directly related experience in Information Security Threat Management.
• Process management experience with incident response and SIEM.
• Experience with and confidence to develop and socialize security operations playbooks across infrastructure and applications teams in IT.
• Prior experience with Law Enforcement, Forensic / Incident Response Firms, Cyber Insurance providers, Breach Coaches and/or Law Firms

Responsibilities:

• Participate in a rotating on-call; rotation is based on the number of team members.
• Serve as the incident response event point person and liaison to enterprise teams, responding to crisis or urgent situations aimed at mitigating, preparing for, responding to, and recovery systems.  Will also coordinate resources, activities, and timelines during security incidents to ensure a unified structured response to incidents (I.e., data breaches, ransomware events, etc.)
• Work under the direction of the Security Operations lead aimed at mitigating, preparing for, responding to, and recovering systems from cyber threats/incidents.
• Conduct initial incident triage, assess the effectiveness of various tactics/strategies, and make rapid decisions on appropriate courses of action.
• Supports/develops reports during and after incidents, which include all actions taken to properly mitigate, recover, and return operations to normal operations
• Review and recommend technical, process, and physical controls to counteract damage from breach events.
• Lead forensic investigators and application security analysts in reactive and proactive Threat-hunting engagements, performing endpoint, network, and log analysis.
• Mentor and grow junior resources to develop additional forensic, response, and threat-hunting capabilities

About Valiant Solutions

Valiant Solutions delivers cybersecurity and IT services to federal civilian, defense, and national security customers nationwide. We support the full cyber lifecycle, from secure system design and accreditation through AI-enabled operations, threat emulation, and continuous improvement, across classified and unclassified environments. Our work is independently certified for quality and security, including CMMI, CMMC, and ISO certifications.

Valiant is a multi-year Washington Business Journal Best Places to Work winner, and our growth and cyber leadership have been recognized by Washington Technology, Northern Virginia Technology Council, and the Triangle Business Journal. We offer strong benefits, rewards for earning industry certifications, and room to grow your career as we grow. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, our distributed workforce supports customers from coast to coast. We go where the stakes are highest, and the margin for error is zero. If you want meaningful work alongside talented professionals, apply today.

Benefits Snapshot

Valiant takes care of the people who support our customers, with real choices in coverage and real investment in your career. Eligible full-time employees receive:

• A choice of medical plans, from an affordable HSA option to a full-featured PPO, with generous company contributions
• Dental and vision coverage for you and your family
• Company-paid life, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance
• Optional supplemental life, accident, and critical illness coverage to round out your protection
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match
• Paid time off that grows with your years of service, plus paid federal holidays
• Paid certifications, professional development, and the Valiant University training portal
• Flexible spending accounts and a wellness and fitness program
• Referral bonuses when you help us bring great people to Valiant 

Benefit eligibility and plan details are subject to the terms of each plan and may change from time to time.

The anticipated salary range for this position is $170,000 to $189,000. This range reflects Valiant Solutions' good-faith estimate of the base salary reasonably expected for this position upon hire, at the time of posting. The range has been established based on the scope of the role, market rates, and internal equity. Where a candidate falls within the posted range will depend on job-related factors, including relevant skills, experience, qualifications, achievements, education, geographic location, applicable security clearance requirements, additional corporate responsibilities, and other legitimate, non-discriminatory business considerations. The posted range does not guarantee an offer at any particular salary. In addition to base salary, this position includes the benefits described above. 

Remote Work Policy (Remote and Hybrid Positions Only)

Remote work necessitates a high level of trust in our employees. To ensure that employee performance does not suffer in a remote work environment, all employees who telecommute are expected to have a quiet and distraction-free workspace with adequate internet, dedicate their full attention and availability to their job duties during working hours, and maintain a schedule during core business hours that aligns with those of their coworkers and Valiant's clients. In alignment with Valiant's inclusive and engaging environment, cameras are encouraged and can be required to be on during virtual video conferences. Additionally, in alignment with the Office of the Inspector General’s effort to eliminate conflicting employment, all Valiant employees are required to disclose any current or future outside employment engagements. During onboarding and throughout employment, employees must disclose any current activities or intent to engage in outside employment or other professional activities and obtain written approval.  Employees may not solicit or conduct any outside business during core business hours for Valiant Solutions and our clients.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Valiant Solutions is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Valiant Solutions provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact [email protected].

Physical Demands

Sitting or standing at a desk for prolonged periods and consistently operating a computer. Frequent communication and exchanging of accurate information via electronic communication, phones, and in person. Occasionally lift and/or move moderate amounts of weight, typically less than 20 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Authorization to Share Resume and Personal Information

By submitting your resume for this position, you authorize Valiant Solutions to share your resume, as well as personal information included on the resume, with its subsidiaries, affiliates, and teaming partners for the purpose of considering you for this position and other available positions requiring comparable skills, education, and experience. Should Valiant Solutions or its affiliates and teaming partners wish to initiate pre-employment discussions, you will be asked to complete an employment application and related employment documents.