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The Role
Leads cybersecurity accreditation and Risk Management Framework activities for U.S. Navy and Department of War mission systems. Responsibilities include ATO and cATO support, vulnerability management, continuous monitoring, STIG compliance, security automation in CI/CD pipelines, secure Kubernetes and virtualization architectures, access control, infrastructure security, and RMF documentation. The role coordinates with government authorizing officials, assessors, ISSMs, and program managers while supporting on-site systems, networks, and security operations.
Summary Generated by Built In
About The Role:
Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT), a leading defense technology company, is seeking a Senior Cyber System Engineer to be part of our Integrated Mission Systems (IMS) team and based out of our San Diego, CA location.
This Senior Cyber Systems Engineer will lead and support cybersecurity accreditation activities for mission-critical Department of War systems, including Authority to Operate (ATO) efforts, Risk Management Framework (RMF) implementation, vulnerability management, continuous monitoring through the Navy and DoW’s DEVSECOPS deployment pipelines, and security engineering activities supporting U.S. Navy programs. Duties will also include providing and maintaining documentation for processes and procedures, while also providing support to internal engineers or customers on-site.
Clearance & Location Requirements:
- All applicants must be able to obtain/maintain an active Secret U.S. Security Clearance.
- This is an on-site position. Requiring at least 4 days in office, based out of our San Diego, CA location and nearby government facilities.
Key Responsibilities
What You Will Do:
- Help design and implement secure, high-performance architectures for autonomous systems, AI-driven platforms, and edge-computing devices.
- Embed automated security gates (SAST, DAST, IAST, SRM) into CI/CD pipelines to ensure that security is "code-driven" rather than a manual bottleneck.
- Lead the transition from static RMF cycles to Continuous Authority to Operate (cATO) by automating control verification and continuous monitoring.
- Architect secure multi-tenant environments using advanced virtualization (Type-1 Hypervisors) and container orchestration (Kubernetes) tailored for IL5/IL6 mission sets.
- Engineer Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) solutions that enforce Zero Trust principles across distributed hardware and software nodes.
- Lead RMF efforts across all six RMF steps including Categorization, Control Selection, Control Implementation, Assessment, Authorization, and Continuous Monitoring.
- Develop and maintain RMF artifacts including SSPs, SARs, SAPs, POA&Ms, inventories, architecture diagrams, and continuous monitoring documentation.
- Coordinate directly with U.S. Navy Authorizing Officials (AOs), Security Control Assessors (SCAs), ISSMs, ISSOs, and Program Managers. Performing regular server updates, patch management, and software installations.
- Manage cybersecurity authorization packages and support ATO, IATT, and IATO activities.
- As needed, performing ACAS Scans on various devices across multiple systems
- Collect, review, and submit various STIG checklists for RMF processes
- Develop and maintain access control policies for various organization assets
- Remediate Vulnerabilities and documenting POAMs as required.
- Work with developers and engineers to implement, maintain, and review security processes to maintain compliance and ensure user permissions are accordingly
- Help develop and maintain various golden images in support of business area activities to include operating system images and virtual machines.
- Creating and maintaining detailed documentation of systems and networks for usage by both technical and non-technical stake holders
- Manage local area IDT network infrastructure per awarded contracts and network expansion efforts to support project needs. Serve as Information Systems Security Manager (ISSM) for product ATOs and, as required, IDT infrastructure networks and supported products in coordination with IDT’s CIO. As required, serve as principle on-site representative to Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) and other government organizations, as needed, to ensure IT and network security requirements are met.
Skills, Knowledge & Expertise
Who You Are (Required):
- Bachelor’s Degree in in Cyber Security, Information Assurance, Computer Science, Information Technology or equivalent full-time professional experience
- DoD 8570/8140 IAM Level III (CISSP, CISM) Certified
- 10+ years experience in Cybersecurity or Systems Engineering within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), with a mastery of the Risk Management Framework (RMF).
- Ability to travel up to 10% of the time as needed
What Makes You Stand Out:
- 5+ years in Cybersecurity or Systems Engineering within the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), with a mastery of RMF; this includes:
- Experience navigating the Department of the Navy RAISE 2.0 process to achieve continuous cyber readiness and inherit platform Authority to Operate (cATO/eATO) for containerized mission applications.
- Familiarity with the Overmatch Software Armory (or similar Navy DevSecOps Platforms / RAISE Platforms of Choice) for pipeline execution, automated security gating, SBOM generation, and container scanning.
- Familiarity with deploying, hardening, or integrating software services within Navy tactical environments, specifically ACS and CANES architectures.
- Proficient in CI/CD pipelines, including automated STIG compliance, SAST/DAST, vulnerability remediation, and container hardening to meet Navy Cyber Ready directives.
- Expert-level knowledge of securing OCI-compliant containers (Docker) and Kubernetes (K8s) clusters, including network policies, service meshes (Istio), and runtime security.
- Significant experience with Server Virtualization (ESXi, KVM) and Desktop Virtualization (VDI), including hardware-root-of-trust and secure hypervisor configuration.
- Firm grasp of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) deployments of secure, reproducible environments using Terraform, Ansible, or CloudFormation.
- Experience with automated security assessment tools (ACAS/Nessus, SCAP) and the technical integration of security data into eMASS.
- Experience with configuring multiple forms of authentication to include PKI concepts.
- Experience with having to identify hardware and/or software for purchase to meet various use-cases.
- Experience with Ansible, PowerShell, Chef, Salt, Puppet, or any other configuration automation software.
If you see yourself reflected in this role and are excited about the impact you could make, we encourage you to apply! If you know someone who may be a great fit, please feel free to share this opportunity with your network.
Pay Range*: $164,000 - $273,000 or $198,000 - $328,000
*Pursuant to California Senate Bill 1162, IDT is required to disclose the “pay scale” or “pay range” associated with a job posting. Notably, however, this amount may not be reflective of actual compensation that may be earned as pay is dependent on a candidate’s experience, skills, and education. The posted range does not include bonuses, commissions, tips, or other benefits. Click here for additional information about Senate Bill 1162. IDT is often looking to place multiple candidates at various levels. Therefore, more than one pay range has been included, commensurate with experience.
Job Benefits
Why Work at Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT):
IDT is a growing company with a vibrant, entrepreneurial culture. We are headquartered in Arlington, VA with additional offices in Fall River, MA; Mount Laurel, NJ; and San Diego, CA. At each location, our employees work together in a modern, snack-filled, and social office space, designing innovative solutions for our defense industry customers. We offer employees competitive pay and benefits including:
- Generous benefits package
- Competitive PTO
- Paid holidays
- 401(k) with immediate vesting and matching
- 9/80 optional schedule (2nd and 4th Friday off every month)
- Tuition Assistance Reimbursement Program
- Professional Development Resources
- Pre-Tax Commuter Benefits
- Organization-Wide Monthly Tech Connect Events
- Annual Employee Recognition Awards
- Regular Social Events and Catered Lunches
EEO Statement:
IDT is an Equal Opportunity employer.
About
Innovative Defense Technologies (IDT) is a leading defense technology company focused on rapidly delivering mission-critical software and systems solutions to the U.S. government. The company specializes in automation, digital engineering, and enabling the rapid integration of advanced capabilities into complex weapon and combat systems. These essential solutions empower the warfighter to field, operate, and sustain decisive capability at speed and scale. At IDT, our employees are developing advanced mission-critical outcomes by consistently delivering high-quality results, fostering innovation, applying rigorous problem-solving, and effectively collaborating across multifaceted teams and stakeholders. Grounded in these competencies, IDT translates complex customer priorities into robust software solutions.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Information Assurance, Computer Science, Information Technology, or equivalent full-time professional experience
- DoD 8570/8140 IAM Level III certification, such as CISSP or CISM
- 10+ years of cybersecurity or systems engineering experience within the Defense Industrial Base
- Mastery of the Risk Management Framework
- Ability to travel up to 10% of the time
- 5+ years of cybersecurity or systems engineering experience within the Defense Industrial Base
- Experience with Department of the Navy RAISE 2.0 and continuous Authority to Operate processes
- Familiarity with Overmatch Software Armory or comparable Navy DevSecOps and RAISE platforms
- Experience with Navy tactical environments, including ACS and CANES architectures
- Proficiency in CI/CD pipelines, automated STIG compliance, SAST/DAST, vulnerability remediation, and container hardening
- Expertise securing OCI-compliant containers and Kubernetes clusters, including network policies, service meshes, and runtime security
- Experience with ESXi, KVM, VDI, hardware-root-of-trust, and secure hypervisor configuration
- Experience deploying secure infrastructure as code using Terraform, Ansible, or CloudFormation
- Experience with ACAS/Nessus, SCAP, and integrating security data into eMASS
- Experience configuring multiple authentication methods and applying PKI concepts
- Experience identifying hardware and software purchases for operational use cases
- Experience with Ansible, PowerShell, Chef, Salt, Puppet, or other configuration automation software
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The Company
What We Do
WHO WE ARE Innovative Defense Technologies -IDT- provides automated software testing, data analysis, and cybersecurity solutions for the DOD's mission-critical systems. Using patented Automated Test and ReTest (ATRT) technology, we support the entire software testing lifecycle from component testing, to system integration and testing, to the analysis of results. Our automated test and analysis solutions enable the rapid update and delivery of large, complex systems. Our technologies offer: -Rapid system configuration assessment and validation -Repeatable, consistent testing, analysis and reporting -On-demand regression tests in response to cyber threats -Statistical rigor in test and analysis -Reduced time and manpower At IDT, we work closely with our customers to tailor our products to support their systems and meet their goals. IDT has the expertise, strategies and processes in place to provide an automated solution for your next project. Let us help you dramatically accelerate test execution time, expand test coverage and improve software quality. OUR MISSION Our mission is to enable new software capabilities to be fielded faster and more affordably by reducing the amount of time and the cost spent on software testing. Through the use of our software testing technology, IDT is changing the way testing is being done for large, complex, software systems.
