Work Type: Hybrid — Washington, DC; on-site at least 2 days per week
Industry Category: Cybersecurity / Federal Information Security
Employment Type: Full-Time Contract — Key Personnel
Clearance Requirement: Must be eligible for and capable of obtaining a Tier 4 (High-Risk Public Trust) background investigation
Salary: $150,000–$200,000 per year as a W2, negotiable for the right candidate.
Citizenship Requirement: U.S. Citizenship Required
Position Overview
Our client is seeking an experienced Lead Senior Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO) to support a federal cybersecurity program. This full-time Key Personnel position will serve as the primary technical lead and point of accountability for ISSO activities across supported information systems.
The Lead Senior ISSO will provide hands-on leadership across NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF), system authorization, continuous monitoring, vulnerability and POA&M management, security documentation, incident response, and audit/compliance activities. This is a technical leadership role and not solely an administrative management position.
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as the primary technical interface with the Government ISSM, CISO, AO/AODR, System Owners, and other cybersecurity stakeholders.
- Lead and coordinate ISSO activities across supported federal information systems.
- Lead NIST RMF, system categorization, security control assessment, ATO/reauthorization, and continuous authorization activities.
- Oversee development, review, quality control, and submission of security authorization packages and supporting documentation.
- Lead Information Security Continuous Monitoring (ISCM/ConMon), security-posture reporting, metrics, dashboards, and trend analysis.
- Oversee vulnerability management, remediation, and Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) activities.
- Support Security Impact Analyses (SIAs), system/configuration changes, incident response, and corrective-action tracking.
- Lead cybersecurity audit, assessment, FISMA, compliance, evidence-collection, and audit-readiness activities.
- Conduct quality reviews, manage cybersecurity risks and issues, and escalate significant matters to Government leadership.
- Participate in cybersecurity governance and technical reviews while coordinating with program management on staffing, reporting, and performance.
Requirements
Minimum Qualifications
- U.S. citizenship required.
- Must be eligible for and capable of obtaining a Tier 4 (High-Risk Public Trust) background investigation.
- Senior-level experience as an ISSO or in a closely related federal cybersecurity role.
- Experience with NIST RMF, FISMA, system authorization, ATO/reauthorization, security control assessment, and continuous monitoring (ISCM/ConMon).
- Experience with vulnerability management, POA&M development/tracking, remediation, cybersecurity audits, compliance, and audit readiness.
- Experience developing and maintaining federal cybersecurity documentation, including SSPs, POA&Ms, Continuous Monitoring Plans, SAP/SARs, SIAs, incident response and contingency plans, and security control evidence.
- Experience leading cybersecurity workstreams and coordinating with ISSMs, CISOs, AO/AODRs, System Owners, assessors, and technical teams.
- Working knowledge of applicable NIST SP 800-series cybersecurity standards and guidance.
- Working familiarity with CSAM, Splunk, ServiceNow ITSM, and Tenable/Nessus or Qualys.
- Familiarity with enterprise security technologies including Microsoft Defender, Intune, BigFix, Azure, Microsoft 365 security/compliance tools, Entra ID, Okta, Palo Alto Panorama, and Zscaler.
- Strong technical writing, analytical, leadership, communication, and stakeholder-management skills.
- Ability to work on-site in Washington, DC at least two days per week, with additional on-site support as required.
Preferred Qualifications
- Relevant education and professional cybersecurity certifications.
- Prior experience as a Lead ISSO, Senior ISSO, or federal cybersecurity technical lead.
- Advanced hands-on experience with CSAM, Splunk, ServiceNow, and Tenable/Nessus or Qualys.
- Experience supporting multiple federal information systems through RMF authorization and continuous-monitoring lifecycles.
- Experience leading cybersecurity governance, quality reviews, audit preparation, and Government-facing technical discussions.
Benefits
Compensation
$150,000–$200,000 per year as a W2, negotiable for the right candidate.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- 401(k)