Security & Vulnerability Management Engineer

We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Security & Vulnerability Management Engineer to execute critical cybersecurity improvement initiatives within a hybrid Microsoft, AWS, and Azure federal enterprise environment.

This is a project-driven cybersecurity engineering and implementation position , not a traditional security assessment, advisory, compliance, or steady-state security operations role.

Serving as the single dedicated technical engineering resource , the selected candidate will independently execute ten security improvement projects spanning vulnerability management, endpoint protection, patch management, firewall and network security, identity and access management, and security governance.

The successful candidate must demonstrate experience personally configuring, implementing, hardening, troubleshooting, and validating enterprise security technologies and controls . Responsibilities extend beyond identifying vulnerabilities and recommending corrective actions to directly implement approved security configuration changes, executing technical remediation, optimizing security platforms, and delivering measurable improvements to the organization's security posture.

The engineer will take ownership of technical deliverables from initial assessment and solution design through implementation, testing, validation, documentation, and completion. The customer retains responsibility for risk acceptance and policy approvals, while the engineer is accountable for executing approved technical security improvements.

The environment operates under federal cybersecurity requirements, including IRS Publication 1075, NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5, and the NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF).

Conduct authenticated and unauthenticated vulnerability assessments across enterprise servers, endpoints, network devices, SQL Server, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), and AWS/Azure workloads.

Directly implement and validate technical remediation activities, including secure configuration changes, system hardening, and vulnerability resolution.

Develop a risk-based vulnerability prioritization matrix incorporating Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) ratings, asset criticality, and exploitability.

Establish a comprehensive vulnerability remediation governance framework, including ownership models, service-level agreement (SLA) targets, remediation closure standards, and escalation workflows.

Deliver a formal Vulnerability Remediation Governance Plan within the first 60 days.

Drive vulnerability backlog reduction through root cause analysis of deferred findings, targeted remediation plans, direct technical remediation, and measurable burn-down tracking.

Configure, tune, and optimize Tenable Nessus vulnerability scanning policies and infrastructure.

Troubleshoot and resolve credentialed-scan failures and eliminate scanning coverage gaps across on-premises, cloud, and VDI environments.

Correlate vulnerability findings with Microsoft Sentinel, Varonis, and Splunk to validate results, identify discrepancies, and suppress false positives.

Implement improvements to vulnerability scanning accuracy, effectiveness, and reporting.

Develop and maintain dashboards and metrics for technical and executive audiences, including:

Mean Time to Remediate (MTTR)

Vulnerability aging

Patch compliance

Security exception tracking

Configure, implement, and optimize enterprise patch management solutions using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (MECM), Ivanti, and Jamf.

Design and implement patch deployment rings, maintenance windows, and automated patching workflows.

Develop and execute risk-based Windows and Linux server patching plans.

Implement endpoint and server security hardening measures to address identified vulnerabilities and configuration weaknesses.

Prepare, submit, and track formal change requests, including implementation procedures, testing, validation, and rollback documentation.

Update business continuity and disaster recovery documentation related to patch management activities.

Directly configure, implement, and harden enterprise firewall security policies, including remediation of misconfigurations, overly permissive rules, deprecated objects, and unnecessary access permissions through approved change-control procedures.

Work within the customer's existing Check Point firewall environment to assess, configure, implement, troubleshoot, and validate security improvements.

Apply hands-on enterprise firewall engineering experience with Check Point, Palo Alto Networks, or Cisco technologies to support firewall security configuration, rule management, access controls, and system hardening.

Configure, implement, and tune Microsoft Defender security policies for Windows and macOS endpoints in alignment with NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5.

Assess, troubleshoot, and implement network security configuration improvements involving:

Firewall rule sets and access control lists (ACLs)

Network Address Translation (NAT)

Domain Name System (DNS)

Network segmentation and routing

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

Proxy services

Intrusion Prevention and Detection Systems (IPS/IDS)

Conduct AWS and Azure cloud security posture reviews and implement approved security configuration improvements.

Assess Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) gateway configurations and recommend and implement appropriate security enhancements.

Configure, implement, and enhance Microsoft Entra ID and Active Directory security controls, including Conditional Access policies.

Assess and improve Privileged Identity Management (PIM) configurations and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) enforcement.

Identify and remediate identity and access management security gaps through approved configuration changes.

Support penetration testing and red team exercises, including findings validation and technical remediation.

Prepare formal Security Assessment Reports documenting identified risks, implemented remediation measures, and remaining security considerations.

Develop and maintain comprehensive technical documentation, including:

Security engineering runbooks and playbooks

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Secure configuration baselines and references

Technical implementation and validation procedures

Knowledge transfer and operational transition documentation

Prepare and deliver weekly project status reports.

Produce monthly patch compliance and vulnerability management reports.

Provide critical vulnerability notifications in accordance with customer-defined SLAs.

Document implemented security configuration changes, remediation outcomes, and technical deliverables to support operational continuity and audit readiness.

Bachelor's degree and 12 years of relevant experience. An additional 4 years of experience will be considered in lieu of the bachelor's degree .

Must have a minimum of 5 years of hands-on enterprise cybersecurity experience , including vulnerability assessment, endpoint security, system hardening, and penetration testing.

Demonstrated experience directly configuring, implementing, hardening, troubleshooting, and validating enterprise security technologies and controls.

Proven ability to independently execute technical security improvement initiatives from assessment and design through implementation, validation, and documentation.

Experience performing security configuration changes and remediation activities within production enterprise environments

Hands-on enterprise firewall configuration and implementation experience with at least one of the following technologies:

Check Point firewalls

or Palo Alto Networks or Cisco – acceptable alternative

Demonstrated experience personally configuring, modifying, implementing, troubleshooting, and validating firewall security policies, rules, access controls, and security hardening measures.

Experience performing firewall security remediation and configuration changes within production enterprise environments using formal change-management procedures.

Ability to apply existing firewall engineering expertise to the customer's Check Point environment.

Hands-on configuration and implementation experience involving:

Microsoft Defender: Endpoint protection configuration, policy implementation, and security tuning for Windows and macOS.

Tenable Nessus: Vulnerability scan configuration, credentialed scanning, troubleshooting, and optimization.

MECM, Ivanti, and Jamf: Endpoint management, patch deployment, configuration management, and automation.

Microsoft Entra ID / Active Directory: Conditional Access, Privileged Identity Management (PIM), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and identity security controls.

Experience identifying, prioritizing, and directly remediating enterprise security vulnerabilities.

Ability to develop remediation governance frameworks, patching workflows, ownership models, and escalation procedures.

Experience implementing and validating security hardening configurations and remediation changes.

Knowledge of formal change-management processes, including testing, implementation, rollback planning, and documentation.

Experience developing technical runbooks, SOPs, and secure configuration documentation.

Working knowledge of:

NIST SP 800-53 Revision 5

NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF)

Zero Trust security principles

IRS Publication 1075

Experience with at least one of the following:

Microsoft Sentinel

Varonis

Splunk

Hands-on scripting experience using one or more of the following:

Python

PowerShell

C#

Experience analyzing and implementing security configurations involving firewall rules, network segmentation, DNS, routing, and cloud networking.

Experience supporting security engineering activities within hybrid on-premises and AWS/Azure environments.

Ability to troubleshoot and remediate network and cloud security configuration weaknesses.

Experience configuring and implementing Conditional Access policies.

Familiarity with PIM configuration and privileged access controls.

Experience assessing and improving MFA enforcement and identity security configurations.

Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or a closely related technical discipline.

One or more of the following certifications:

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP)

Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC)

Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)

CompTIA Security+

Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500)

AWS Certified Security – Specialty

Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

Previous cybersecurity engineering experience supporting federal agencies or environments governed by IRS Publication 1075.

Experience supporting Security Operations Center (SOC) operations, incident response, penetration testing, or red team exercises.

Residency within the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

Direct experience configuring and implementing security controls within Check Point firewall environments.

Peraton offers eligible employees a variety of benefits including medical, dental, vision, life, health savings account, short/long term disability, EAP, parental leave, 401(k), paid time off (PTO) for vacation, and company paid holidays. A full listing of available benefits can be viewed at https://www.careers.peraton.com/benefits .

The application period for the job is estimated to be 30 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.

By applying to this job, you are expressing interest in the role and the Company. During the review of your application, you may be required to participate in an on-camera interview, as well as participate in a process to verify your identity.

Use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools of any kind during Peraton interviews is strictly prohibited unless the candidate has obtained prior written authorization. All interview responses must be the candidate’s own.