Operations Lead - Engineering / Active Top Secret

Peraton•Beltsville, MD

2d•$135,000 - $216,000•Onsite

About The Position

Peraton is hiring an experienced Operations Lead – Engineering for its Federal Strategic Cyber programs. Based in Beltsville, Maryland, this role serves as the senior technical and operational authority for the Engineering division of a Security Operations Center (SOC). The position oversees the full lifecycle of SOC engineering operations, including systems administration, physical and virtual network engineering, 24x7x365 shift coverage, and direct supervision of engineering staff. The Operations Lead ensures critical systems, tools, and services remain secure, available, compliant, and operational in support of mission requirements. The role provides technical and operational leadership across systems administration, network engineering, cybersecurity engineering, virtualization, and government cloud environments. It establishes and enforces engineering procedures and documentation, manages staffing and continuity for round-the-clock operations, and coordinates with SOC analysts, incident responders, threat intelligence teams, system owners, government stakeholders, and third-party providers. The Operations Lead is also responsible for operational readiness, compliance, incident leadership, reporting, and continual service improvement. This includes supporting ATO compliance across multiple networks and classifications, overseeing vulnerability remediation and patching, tracking service metrics, auditing ServiceNow tickets, and ensuring operational products and services are delivered accurately and on time.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Information Technology, or another related scientific or technical discipline; four additional years of experience may substitute for the bachelor's degree.
At least 10 years of experience in IT, cybersecurity, and/or projects related to critical network infrastructure protection.
At least five years of experience in IT cloud-based security infrastructure protection.
At least five years of experience in IT infrastructure support.
At least eight years of current specialized experience in cybersecurity system or solution design, engineering, evaluation, integration, and/or deployment.
Ability to provide cybersecurity guidance at the authoritative level.
Demonstrated oral and written communication skills.
Hands-on experience administering Windows Server and/or Linux/Unix environments in an enterprise or government setting, including Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS, DHCP, and PKI.
Experience designing, configuring, and troubleshooting physical and virtual network infrastructure, including BGP, OSPF, switching, firewalls, load balancers, and VPN technologies.
Experience managing virtualization platforms such as VMware vSphere/ESXi or Hyper-V and government cloud environments such as AWS GovCloud or Azure Government, or equivalent.
Experience deploying and managing enterprise security tools, including SIEM, IDS/IPS, EDR/XDR, and network monitoring platforms.
Must possess and maintain, or obtain before starting, ITIL Foundation certification or higher.
Demonstrated technical task management and supervisory experience, including shift scheduling and personnel management in a 24x7 operational environment.
Experience managing cybersecurity or information assurance support programs of similar size, complexity, and scope as the DSCM Program.
Experience managing 24x7x365 operational environments, including shift rotation planning and surge staffing.
Experience in network technology, management, or operations with increasing responsibilities.
Experience managing network security monitoring and incident response capability.
Experience with IT service management platforms, specifically ServiceNow, including ticket auditing, metrics tracking, and reporting.
Experience leading after-action reviews, documenting lessons learned, and driving corrective actions to closure.
Experience with vulnerability remediation and patch management across multi-enclave or multi-classification environments.
U.S. citizenship is required.
Active Top Secret security clearance with SCI eligibility is required.

Nice To Haves

One or more of the following certifications: CISSP, CISM, CEH, CompTIA Security+, CCNP Security, CCNA, AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator, VMware VCP, or GIAC GCED, GCIA, or GCIH.
Experience supporting U.S. Department of State or other federal civilian agency IT/cybersecurity programs.
Familiarity with Department of State IT security policies, FISMA reporting requirements, and ATO/RMF processes.
Experience with Zero Trust Architecture design and implementation.
Experience with SD-WAN, MPLS, and global WAN environments supporting diplomatic or government missions.
Deep familiarity with ITIL service management practices, including service catalog design, continual service improvement, and ITSM toolset implementation such as ServiceNow.
Prior experience in a SOC leadership role with direct responsibility for engineering infrastructure and O&M contractual performance.
Experience developing and managing centralized knowledge bases, runbook libraries, and lessons-learned repositories.
Experience with process automation tools and scripting such as Python, PowerShell, Ansible, or PowerAutomate.

Responsibilities

Provide senior-level direction to system administrators, network engineers, and cybersecurity engineers supporting 24x7x365 SOC operations.
Oversee system configuration, patching, hardening, lifecycle management, and operational readiness for servers, endpoints, and security appliances.
Lead and maintain SOC virtualization platforms, including VMware and Hyper-V, and government cloud environments such as AWS GovCloud and Azure Government.
Recommend and implement solutions to resolve security issues, system outages, and network disruptions.
Ensure infrastructure compliance with service-level agreements and operational performance metrics.
Lead or participate in security tests, evaluations, studies, and experiments that affect SOC readiness.
Develop, maintain, and enforce SOC engineering SOPs, runbooks, knowledge base content, and technical documentation.
Conduct technical and management briefings for senior leadership, government stakeholders, and program management.
Maintain a centralized service catalog using ITIL practices.
Lead, supervise, and mentor systems administrators, network engineers, and SOC engineering personnel.
Manage shift coverage, scheduling, on-call rotations, contingency plans, and surge support for a 24x7x365 environment.
Provide hands-on engineering support during staffing gaps or high-demand events.
Develop staffing and continuity plans for weather events, absences, emergencies, and other mission-impacting situations.
Integrate and sustain SOC security tools, including SIEM, IDS/IPS, EDR/XDR, firewalls, proxies, and logging solutions.
Coordinate with SOC analysts, incident responders, and threat intelligence teams to ensure engineering infrastructure meets mission requirements.
Collaborate with system owners, IT teams, and stakeholders to assess cybersecurity needs and translate them into actionable solutions.
Facilitate working groups to identify issues, define requirements, and prioritize technical improvements.
Manage asset inventory, capacity planning, and technology refresh cycles for SOC engineering assets.
Support Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning and execution for critical SOC infrastructure.
Interface with Contracting Officer Representatives, program managers, and technical leads on engineering matters.
Ensure compliance with NIST SP 800-53, FISMA, DISA STIGs, Department of State policies, and O&M contractual requirements.
Oversee daily operations to ensure system availability, security, and operational readiness.
Coordinate remediation activities supporting Authority to Operate compliance across multiple networks and classifications.
Provide leadership during high-severity cybersecurity incidents, including response coordination, client communication, and recovery.
Lead after-action reviews and ensure corrective actions are documented, assigned, tracked, and completed.
Monitor global infrastructure for vulnerabilities, disruptions, performance issues, and operational risks.
Coordinate with third-party providers to resolve failures, escalate critical issues, and minimize downtime.
Oversee patching and vulnerability remediation across multiple enclaves and security levels.
Monitor incident, request, change, and problem management processes to identify trends and improve service delivery.
Identify opportunities to automate recurring cybersecurity tasks, including reporting, ticket validation, policy enforcement, monitoring, and patching.
Audit ServiceNow tickets for accuracy, completeness, and compliance.
Track cybersecurity metrics, SLAs, performance indicators, and operational trends.
Ensure quality, accuracy, and timely delivery of cybersecurity operational products and services.
Maintain operational readiness plans, escalation procedures, contact rosters, and continuity documentation.
Drive continual service improvement across engineering, operations, monitoring, and support functions.
Provide guidance and mentorship to engineering leads, analysts, and O&M support personnel.
Perform additional cybersecurity operations and service-management duties as assigned.

Benefits

Medical benefits
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Life insurance
Health savings account
Short- and long-term disability
Employee assistance program
Parental leave
401(k)
Paid time off for vacation
Company-paid holidays
Employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus, depending on the position.