Penetration Tester, Journeyman

Peraton•Herndon, VA

84d•$66,000 - $106,000•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a highly skilled and innovative Penetration Tester to join our team in the greater DMV area, supporting the Army National Guard. This role involves executing penetration testing activities, conducting network and application assessments, and collaborating with various cybersecurity teams to identify and address vulnerabilities.

Requirements

2 years with BS/BA; 0 years with MS/MA; 6 years with no degree
Active TS/SCI clearance.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Data Science, Information Systems, Information Technology, or Software Engineering; OR Relevant DoD/military training (if applicable); OR Relevant professional certification or equivalent experience (examples: CSC, CSSLP, GCSA, GSEC, Security+).
Penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, red‑team, or offensive security experience.
Practical skills in reconnaissance, exploitation, post‑exploitation, web application testing (OWASP), social‑engineering assessments, and evidence preservation.
Familiarity with common pentest tools and frameworks (Burp, Metasploit, Nmap, etc.), and ability to document reproducible findings and remediation steps.
Ability to coordinate safely in operational environments, follow rules of engagement, and hand off findings to defenders for remediation and retest.
Strong technical writing for producing evidence bundles, technical summaries, and actionable recommendations.

Nice To Haves

Prior DoD/ARNG CDAP, red/blue team, or persistent penetration testing experience.
Experience mapping findings to detection engineering and supporting SOC/IDS tuning for improved coverage.

Responsibilities

Execute penetration testing activities per CDAP mission plans: reconnaissance, exploitation attempts, post‑exploitation validation, and evidence collection.
Conduct network, host, and application assessments to identify attack paths, misconfigurations, and control weaknesses aligned with adversary threat models.
Support Network Assistance Visits and Persistent Penetration Testing events under senior guidance; perform validation tasks during Network Damage Assessments to check for compromise indicators.
Perform web application testing, phishing/social‑engineering assessments, and document results to evaluate defensive effectiveness.
Collaborate with cybersecurity, SOC/CIRT, and operations teams to coordinate test schedules, deconflict activities, and support remediation and retesting.
Produce technical notes, evidence bundles, preliminary findings, and input for formal assessment reports and mission documentation.
Capture detection gaps and recommended mitigations; translate test observations into detection opportunities and follow‑on validation tasks.
Maintain and validate penetration testing toolsets, repeatable test procedures, and workflow improvements for mission environments.