Senior Watch Officer (SWO) / Active Secret

Peraton•Washington, DC

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Peraton is seeking a Senior Watch Officer (SWO) to support its Federal Strategic Cyber group in Washington, D.C. The role is part of CISA’s 24x7 SCIF/Operations Center, where the federal government coordinates situational awareness and response to protect national cyber and infrastructure security. This on-site position coordinates cyber and physical incidents affecting critical infrastructure and produces incident reporting for government leadership, law enforcement, federal stakeholders, and partners. The SWO gathers and analyzes information from multiple sources and classification levels, assesses incident severity and impacts, and helps determine appropriate reporting and briefing requirements. The position leads analysts during assigned shifts, coordinates incident data collection and analysis, monitors developing events, and serves as a liaison across federal, law enforcement, intelligence, regional, industry, and internal partners. The SWO monitors classified databases, ticketing systems, alerting services, news, social media, and other open sources for threats, and briefs management and senior leadership as situations develop. Reporting to the federal CISA Duty Officer for operational direction, the SWO must make timely decisions and multitask in a fast-paced environment. The role also requires understanding and troubleshooting the communications and information technology used in daily operations. The SWO provides direct support to the Operations Manager in day-to-day operations of a 24x7 Cyber Operations Center, including team development, process improvement, mission delivery, requirements measurement, feedback to team members, workflow and resource optimization, and preparation of white papers, briefings, and recommendations for senior U.S. government officials. Shifts are assigned according to team needs and may rotate: Monday–Friday 0600–1400, Monday–Friday 1400–2200, Monday–Friday 2200–0600, Saturday/Sunday 0600–1800 plus two 8-hour weekday shifts, or Saturday/Sunday 1800–0600 plus two 8-hour weekday shifts.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and at least 6 years of related technical experience, or a master’s degree and at least 4 years of related experience; an additional 4 years of experience may substitute for a degree.
Demonstrated ability to manage production and publication of time-sensitive, event-driven and cyclic reporting and briefing products.
Demonstrated ability to manage and triage group email accounts while multitasking and performing steady-state shift functions.
Flexibility to work in a 24x7x365 operations support environment.
Experience with open-source analysis and alerting systems.
Active Secret clearance and ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility.
Ability to obtain and maintain a favorably adjudicated DHS background investigation for continued employment.
Ability to work assigned shifts, which may include rotating assignments.

Nice To Haves

Experience as an Operations Officer, Action Officer, or Incident Manager.
Experience drafting and publishing national-level reporting.
Experience with email triage and requests for information (RFIs).
Experience as an All-Source Intelligence Analyst in a Joint Operations Center and/or Fusion Center.
Experience with cyber incident management and analysis.
Cyber certifications, such as CompTIA Security+.

Responsibilities

Coordinate cyber and physical incidents affecting critical infrastructure and produce incident reporting.
Gather information from sources and classification levels and provide accurate, timely, actionable information to government leadership, law enforcement, federal stakeholders, and partners.
Assess incident severity and critical infrastructure impacts, and help determine appropriate levels of reporting and briefing.
Coordinate incident operational data collection and analysis and monitor events through completion.
Lead a team of analysts throughout the shift and coordinate tasks through completion.
Liaise with internal divisions, federal stakeholders, law enforcement, intelligence agencies, regional personnel, industry partners, and internal partners to coordinate reporting on events with cross-sector impacts.
Communicate across multiple platforms and brief management and senior leadership on developing situations during daily or ad hoc briefings.
Monitor classified databases, ticket management systems, subscription-based alerting services, cable and local news, social media, and other open sources for threats to critical infrastructure and national security.
Make timely decisions and apply critical thinking while multitasking in a fast-paced, time-sensitive operations environment under the direction of a federal CISA Duty Officer.
Understand and troubleshoot communications and information technology hardware, software, and firmware used in daily operations, coordinating with the help desk as needed.
Support the Operations Manager in overseeing day-to-day operations of a 24x7 Cyber Operations Center.
Assist with team development, process improvement, mission delivery, requirements measurement, and feedback on team members’ customer service, communication, and technical skills.
Help optimize operations center resources and workflows and contribute to white papers, briefings, and recommendations for senior U.S. government officials.

Benefits

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