Software Technical Lead — Applied Skills Assessment Platform (ASAP)

SANS Institute•Bethesda, MD

3d•$165,000 - $210,000•Remote

About The Position

SANS is building ASAP — the Applied Skills Assessment Platform — a next-generation, CTF-style assessment product designed to objectively measure the real-world capabilities of cybersecurity practitioners. Unlike traditional knowledge tests, ASAP places participants in simulated environments that mirror actual job conditions, assessing their decision-making, tooling proficiency, and technical execution across challenges. ASAP will initially focus on defensive cybersecurity disciplines, targeting SOC roles including analysts, incident responders, and threat hunters, before expanding to additional roles. The platform will be sold as an enterprise product to companies for employee training, development, retention, and talent acquisition. Participants will face no other competitors—performance is assessed individually against objective scoring criteria. We need a Software Technical Lead who can own the full technical vision for ASAP: from challenge delivery infrastructure and scoring engines, to enterprise reporting pipelines and integrations with the broader SANS platform ecosystem. This is a role for a builder who has shipped complex, scalable assessment or learning platforms before. This is a senior technical leadership role. We are not looking for a senior developer who wants to “step up.” We need a proven lead who has already led platform-scale technical builds, managed engineering teams, and operated as a trusted partner to executive stakeholders.

Requirements

Unrestricted authorization to work in the USA; visa sponsorship is not available.
10+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 5 years in a senior architect, principal engineer, or equivalent technical leadership role.
Demonstrated experience building and shipping assessment platforms, CTF/cyber range products, or EdTech platforms from 0→1 at meaningful scale.
Deep, hands-on expertise in full-stack development (JavaScript/TypeScript, React, Node.js, Python) and production cloud-native architectures (AWS and/or Azure), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and infrastructure as code.
Experience with AI-enabled product development and deployment with various frontier AI models
Hands-on experience with containerized challenge environments: docker-compose orchestration, isolated network topologies, and automated environment seeding.
Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop engineering teams of 5+ engineers, and to operate as a technical partner to product and executive leadership.
Unrestricted authorization to work in the USA; visa sponsorship is not available.

Nice To Haves

Experience with cybersecurity concepts and training platforms, virtual lab integration, or cyber range technologies (ranges.io experience a significant plus).
Experience in developing training for cybersecurity curriculum.
Background in data analytics, AI-driven personalization, or adaptive learning systems—particularly for skill gap analysis and training recommendation engines.
Previously led and mentored a team of senior and mid-level engineers.
Familiarity with SOC 2, GDPR, or other compliance frameworks in a SaaS/platform context.
Accessibility expertise (WCAG 2.1) and user-centered design sensibility.
Active engagement in the cybersecurity community—publications, conference speaking, certifications, or open-source contributions.

Responsibilities

Define the end-to-end technical architecture for assessment capabilities—challenge delivery, scoring infrastructure, reporting pipelines, and enterprise integrations—with full accountability for outcomes.
Architect containerized CTF-style challenge environments with dynamic flag generation, automated attack simulation, participant isolation, and anti-cheat mechanisms integrated within the ranges.io platform.
Integrate the reporting layer that turns participant performance data into employer-ready insights: role suitability scores, skill gap analysis, ranked candidate views, and personalized SANS course recommendations.
Partner with Product, UX, Cybersecurity SMEs, and executive leadership to translate strategy into roadmaps; present technical decisions to VP/C-level audiences; and drive alignment across engineering, security, and operations.
Conduct architecture and code reviews; recruit top talent; and foster a culture of engineering excellence across the ASAP organization.
Own platform reliability, security posture, and DevOps maturity—CI/CD, infrastructure as code, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), and support for on-demand, remote, hybrid, and in-person delivery modes.
Foster a culture of engineering excellence and serve as the technical escalation point for complex problems across teams.
Perform other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

Competitive base salary, bonus opportunities, and a 401(k) plan with company match.
Robust medical, dental, and vision plans; company-provided short term disability; optional long-term disability, supplemental life and AD&D insurance for employees and dependents; voluntary benefits including accident insurance and identity theft protection; fitness and wellness programs; and a company paid employee assistance program (EAP).
Generous paid time off, including volunteer time.
Access to professional development and SANS training opportunities.

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