Zero Trust Engineer Mid Level

CELESTIAL INNOVATIONS GROUP LLC•Washington, DC

4d•$135,000 - $155,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Celestial Innovations Group (CIG) is seeking a Zero Trust Architecture Engineer to own end-to-end access policy design across the identity, endpoint, network, and application layers for federal agency clients, spanning the design, implementation, and sustainment of Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) programs. This role is framework-agnostic and vendor-informed: the ideal candidate understands that Zero Trust is a security philosophy and architectural strategy, not a single product or platform, guided by the principle of “never trust, always verify.” The engineer will apply that expertise across one or more leading vendor ecosystems to deliver compliant, mission-ready ZTA solutions aligned with federal mandates including EO 14028, OMB M-22-09, NIST SP 800-207, and the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) guidance. These responsibilities and strategies are currently shared across three teams and, as a result, are owned by none of them. Current cyber threats require aligning, consolidating, and bridging access control strategies and policies into a unified front, acting as Trust Brokers across the enterprise, so the organization can maintain a strong security posture ahead of adversaries. Must be located in the DC Metro Area as this role requires onsite and remote support.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in cybersecurity engineering, network security, or IT infrastructure roles
2+ years of hands-on experience designing or implementing Zero Trust Architecture in an enterprise or federal environment
Demonstrated understanding of ZTA concepts across all five pillars per NIST SP 800-207 and the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model
Experience supporting federal government clients or DoD/civilian agency environments
Proficiency in at least one of the following: Palo Alto Prisma, Zscaler, or Microsoft Zero Trust stack
Identity and access management: Entra ID, Active Directory, LDAP, PKI, MFA, PAM tooling
Network security: microsegmentation, ZTNA, DNS security, SD-WAN, next-generation firewall policy
Endpoint security: EDR/XDR deployment and management, device compliance policy enforcement
Cloud environments: Azure, AWS, or hybrid cloud architectures with ZTA overlay
Familiarity with SIEM/SOAR platforms (Microsoft Sentinel, SumoLogic, Google SecOps, or equivalent)

Nice To Haves

Active certifications in one or more ZTA vendor platforms: PCCSE, PCNSE, Zscaler ZCCA-IA or ZCCA-PA, Microsoft SC-100 (Cybersecurity Architect Expert)
Additional certifications: CISSP, CISM, CompTIA Security+, Cloud+ or relevant AWS/Azure security certifications
Familiarity with RMF processes: NIST SP 800-37, SSP authoring, ATO package preparation
Experience with ServiceNow, Salesforce, or IT service management tooling in a federal context
Multi-vendor ZTA integration experience (e.g., combining Palo Alto and Zscaler capabilities within a single architecture)

Responsibilities

Lead Zero Trust Architecture assessments, gap analyses, and roadmap development for federal clients
Design and document ZTA solutions spanning all five pillars: Identity, Device, Network, Application/Workload, and Data
Translate federal ZTA mandates (EO 14028, OMB M-22-09, CISA ZT Maturity Model) into actionable implementation plans
Develop architecture artifacts including conceptual, logical, and physical ZTA diagrams using DODAF, TOGAF, or equivalent frameworks
Support integration of ZTA principles into existing enterprise architectures, hybrid cloud environments, and multi-tenant federal networks
Drive SASE convergence, consolidating network and security enforcement onto a single policy plane
Advance security posture design and real-time trust evaluation, with a focus on insider threat detection and response
Deploy and configure Zero Trust solutions across one or more vendor platforms
Own top-level Conditional Access policy design and privileged access governance in Microsoft Entra ID/M365
Implement Identity and Access Management controls including CAC/PIV authentication, MFA, role-based access control (RBAC), and Just-in-Time (JIT) Privileged Access Management
Deliver Enterprise Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) support services, with priority focus on PIV-enabled logical access implementation across enterprise systems
Enforce device posture as a condition of every access decision, integrating SCCM, Intune, Workspace ONE (WS1), Purview, Qualys, and Palo Alto NGFW signals
Define and enforce application-layer access policy and decisions across M365, Palo Alto NGFW, Entra ID, and Workspace ONE (WS1)
Configure microsegmentation, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), software-defined perimeters, and DNS security controls across the network landscape, including Palo Alto, Cisco, and wireless infrastructure
Deploy Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tooling and enforce device compliance policies at enterprise scale
Integrate data protection controls including classification, labeling, DLP, and encryption aligned to ZTA data pillar requirements
Align ZTA implementations with NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5, NIST SP 800-207, DISA STIGs, and DHS CDM program requirements
Support the Risk Management Framework (RMF) lifecycle, including SSP authoring, continuous monitoring, and ATO maintenance
Document ZTA controls for system security packages, POA&Ms, and security assessment reports
Own access policy exception management, including governance workflows and audit-ready evidence documentation
Serve as a trusted ZTA advisor to federal agency stakeholders, program managers, and ISSO/ISSM counterparts
Produce executive-level briefings, technical white papers, and implementation status reports
Collaborate cross-functionally with cloud, networking, data analytics, and infrastructure teams to ensure cohesive ZTA integration