Zero Trust Pillar Advisor

Pueo Business Solutions LLC•McLean, VA

About The Position

We are seeking a Zero Trust Advisor to serve as a domain-focused advisor to support the CIO’s Zero Trust program. The role provides architectural support, stakeholder engagement, technical translation, and implementation alignment for one or more IC Zero Trust pillars: User, Device, Application and Workload, Data, Network and Environment, Automation and Orchestration, or Visibility and Analytics. Final pillar placement is based on program staffing needs, candidate experience, and interview assessment. The Pillar Advisor develops working expertise in the assigned pillar’s services, systems, tools, dependencies, stakeholders, and operational impacts. The role also helps translate senior architect direction into practical, understandable, and actionable implementation guidance.

Requirements

Working knowledge of Zero Trust principles, federal cybersecurity frameworks, enterprise architecture concepts, and assigned-pillar services, systems, tools, and dependencies.
Understanding of IC, DoD, and federal cybersecurity operating environments, including governance, compliance, architecture review, and implementation planning processes.
Strong stakeholder engagement, relationship management, facilitation, and communication skills for both technical and non-technical audiences.
Ability to translate senior architecture direction into functional requirements, implementation guidance, briefing materials, and actionable recommendations.
Strong technical writing and briefing skills, including the ability to explain architecture intent, tradeoffs, dependencies, risks, and mission impacts.
Ability to build trust across stakeholders, ask clarifying questions, surface misalignment early, and keep implementation aligned with approved architecture.
Ability to manage competing priorities, support multiple engagements, and communicate clearly under tight deadlines.
Ability to recognize when issues require escalation to senior architects, program leadership, or governance bodies.
Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Systems, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or related discipline.
12+ years of experience in cybersecurity, enterprise IT, systems engineering, architecture support, technical program support, or related federal/DoD environments.
Experience supporting Zero Trust, cybersecurity modernization, enterprise architecture, identity, data, network, device, application, automation, or visibility
Demonstrated ability to work with stakeholders, capture requirements, communicate design intent, identify implementation risks, and support architecture alignment.
Active Top Secret clearance minimum required

Nice To Haves

Certifications: Security+, CISSP Associate, CGRC, CCZT, cloud security, identity, networking, data security, or other relevant cybersecurity or domain certifications preferred - but not required.

Responsibilities

Understand, communicate, demystify, and advocate for the approved future-state Zero Trust architecture designed by senior architects and technical experts.
Communicate the “what” and the “why” of Zero Trust architecture decisions, so stakeholders understand both the technical intent and the mission value of the future-state design.
Serve as a trusted advisor and relationship manager for stakeholders within the assigned pillar, including mission owners, system owners, engineers, acquisition teams, and program leadership.
Participate in and document design reviews, planning sessions, technical exchanges, and implementation discussions to identify, alert, influence, and advise when development or planning is drifting from the approved future- state ZT architecture.
Recommend corrective actions and escalate architecture misalignment, implementation risk, or unresolved stakeholder concerns to senior architects and program leadership.
Develop and refine Zero Trust functional requirements, capability needs, design review findings, stakeholder briefings, gap summaries, decision-support notes, and architecture alignment recommendations.
User: Identity, authentication, authorization, access lifecycle, privileges, and user behavior signals.
Device: Device identity, inventory, compliance, posture, endpoint protections, and device-based access conditions.
Application and Workload: Application access, workload identity, APIs, service-to-service trust, secure development, and application-layer controls.
Data: Data discovery, classification, access control, encryption, protection, loss prevention, and lifecycle security.
Network and Environment: Segmentation, traffic control, transport protections, environment-level policy enforcement, and secure connectivity.
Automation and Orchestration: Policy automation, workflow integration, response orchestration, and repeatable implementation processes.
Visibility and Analytics: Logging, telemetry, monitoring, analytics, reporting, and risk-informed decision support.