Zero Trust Strategist

Guidehouse • Washington, DC

3d • $149,000 - $248,000

About The Position

Our Cybersecurity Consultants are a team of business integrators with extensive consulting and industry experience who help our clients solve their complex business issues from strategy through execution. A career in an integrated team of developers and consultants provides the opportunity to grow and contribute to our clients' business issues every day, applying a collection of security spectrum capabilities, including security strategy and governance, IT risk, security technologies, and cybercrime and breach response. We are seeking a senior Zero Trust strategist with a proven track record of leading large-scale IT deployments, specifically for government clients. The ideal candidate will possess strong hands-on technical knowledge of Zscaler, Okta, and Crowdstrike solutions and demonstrate exceptional project management skills to ensure successful delivery and ongoing support.

Requirements

• Bachelors degree from an accredited university
• Minimum of EIGHT (8) years of overall work experience
• US Citizenship is contractually required
• Must be able to OBTAIN and MAINTAIN a Federal or DoD "PUBLIC TRUST"; candidates must obtain approved adjudication of their PUBLIC TRUST prior to onboarding with Guidehouse. Candidates with an ACTIVE PUBLIC TRUST or SUITABILITY are preferred.
• Experience in IT or managing large-scale deployments and cross-functional technical teams with US Federal government consulting experience
• Experience working in federal civilian, defense contractor, or highly regulated environments
• Familiarity with federal compliance frameworks (e.g., FISMA, FedRAMP, NIST 800-53)
• Experience collaborating with teams for IT security operations, threat response, or security architecture development, including IAM system requirements, design, implementation, integration, testing, or change management
• Demonstrated expertise across all pillars of Zero Trust (identity, device, network/environment, application/workload, data)
• Hands-on experience with Zero Trust technology platforms (e.g., CrowdStrike Falcon, Zscaler, and Okta)
• Hands-on experience with automating security workflows and integrating Zero Trust technology platforms
• Deep understanding of identity-centric security, segmentation, continuous monitoring, and least privileged access
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and verbal and written communication abilities
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Strong customer service and stakeholder management skills
• Attention to detail and commitment to security best practices
• Demonstrated ability to operate as an independent consultant—capable of leading strategic discussions, developing executive-ready deliverables, and facilitating program level decision making without reliance on product engineering teams
• Proven experience developing Zero Trust program roadmaps, maturity plans, and strategic capability adoption aligned to CISA and DoD Zero Trust frameworks
• Exceptional communication and client facing skills, including experience presenting to CISO level stakeholders and translating technical detail into strategic business guidance
• Experience driving multi vendor Zero Trust integration approaches involving identity, endpoint, cloud, and network platforms
• Ability to influence architecture decisions across engineering, operations, governance, and security architecture teams while maintaining strong, collaborative working relationships

Nice To Haves

• Active security clearance
• Knowledge of NIST 800-53, 800-207, RMF, FedRAMP, and related frameworks
• Experience with SIEM, SOAR, SASE, and identity threat detection and response technologies
• Strong practical experience applying and assessing organizations against DoD and CISA Zero Trust Maturity Models
• Familiarity with SDLC process, including designing and developing applications
• Previous consulting experience delivering Zero Trust architecture guidance, for instance around Data Loss Prevention modernization, secure access, or cross-platform telemetry enrichment

Responsibilities

• Design, document, and maintain enterprise Zero Trust architectures spanning identity, device, network/environment, application/workload, and data pillars.
• Define strategic roadmaps and reference architecture aligned with organizational objectives and mission requirements.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to embed Zero Trust principles into technology modernization efforts, cloud transitions, and cybersecurity initiatives.
• Partner with cybersecurity, network engineering, cloud, DevSecOps, and governance teams to ensure cohesive implementation and maturity.
• Perform organizational assessments using the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model.
• Produce gap analyses and prioritized remediation plans aligned with maturity expectations.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive project plans, including timelines, milestones, budget tracking, and resource allocation.
• Identify, track, and mitigate project risks, issues, and dependencies to ensure successful, on-time, and within-budget project delivery.
• Provide regular project status updates to leadership, technical teams, and other key stakeholders.
• Manage cross-functional project teams, vendor relationships, and external consultants.
• Lead the development of comprehensive Zero Trust program strategies and executive level briefings tailored for CISO and senior leadership audiences.
• Independently design Zero Trust reference architectures and capability roadmaps without requiring hands on engineering support.
• Serve as the senior Zscaler and CrowdStrike product expert for the engagement, advising on platform capabilities, constraints, and adoption patterns across identity, device, network, workload, and data protection domains.
• Translate complex Zscaler and CrowdStrike technologies (e.g., ZIA/ZPA, Falcon Insight/XDR, Falcon DLP) into clear business outcomes and maturity recommendations.
• Coordinate with separate Zscaler and CrowdStrike engineering teams to ensure alignment while driving architectural decisions autonomously and without operational disruption.

Benefits

• Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance
• Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays
• Parental Leave and Adoption Assistance
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Basic Life & Supplemental Life
• Health Savings Account, Dental/Vision & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Student Loan PayDown
• Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development & Learning Opportunities
• Skills Development & Certifications
• Employee Referral Program
• Corporate Sponsored Events & Community Outreach
• Emergency Back-Up Childcare Program
• Mobility Stipend

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior