Information Systems Security Engineer - Mid to Expert Level (Maryland)
- U. S. National Security Agency
- Fort Meade, MD
- Apr 29, 2026
Job Description
Responsibilities:
Information System Security Professionals at NSA play a vital role in in the architecting, designing, operating, defending, and maintaining secure state of the art Information Technology (IT) systems executing NSA's SIGINT and Cybersecurity missions. NSA is advancing technology to deliver mission outcomes. As such, Cybersecurity Professionals have the opportunity to work across a broad set of technologies including commercial cloud fabrics, artificial intelligence, high performance computing, and advanced cryptographic systems. These personnel are involved in the full life cycle of systems: designing, maintaining and monitoring the systems so they can be protected from the most sophisticated nation-state adversaries. Some examples of tasks include:
- Design system/network architectures to enforce levels of confidentiality, integrity and availability
- Ability to implement systems engineering principles/methodology
- Define and manage remediation plans across applications, infrastructure, and cloud
- Ensure compliance with cybersecurity standards and regulatory requirements (e.g. NIST)
- Assess and mitigate risks in legacy systems, misconfigurations, and vulnerabilities
- Analyze and prioritize vulnerabilities with cross functional teams
- Lead and provide oversight to activities to patch and harden infrastructure systems
- Define information system security requirements and functionality
- Review security configuration options of cloud services and recommend security configurations
- Understand cryptography and the ability to program (Python, Java, etc.)
- Assess effectiveness of security solutions against cybersecurity frameworks (e.g. MITRE ATT&CK)
- Monitor the cybersecurity hygiene for a family of IT systems directing remediation of configuration and vulnerability findings to reduce the adversary risks to systems
- Understand concepts, principles, structure and standards used to design, implement, monitor and secure operating systems, equipment, networks, applications and controls
- Operate within teams focused on implementing and evolving procedures and security settings designed to protect data and applications in cloud environments
- Conduct security engineering/hardening of the latest operating systems, tailoring them for use in the specific mission area
- Ability to implement automation and artificial intelligence across the RMF authorization life cycle and into continuous monitoring
Skills:
- Understanding of security frameworks (e.g. NIST 800-53, ISO 27001, CIS)
- Understanding and experience prioritizing and remediating vulnerabilities across hybrid network environments
- Cloud Security Knowledge for commercial cloud environments such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Oracle or Google cloud environments
- Familiarity with secure coding, DevSecOps, and CI/CD pipelines
- Ability to translate complex security issues into actionable guidance
- Understanding of vulnerability scanning tools
- Understanding of container security with knowledge of Kubernetes, Docker, and container hardening practices
- Understanding of threat modeling and how to design mitigation strategies
- Critical thinking and ability to break large complex problems into manageable parts
Pay, Benefits, & Work Schedule:
Pay: Salary offers are based on candidates' education level and years of experience relevant to the position and also take into account information provided by the hiring manager/organization regarding the work level for the position.
Salary Range: $105,262 - $197,200 (Full Performance, Senior, Expert)
Salary range varies by location, work level, and relevant experience to the position.
Training will be provided based on the selectee's needs and experience.
Benefits: NSA offers a comprehensive benefits package.
Work Schedule: This is a full-time position, Monday - Friday, with basic 8hr/day work requirement between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (flexible).
DCIPS Trial Period:
If selected for this position, you will be required to serve a two-year DCIPS trial period, unless you are a veterans' preference-eligible employee, in which case you are required to serve a one-year trial period. This trial period runs concurrently with your commitment to the position, if applicable. Before finalizing your appointment at the conclusion of your trial period, NSA will determine whether your continued employment advances the public interest. This decision will be based on factors such as your performance and conduct; the Agency's needs and interests; whether your continued employment would advance the Agency's organizational goals; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
If you do not receive certification for continued employment, you should receive written notice prior to the end of your trial period that your employment will be terminated and the effective date of such termination.
How To Apply - External:
Apply soonest, as job postings can close earlier than stated end dates due to changes in requirements. It is important to review and note the minimum qualifications, as only those applicants who meet the required qualifications will be contacted to continue the employment process. Please populate the resume tool to showcase any relevant work experience and education related to the position and answer any applicable screening questions. Information collected will be used to determine eligibility, and failure to provide accurate information may result in disqualification for this position.
A confirmation email will be sent after submission of the first application and also after any future updates to submitted applications. **Due to time sensitive communications regarding applications, please ensure your spam filters are configured to accept email from noreply@intelligencecareers.gov. For job vacancies that include stated testing requirements, also include the following: @uwe.nsa.gov, @nsa.gov, and @pearson.com**
U.S. Citizenship is required for all applicants. NSA is an equal opportunity employer and abides by applicable employment laws and regulations. All applicants and employees are subject to random drug testing in accordance with Executive Order 12564. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a security background investigation and polygraph. NSA is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities during the application and hiring process.
The following four narrative questions provide an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question. Please provide a response of 200 words or less to each question. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. (Please attach in application)
1. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience.
2. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes.
3. How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.
4. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples, and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position.
DCIPS Disclaimer:
**VETERANS AND TRANSITIONING SERVICE MEMBERS**
Thank you for your service! The National Security Agency (NSA) is part of the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS). All positions at NSA are in the Excepted Service under Title 10, United States Codes (U.S.C.), Section 1601 appointment authority.
Veterans' Preference
In accordance with the procedures provided in DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 2005, \
Information System Security Professionals at NSA play a vital role in in the architecting, designing, operating, defending, and maintaining secure state of the art Information Technology (IT) systems executing NSA's SIGINT and Cybersecurity missions. NSA is advancing technology to deliver mission outcomes. As such, Cybersecurity Professionals have the opportunity to work across a broad set of technologies including commercial cloud fabrics, artificial intelligence, high performance computing, and advanced cryptographic systems. These personnel are involved in the full life cycle of systems: designing, maintaining and monitoring the systems so they can be protected from the most sophisticated nation-state adversaries. Some examples of tasks include:
- Design system/network architectures to enforce levels of confidentiality, integrity and availability
- Ability to implement systems engineering principles/methodology
- Define and manage remediation plans across applications, infrastructure, and cloud
- Ensure compliance with cybersecurity standards and regulatory requirements (e.g. NIST)
- Assess and mitigate risks in legacy systems, misconfigurations, and vulnerabilities
- Analyze and prioritize vulnerabilities with cross functional teams
- Lead and provide oversight to activities to patch and harden infrastructure systems
- Define information system security requirements and functionality
- Review security configuration options of cloud services and recommend security configurations
- Understand cryptography and the ability to program (Python, Java, etc.)
- Assess effectiveness of security solutions against cybersecurity frameworks (e.g. MITRE ATT&CK)
- Monitor the cybersecurity hygiene for a family of IT systems directing remediation of configuration and vulnerability findings to reduce the adversary risks to systems
- Understand concepts, principles, structure and standards used to design, implement, monitor and secure operating systems, equipment, networks, applications and controls
- Operate within teams focused on implementing and evolving procedures and security settings designed to protect data and applications in cloud environments
- Conduct security engineering/hardening of the latest operating systems, tailoring them for use in the specific mission area
- Ability to implement automation and artificial intelligence across the RMF authorization life cycle and into continuous monitoring
Skills:
- Understanding of security frameworks (e.g. NIST 800-53, ISO 27001, CIS)
- Understanding and experience prioritizing and remediating vulnerabilities across hybrid network environments
- Cloud Security Knowledge for commercial cloud environments such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Oracle or Google cloud environments
- Familiarity with secure coding, DevSecOps, and CI/CD pipelines
- Ability to translate complex security issues into actionable guidance
- Understanding of vulnerability scanning tools
- Understanding of container security with knowledge of Kubernetes, Docker, and container hardening practices
- Understanding of threat modeling and how to design mitigation strategies
- Critical thinking and ability to break large complex problems into manageable parts
Pay, Benefits, & Work Schedule:
Pay: Salary offers are based on candidates' education level and years of experience relevant to the position and also take into account information provided by the hiring manager/organization regarding the work level for the position.
Salary Range: $105,262 - $197,200 (Full Performance, Senior, Expert)
Salary range varies by location, work level, and relevant experience to the position.
Training will be provided based on the selectee's needs and experience.
Benefits: NSA offers a comprehensive benefits package.
Work Schedule: This is a full-time position, Monday - Friday, with basic 8hr/day work requirement between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (flexible).
DCIPS Trial Period:
If selected for this position, you will be required to serve a two-year DCIPS trial period, unless you are a veterans' preference-eligible employee, in which case you are required to serve a one-year trial period. This trial period runs concurrently with your commitment to the position, if applicable. Before finalizing your appointment at the conclusion of your trial period, NSA will determine whether your continued employment advances the public interest. This decision will be based on factors such as your performance and conduct; the Agency's needs and interests; whether your continued employment would advance the Agency's organizational goals; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
If you do not receive certification for continued employment, you should receive written notice prior to the end of your trial period that your employment will be terminated and the effective date of such termination.
How To Apply - External:
Apply soonest, as job postings can close earlier than stated end dates due to changes in requirements. It is important to review and note the minimum qualifications, as only those applicants who meet the required qualifications will be contacted to continue the employment process. Please populate the resume tool to showcase any relevant work experience and education related to the position and answer any applicable screening questions. Information collected will be used to determine eligibility, and failure to provide accurate information may result in disqualification for this position.
A confirmation email will be sent after submission of the first application and also after any future updates to submitted applications. **Due to time sensitive communications regarding applications, please ensure your spam filters are configured to accept email from noreply@intelligencecareers.gov. For job vacancies that include stated testing requirements, also include the following: @uwe.nsa.gov, @nsa.gov, and @pearson.com**
U.S. Citizenship is required for all applicants. NSA is an equal opportunity employer and abides by applicable employment laws and regulations. All applicants and employees are subject to random drug testing in accordance with Executive Order 12564. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a security background investigation and polygraph. NSA is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants with disabilities during the application and hiring process.
The following four narrative questions provide an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question. Please provide a response of 200 words or less to each question. You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. (Please attach in application)
1. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience.
2. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes.
3. How would you help advance the President's Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.
4. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples, and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position.
DCIPS Disclaimer:
**VETERANS AND TRANSITIONING SERVICE MEMBERS**
Thank you for your service! The National Security Agency (NSA) is part of the Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS). All positions at NSA are in the Excepted Service under Title 10, United States Codes (U.S.C.), Section 1601 appointment authority.
Veterans' Preference
In accordance with the procedures provided in DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 2005, \
About U. S. National Security Agency
NSA is at the forefront of U.S. government cryptology, integrating signals intelligence (SIGINT)
and cybersecurity to enhance national and allied advantages. Our mission encompasses
computer network operations aimed at securing critical insights and services, ensuring decisive
advantages for the nation and our allies.
NSA's cybersecurity initiatives are pivotal in safeguarding U.S. national security systems,
particularly within the Defense Industrial Base and enhancing the security of U.S. weaponry. We are committed to advancing cybersecurity through education, research, and career development.
Through foreign signals intelligence (SIGINT), NSA delivers crucial intelligence to U.S.
policymakers and military forces. This intelligence, derived from electronic signals and systems
used by foreign entities, provides essential insights into the capabilities, actions, and intentions
of adversaries worldwide. It supports our efforts to defend the nation, save lives, and advance
U.S. objectives and alliances globally.