Principal Cybersecurity Engineer (Incident Response)

Principal Cybersecurity Engineer
DETAILS
Location: Arlington, TX 76014 (M-Th onsite / non-negotiable)
Position Type: Direct-Hire
Hourly / Salary: to $215K + 15% annual bonus

JOB SUMMARY
Vaco is currently seeking a Principal Cybersecurity Engineer for a Direct-Hire opportunity that is located in Arlington, TX 76014 (M-Th onsite / non-negotiable).  The Principal Cybersecurity Engineer will be a key influencer to achieve strategic alignment and deliver business value. The Principal Cybersecurity Engineer will work with leaders in the business segment to identify initiatives with high impact which drive the business strategy forward.  The Principal Cybersecurity Engineer must be an innovator and an avid promoter of process improvement in specific technical disciplines using the appropriate methodologies to enhance productivity and performance of assigned business area.  The Principal Cybersecurity Engineer will be established and recognized internally and externally and will represent the organization within the broader community, serving as an unofficial ambassador and maintaining strong professional relationships.

• Incident Response Participation – Participate in Incident Investigations Across Detection / Containment / Eradication / Recovery / Post-Incident Reviews
• IR Tooling / Enhancement – Enhance Incident Response Tools / Scripts / Frameworks | Improving Detection / Response / Investigation Efficiency, Accuracy, and Scalability
• Forensics / Malware Analysis – Conduct Memory / Network / Host / Cloud Forensics | Malware Reverse-Engineering | Automated Triage
• Remediation Planning – Create Customized Tactical / Strategic Remediation Plans for Alerts / Incidents Identified Internally and in the Wild Across the GMF Landscape
• Incident Reporting – Produce Analytical Findings Through Clear / Technical Post-Incident Reports
• Threat Intelligence Enablement – Identify / Codify Attacker TTPs and IOCs | Feed Intelligence Into Detection Pipelines / IR Playbooks
• Security Exposure Analysis – Gather / Analyze Cybersecurity Data / Technology Tool Outputs / Risk Systems | Identifying Security Exposures
• Threat Simulation / Readiness – Participate in Tabletop Exercises / Purple Team Sessions / Threat Fencing Simulations
• Log / Alert Analysis – Perform Analysis of SIEM Alerts / IDS / IPS Alerts / Host Activity / Network Traffic | Identifying Suspicious / Anomalous Activity
• Threat Landscape Monitoring – Stay Ahead of Emerging Threats (Zero-Days / Vulnerabilities / Advanced Persistent Threats)

JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Principal Cybersecurity Engineer / Incident Response – Conducting / Managing Incident Response Investigations | Targeted Threats (Advanced Persistent Threats / Organized Crime / Hacktivists)
• Threat Intelligence / IR Tools – Threat Intelligence / Detection Rules / Forensic Analysis Tools to Assess Scope / Impact of Security Incidents
• Incident Response Investigations – Conducted / Managed Investigations Involving Targeted Threats (Advanced Persistent Threats / Organized Crime / Hacktivists)
• Risk / Threat Hunting – Developed / Implemented Risk / Threat Hunting Methodologies Across Enterprise Environments
• Forensics Expertise – Network / Endpoint / Memory / Disk / Cloud Forensics | Cloud IR on Azure / AWS (Logging / Monitoring Implementation)
• Global Threat Awareness (knowledge) – Cyber Threat Landscape / Threat Actors, Adversary TTPs / IOCs / MITRE ATT&CK / RE&ACT Frameworks
• Case Management – Managing Workflows / Incident Communication / Data Retrieval for IR Cases
• Scripting / Automation – Python / PowerShell / Bash / Jupyter / Anaconda | Modular Code Deployable Remotely | CI/CD / Detection-as-Code Integration
• API Development – Construction / Testing of APIs for Automation / Tooling Enhancements
• NIST Compliance (knowledge) – NIST Incident Response Roles / Capabilities
• Networking / Protocols – TCP/IP Networking / OSI Model / IP Subnetting / Secure Network Architecture / Network Operations / Application Layer Protocols (HTTP / SSH / SSL/TLS / DNS) / Common Network Protocols / Design Patterns (FTP / SFTP / SSH / RDP / CIFS/SMB / NFS)
• Analysis Tools – Bro / Zeek / Suricata / Splunk SPL | Network Log Analysis | Data Correlation
• Operating Systems (deep expertise) – Windows OS Expertise | UNIX / Linux / MacOS Knowledge (general knowledge)
• Code / Data Analysis – Source Code / Hex / Binary / Regex / Log/Data Correlation Analysis
• Malware Analysis (proficiency) – Yara/Rule Creation / Malware Evasion Techniques (knowledge) | Static / Dynamic / Automated Malware Analysis | Reverse Engineering of Complex File Formats / Malware Samples / Reporting
• Data Science Application – Core Principles Applied to Security Analytics / Incident Response

Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco/Highspring depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to the individual’s skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, office location and other geographic considerations, as well as other business and organizational needs. With that said, as required by local law in geographies that require salary range disclosure, Vaco/Highspring notes the salary range for the role is noted in this job posting. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses, and can participate in medical, dental, and vision benefits as well as the company’s 401(k) retirement plan. Additional disclaimer: Unless otherwise noted in the job description, the position Vaco/Highspring is filing for is occupied. Please note, however, that Vaco/Highspring is regularly asked to provide talent to other organizations. By submitting to this position, you are agreeing to be included in our talent pool for future hiring for similarly qualified positions. Submissions to this position are subject to the use of AI to perform preliminary candidate screenings, focused on ensuring minimum job requirements noted in the position are satisfied. Further assessment of candidates beyond this initial phase within Vaco/Highspring will be otherwise assessed by recruiters and hiring managers. Vaco/Highspring does not have knowledge of the tools used by its clients in making final hiring decisions and cannot opine on their use of AI products.