Senior Principal Cybersecurity Engineer (Incident Response)

Senior Principal Cybersecurity Engineer
DETAILS
Location: Arlington, TX 76014 (M-Th onsite / non-negotiable)
Position Type: Direct-Hire
Hourly / Salary: to $230K + 15% annual bonus

JOB SUMMARY
Vaco is currently seeking a Senior Principal Cybersecurity Engineer for a Direct-Hire opportunity that is located in Arlington, TX 76014 (M-Th onsite / non-negotiable).  The Senior Principal Cybersecurity Engineer will join the Incident Response Team as a technical leader and SME, influencing the achievement of strategic alignment by partnering with business unit leaders to identify high-impact initiatives that advance business strategy. The Senior Principal Cybersecurity Engineer will provide leadership and influence to promote process improvement and drive productivity and performance across the enterprise. The Senior Principal Cybersecurity Engineer will be recognized as a leader internally and externally and will represent the organization within the broader community, serving as an unofficial ambassador and maintaining strong professional relationships.

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

JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Senior Principal Cybersecurity Engineer / Incident Response – Conducting / Managing Incident Response Investigations | Targeted Threats (Advanced Persistent Threats / Organized Crime / Hacktivists)
• Threat Intelligence / Detection – Applying Threat Intelligence Techniques / Detection Rules / Forensic Analysis Tools to Determine Scope / Impact During Incident Response Investigations
• Forensics Expertise – Leading Complex / High-Severity Investigations | Network / Endpoint / Memory / Disk / Cloud Forensics
• Threat Hunting – Develop / Implement Risk-Based / Threat-Led Hunting Methodologies
• Adversary Tradecraft (working knowledge) – Global Cyber Threats / Threat Actors / Adversary TTPs / IOCs | MITRE ATT&CK / RE&ACT Frameworks (familiarity)
• Cloud Incident Response (strong understanding) – Cloud IR on Azure / AWS Platforms | Logging / Monitoring / Telemetry Enablement
• Case Management – Managing Incidents End-to-End | Workflow Adherence / Stakeholder Communication / Evidence Collection
• NIST Incident Response – Operating Within NIST Incident Response
• Scripting / Automation – Python / PowerShell / Bash | Build / Enhance Incident Response Capabilities (Writing Modular Code Deployable to Remote Systems)
• Advanced Scripting Stack – Python / PowerShell / Bash / Jupyter / Anaconda for Automation / Analysis / IR Tooling
• API Development – Designing / Constructing / Testing APIs to Support Security Automation / Integration
• CI/CD / Detection-as-Code (advanced) – CI/CD Practices / Detection-as-Code Methodologies for Scalable / Repeatable Security Operations
• Network Analysis Tooling – Bro/Zeek / Suricata / Splunk SPL with Ability to Perform Detailed Analysis of Associated Network Logs
• Networking Fundamentals (advanced) – TCP/IP Networking / OSI Model / IP Subnetting / Secure Network Architecture / Network Operations
• Application Layer Protocols (strong technical understanding) – HTTP / SSH / SSL/TLS / DNS | How They Relate to Cybersecurity Controls / Threat Detection
• Network Protocols / Design Patterns (technical knowledge) – Common Network Protocols / Architectures (TCP/IP / HTTPS / FTP / SFTP / SSH / RDP / CIFS/SMB / NFS)
• Malware Detection (proficiency) – YARA / Writing Rules to Detect Similar / Related Malware Samples Across Campaigns
• Evasion Techniques – Current Malware Techniques Used to Evade Detection / Obstruct Analysis
• Malware Analysis Methods (hands-on) – Static / Dynamic / Automated Malware Analysis Techniques
• Reverse Engineering – Engineering Multiple File Formats / Analyzing Complex / Obfuscated Malware Samples
• Malware Reporting – Writing Clear / Detailed Malware Analysis / Reverse Engineering Reports
• Operating Systems (in-depth understanding) – Windows OS with UNIX / Linux / macOS
• Technical Analysis Foundations (understanding) – Source Code / Hex / Binary / Regular Expressions / Data Correlation/ Analysis | Network Flow / System Log Analysis
• Data Science Fundamentals – Demonstrated Capabilities in Core Data Science Principles | Data Exploration / Pattern Recognition / Analytical Reasoning

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.