# Cybersecurity SME

> Ignite IT · Washington, United States (Hybrid) · Full-time · Posted 2026-08-17

**Workplace:** hybrid

## Description

We are seeking a Subject Matter Expert (SME) Cybersecurity Architect to join our team supporting a large-scale federal modernization program. This role owns security architecture across enterprise solutions, platforms, networks, identity, mobility/endpoints, data, and cloud, bridging cybersecurity policy and controls with implementable designs, evidence, and risk decisions throughout the system lifecycle.

This is a hands-on architecture role. You'll be expected to produce real security designs and see them through review, implementation, and operations, not just set policy from a distance.

_This is a hybrid role based out of Washington, DC. Candidates must be U.S. citizens._

**Key Responsibilities**

**1.     Security Architecture & Design** 

-   Develop and assess security architectures, patterns, requirements, controls integration, trust boundaries, data flows, and identity and segmentation design.
-   Design logging, resilience, and operational safeguards into solution architecture.
-   Translate federal and agency security requirements into practical design decisions, implementation actions, and residual-risk statements.

**2.     Reviews & Governance** 

-   Participate in architecture compliance, technical design, engineering, security, and phase-gate reviews.
-   Evaluate proposed deviations and waivers, and provide risk-informed recommendations for approval.
-   Maintain security architecture artifacts, review findings, decisions, and risks in approved repositories, with clear traceability.

**3.     Cross-Domain Coordination** 

-   Coordinate with solution, data, cloud/platform, network, identity, endpoint/mobility, and operations stakeholders to embed security into design from the start.
-   Identify design gaps, threats, vulnerabilities, technical debt, and noncompliance early in the lifecycle, and propose mitigation options.

**4.     Risk & Compliance** 

-   Apply federal risk management framework and security control knowledge to real design decisions.
-   Support authorization evidence, implementation readiness, and post-deployment validation as needed.
-   Produce implementable security designs, review findings, mitigations, and risk decisions that engineers can act on.

**5.     Communication & Advisory** 

-   Communicate security architecture decisions, tradeoffs, and residual risk clearly to engineers, architects, program managers, and Government stakeholders.
-   Support incident and problem learning to feed back into architecture improvements.

## Requirements

-   12+ years of experience in cybersecurity, including significant time in security architecture or enterprise technical leadership.
-   Working knowledge of federal risk management, security controls, authorization, continuous monitoring, zero trust, identity, network, endpoint, cloud, application, data, and logging considerations.
-   Ability to interpret security requirements and produce implementable designs, review findings, mitigations, and risk decisions.
-   Strong communication skills, with experience engaging engineers, architects, program managers, and Government decision-makers.
-   U.S. citizenship required.

**Nice to Have**

-   Direct federal, government, or mission-critical system security architecture experience.
-   CISSP, CCSP, CISM, SABSA, GIAC, cloud security, or comparable security credentials.
-   Experience with NIST RMF/control families, zero trust, cloud security, identity, endpoint security, segmentation, logging/SIEM, and vulnerability management.
-   Experience documenting security architecture views in Sparx/Prolaborate or comparable architecture/modeling tools.

## Benefits

-   401(k)
-   401(k) matching
-   Dental insurance
-   Flexible spending account
-   Health insurance
-   Life insurance
-   Paid time off
-   Professional development assistance
-   Referral program
-   Tuition reimbursement
-   Vision insurance

## Apply

[Apply at Ignite IT](https://apply.workable.com/ignite-33/j/6E11658465/apply)

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