Senior AWS Cloud security Engineer

ClearanceJobs is seeking placement for our client for a Sr. Cloud Security Engineer (Federal) to support and secure an AWS GovCloud infrastructure for federal workloads. This role is ideal for a hands-on, technical leader and self-starter who can implement cloud security guardrails, automate threat detection, and manage end-to-end security across the CI/CD lifecycle in a highly regulated environment. Work Model: Mostly remote with occasional travel to the customer site in Maryland. Location Preference: Washington, DC metro strongly preferred.

Essential Functions (What You’ll Do)

• Cloud Security Engineering: Design and implement security controls across AWS environments, including IAM, SCPs, VPC security, S3 bucket policies, and key management.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Use Terraform to deploy and manage security configurations, integrating Security as Code into all deployments.
• DevSecOps Integration: Implement and maintain GitLab CI/CD pipelines for automated security testing and scanning of AWS resources.
• Posture Management & Monitoring: Monitor and continuously improve cloud security posture; manage and tune GuardDuty, Security Hub, AWS WAF, and CloudTrail.
• Identity & Access Management: Define and enforce IAM best practices (least privilege, federated identity, RBAC) and automate remediation of deficiencies.
• Threat Modeling & Assessment: Conduct architecture reviews and risk assessments for new cloud features to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities before deployment.
• Incident Response & Analysis: Investigate suspected attacks and lead security incident management, including post-mortems and long-term preventive measures.
• Compliance & Standards: Develop and maintain security policies and procedures aligned to FedRAMP and DoD IL-4/5 requirements.
• Reporting & Metrics: Build reporting mechanisms and metrics to communicate cloud risk and security trends to stakeholders and leadership.

• AWS Expertise: Strong knowledge of AWS services and security architecture.
• Automation Proficiency: Proven experience with Terraform and GitLab CI/CD strategies.
• Framework Fluency: Familiarity with NIST, CIS, and MITRE ATT&CK.
• Analytical Problem Solving: Strong capabilities in log processing, event analysis, and incident management.
• Communication: Ability to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Integrity & Ownership: Demonstrated commitment to process improvement, technical integrity, and continuous learning.

Required Education & Experience

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Cybersecurity (or military service equivalent).
• Experience: 5+ years securing AWS environments and 5+ years of general cybersecurity experience.
• Certifications (Preferred): AWS Certified Security - Specialty preferred; CISSP or similar security certifications preferred.

Clearance / Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen.
• Clearance: Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret (TS) clearance.
• Screening: Must be able to pass a background investigation/security screening (as required for federal environments).

Travel & Work Environment

• Work Model: Mostly remote.
• Travel: Occasional travel to the Maryland customer site and/or company events (estimated up to ~5%).
• Location Preference: Washington, DC metro strongly preferred.