CSSP Threat Hunting Analyst, Junior

The CSSP Threat Hunting Analyst, Jr., serves as a proactive cyber defense specialist within our Prime Contract supporting the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). This role is dedicated to uncovering, identifying, and neutralizing hidden or advanced cyber threats that evade traditional signature-based detection mechanisms.

By applying threat intelligence, formulating logical hunt hypotheses, and performing direct host and network analysis, the analyst strengthens the overall defense-in-depth posture of the DTRA CSSP and its subscriber networks in strict compliance with DoD operational guidelines.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop, test, and document proactive threat-hunting hypotheses to identify and neutralize threats before they cause damage. Construct and execute hunts based on threat intelligence, behavioral anomalies, and detailedattack path analysis (https://www.wiz.io/academy/attack-path-analysis) .
• Dig through diverse telemetry datasets spanning cloud resources, identity systems, workloads, and network infrastructure. Correlate disparate events across network and host endpoints to reconstruct complex adversary attack campaigns.
• Collect and analyze network and host artifacts, including logs, system images, and packet captures.
• Provide expert technical support and perform real-time cyber defense incident handling tasks (including forensic collections, intrusion tracking, and direct system remediation) in strict accordance with the DoD Instruction 8530.01 guidelines.
• Create detection use cases based on current threat vectors, the MITRE ATT&CK framework, and Government direction. Actively partner with engineering teams to automate these use cases, striving to keep false-positive rates below 10%.
• Create threat-informed searches to find threat actor aligned malicious cyber activity. Coordinate with Threat Detection Engineering to establish and enhance long term detection strategies.
• Make technical recommendations for correlation rules, filters, signatures, and playbooks. Track, validate, and provide monthly metrics on configuration refinement requests.
• Leverage the CSSP Data Element Dictionary (DED) and Data Quality Scoring (DQS) parameters, such as Parsing Success Rate (PSR) and Field Completeness Score (FCS), to ensure hunting operations rely exclusively on high-fidelity, trusted telemetry.

• Clearance: Active Top-Secret Clearance with SCI eligibility required.
• Compliance & Certifications:
• DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II
• DoD 8570/8140 CSSP Analyst
• Experience: Minimum 2 to 5 years of progressive experience in cybersecurity operations, threat hunting, or incident response with a Bachelor’s degree (or 1 to 3 years with a Master’s degree, or 0 to 1 years with a PhD).
• Direct CSSP or SOC Experience is required.
• Education: BA/BS College degree., While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to handle, feel, touch; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear. The employee is regularly required to stand; walk; sit; climb or balance; and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee is regularly required to lift up to 10 pounds. The employee is frequently required to lift up to 25 pounds; and up to 50 pounds. The vision requirements include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK AUTHORIZATION/SECURITY CLEARANCE

• U.S Citizenship Required
• Top Secret Clearance with SCI Eligibility.

We offer our full-time employees a competitive benefits package to include health, dental, vision, 401K, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability plans, vacation time and holidays., The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Location: Fort Belvoir, VA
• Type of environment: Professional Office
• Noise level: Low
• Work schedule:Schedule is Monday to Friday (0700 to 1500). May be requested to work evenings and weekends to meet program and contract needs.
• Amount of Travel: Less than 10%, Target salary range: $90,000.00 - $140,000.00. The salary range displayed is an estimate only and is not a guarantee of compensation or salary and will be determined on several factors regarding the individual’s particular combination of education, knowledge, skills, competencies and experience, as well as contract parameters and organizational requirements. The displayed salary is one component of the total compensation package for employees.

TekSynap is a fast growing high-tech company that understands both the pace of technology today and the need to have a comprehensive well planned information management environment. “Technology moving at the speed of thought” embodies these principles - the need to nimbly utilize the best that information technology offers to meet the business needs of our Federal Government customers.