Zero Trust Security Engineer

Reqs/Role: Senior Zero Trust Systems Engineer / Architect We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Zero Trust Systems Engineer/Architect to support the Marine Corps Enterprise Network (MCEN) in its transition to a comprehensive Zero Trust (ZT) security model. The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker with deep technical expertise in cybersecurity, enterprise architecture, and systems engineering. This individual will be responsible for analyzing the current security landscape, identifying gaps against Department of War (DoW) and DoD standards, and developing an actionable roadmap to achieve target-level Zero Trust capabilities., 1. Systems Engineering & Analysis: Conduct in-depth analysis of the current MCEN operational environment to establish a technical performance baseline. Deconstruct existing architectures to identify hardware, software, cloud configurations, and security enforcement points.

1. Gap & Risk Assessment: Perform a comprehensive technical gap analysis, measuring the current MCEN security posture against the 152 DoW ZT Activities, NIST guidelines, and other relevant standards. Quantify capability gaps, functional overlaps, and technical shortfalls.
2. Roadmap Development: Develop and deliver a detailed, sequenced, and accelerated ZT Design Plan and technical roadmap. Translate identified gaps into concrete engineering tasks, integration milestones, and remediation plans.
3. Documentation & Reporting: Synthesize findings into formal deliverables, including a ZT Architecture Baseline Report, Gap Matrix, and Current State Assessment. Create executive-level briefing materials and talking points for senior USMC and Department of the Navy (DON) leadership.
4. Sustainment & Lifecycle Planning: Contribute to the development of long-term sustainment plans, continuous monitoring strategies (defining KPIs), and lifecycle management frameworks to ensure the ongoing operational viability of the ZT architecture.
5. Stakeholder Collaboration: Coordinate with various MCEN directorates, operational owners, and program offices to gather, ingest, and validate system architectures, data flows, and authorization artifacts.

1. Minimum of 7 years of experience in cybersecurity, with a focus on enterprise architecture, systems engineering, or security consulting.
2. Demonstrable experience performing technical gap analyses, risk assessments, and developing strategic roadmaps.
3. Proven experience supporting federal government or DoD clients is highly desirable.

Technical Expertise:

1. Expert-level understanding of Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) principles, pillars, and implementation strategies, specifically aligned with NIST SP 800-207 and the DoD Zero Trust Strategy.
2. Strong knowledge of enterprise network architectures, data flows, identity management (ICAM), and security enforcement mechanisms.
3. Familiarity with the portfolio of solutions common in a DoD environment (e.g., NGEN, HCS, DevSecOps, C2C).

Communication Skills:

1. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distill complex technical information into clear and concise reports, diagrams, and executive-level briefings.
2. Proven ability to confidently present findings and recommendations to senior leadership.