Los Alamos National Laboratory

Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO)/Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) (Senior Director)

Los Alamos National Laboratory$210K — $421K *
Information Technology
11 - 15 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 12+ years of experience in cybersecurity, IT, or risk management environments.
  • Significant senior leadership experience in cybersecurity strategy and governance.
  • Expertise in NIST and federal cybersecurity frameworks, including FISMA.
  • Proven experience managing complex classified and unclassified environments.
  • Strong background in enterprise cybersecurity and risk management initiatives.

Responsibilities

  • Establish and lead LANL's enterprise cybersecurity strategy and governance.
  • Oversee the cybersecurity assurance program and incident response operations.
  • Integrate cybersecurity across all systems and emerging technologies.
  • Act as principal deputy to CIO, guiding the I&T organization and strategy.
  • Lead investments in cybersecurity and drive organizational transformation toward operational excellence.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
  • Free basic life and disability insurance.
  • 401(k) with 6% matching and 3.5% annual contribution.
  • Learning opportunities with tuition assistance available.
  • Flexible work schedules and generous paid time off.
Full Job Description
Description

Job Title Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO)/Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) (Senior Director)

Location Los Alamos, NM, US

Organization Name Chief Information Office (CIO)

Minimum Salary 210900

Maximum Salary 421000

What You Will Do

This position is open for both internal and external candidates to apply.

The CIO is looking for an energetic cybersecurity leader to serve in a dual role as the Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), helping guide Los Alamos National Laboratory's Information & Technology organization.

Comprised of more than 1,000 employees and responsible for significant institutional technology investments, I&T delivers the technology, cybersecurity, applications, infrastructure, data, customer support, and program capabilities necessary to enable LANL's national security mission. The organization includes Infrastructure Services, Innovative Customer Experience, Program Strategy and Execution, Application and Data Services, and enterprise cybersecurity.

Reporting directly to the CIO, the DCIO/CISO will serve as the Laboratory's senior cybersecurity executive, responsible for enterprise cybersecurity strategy, cyber risk management, security operations, governance, resilience, and regulatory compliance. You will provide strategic leadership across classified and unclassified environments, ensuring LANL's information, systems, infrastructure, and national security assets remain secure while enabling scientific research, operational excellence, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, cloud adoption, and enterprise modernization.

As CISO, you will establish and lead a risk-informed cybersecurity program aligned with Laboratory priorities and DOE/NNSA and federal requirements. You will serve as a trusted advisor to the CIO, Laboratory leadership, mission organizations, the Authorizing Official, and DOE/NNSA stakeholders on cybersecurity posture, emerging threats, vulnerabilities, enterprise risk, and mitigation strategies.

As DCIO, you will serve as the CIO's principal deputy and strategic partner, helping lead the broader I&T organization and ensuring cybersecurity is integrated into enterprise technology strategy, investments, operations, and transformation. As a member of the I&T senior leadership team, you will help build a best-in-class, customer-focused technology organization and strengthen relationships across Laboratory organizations and with internal and external customers.

Key Responsibilities

CISO & Cybersecurity Leadership
  • Serve as LANL's senior cybersecurity executive, establishing enterprise cybersecurity vision, strategy, governance, priorities, and performance expectations.
  • Lead cybersecurity strategy for cyber defense, incident response, threat intelligence, vulnerability management, security engineering, identity and access management, continuous monitoring, and cyber resilience.
  • Establish and mature a risk-informed cybersecurity program aligned with the NIST Risk Management Framework, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, DOE/NNSA requirements, FISMA, and applicable federal standards.
  • Provide executive oversight of authorization boundaries, Authorities to Operate (ATO), continuous monitoring, risk acceptance, and system authorization activities.
  • Lead cybersecurity assurance and audit readiness, ensuring findings, vulnerabilities, corrective actions, and mitigation activities are appropriately prioritized and driven to closure.
  • Advance Zero Trust, identity, credential and access management (ICAM), cybersecurity architecture, and integrated network and security operations capabilities.
  • Ensure cybersecurity is effectively integrated across classified and unclassified systems, infrastructure, cloud platforms, applications, data, operational technology, high-performance computing, and emerging technologies.
  • Establish meaningful cybersecurity metrics and provide executive-level reporting on cyber posture, risk, vulnerabilities, compliance, incidents, and program performance.
  • Represent LANL with DOE/NNSA, the Nuclear Security Enterprise, federal partners, external oversight organizations, and cybersecurity and threat-sharing communities.
  • Lead cybersecurity investment planning, budgeting, workforce development, and succession planning.
  • Establish and enforce enterprise cybersecurity policies, standards, control requirements, and exception processes.
  • Provide executive leadership and crisis coordination during significant cybersecurity incidents.
  • Promote an enterprise cybersecurity culture through workforce awareness, role-based training, and leadership accountability.

Mission Enablement & Transformation
  • Partner with counterintelligence, physical security, legal, privacy, and human resources to address insider threats and cross-organizational risks.
  • Enable secure adoption of artificial intelligence, cloud technologies, digital engineering, data modernization, and emerging technologies.
  • Integrate cybersecurity into enterprise architecture, technology investments, projects, and digital transformation initiatives.
  • Promote an enterprise cybersecurity culture through institutional awareness, role-based training, strong cyber hygiene, and leadership accountability, positioning cybersecurity as a mission enabler.


Deputy CIO & Enterprise Leadership
  • Serve as the CIO's principal deputy and strategic partner, providing leadership and management oversight across the broader I&T organization.
  • Act on behalf of the CIO as delegated in Laboratory leadership forums, executive governance bodies, and engagements with internal and external stakeholders.
  • Help establish I&T strategic direction, organizational priorities, technology investments, performance expectations, and transformation initiatives.
  • Provide executive leadership across infrastructure, applications and data, customer experience, program and portfolio management, cybersecurity, and enterprise technology services.
  • Drive organizational transformation toward a customer-centric, process-based technology organization focused on service quality, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
  • Strengthen relationships with Laboratory organizations and customers to understand mission needs, improve service delivery, and position I&T as a trusted technology partner.
  • Apply service-level management principles to the planning, monitoring, measurement, and continuous improvement of enterprise technology services.
  • Lead large, multidisciplinary organizations with significant personnel, financial, programmatic, and operational responsibilities.
  • Ensure enterprise architecture, technology standards, and lifecycle decisions are consistently applied across I&T.
  • Establish decision rights and clarify accountability across I&T divisions, service owners, programs, and governance bodies.
  • Provide executive leadership, direction, and support to the Chief Digital Officer, ensuring the CDO's priorities and initiatives remain aligned with the CIO's strategy and broader Laboratory mission.
  • Provide executive leadership, direction, and support to the CIO Liaison Program, ensuring liaison priorities and activities remain aligned with the CIO's strategy and effectively connect mission organizations with I&T services and leadership.


What You Need

Minimum Job Requirements:

Cybersecurity & Technical Leadership
  • Extensive leadership experience in enterprise cybersecurity strategy, governance, cyber operations, risk management, incident response, vulnerability management, security architecture, identity management, and cyber resilience.
  • Expert knowledge of cybersecurity and risk management frameworks, including NIST RMF, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, NIST SP 800-53, FISMA, and applicable DOE/NNSA cybersecurity requirements.
  • Demonstrated experience overseeing system authorization, ATO, continuous monitoring, audit readiness, cybersecurity assurance, and compliance activities.
  • Experience protecting complex classified and unclassified environments and supporting mission-critical information, systems, infrastructure, and technologies.
  • Demonstrated experience leading and advancing Zero Trust, Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM), cybersecurity architecture, cloud security, cyber resilience, security and network operations (SOC/NOC), enterprise cyber defense, and other cybersecurity modernization initiatives.

Executive & Enterprise Leadership
  • Experience serving in a senior executive leadership role-such as CISO, Deputy CISO, CIO, Deputy CIO, or Cybersecurity Director-leading a large, complex, multidisciplinary technical organization with significant fiscal, workforce, operational, and programmatic responsibilities.
  • Broad knowledge of enterprise information technology, including infrastructure, desktop and customer computing, applications, data, cloud services, records and document management, portfolio and project management, and enterprise technology operations.
  • Distinguished record of setting strategic and technical direction, implementing effective business practices, managing personnel and complex budgets, and delivering organizational results.
  • Demonstrated experience leading organizational transformation, improving operational maturity, and strengthening customer-focused technology service delivery.
  • Demonstrated experience leading enterprise IT modernization, organizational transformation, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, cloud adoption, or data modernization.
  • Demonstrated experience managing significant enterprise technology portfolios, investments, budgets, and workforce resources.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of service-level management and the use of performance measures to plan, monitor, and continuously improve operations.
  • Proven ability to build productive relationships and collaborations across organizational boundaries and with senior executives, federal sponsors, mission organizations, customers, and external stakeholders.
  • Outstanding interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex cybersecurity and technology risks to technical and nontechnical audiences.
  • Demonstrated record of effective decision-making, creative problem solving, personal integrity, accountability, fiduciary responsibility, teamwork, and commitment to quality and excellence.

Education
Position requires a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and a minimum of 12 years of related experience, including significant senior leadership experience in cybersecurity, information technology, risk management, or national security environments.
  • An equivalent combination of education and relevant experience may be considered.
  • Advanced degree in cybersecurity, computer science, information systems, or a related field is preferred.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience supporting DOE, NNSA, the Nuclear Security Enterprise, Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, or other federal national security organizations.
  • Broad knowledge of LANL operations, mission organizations, and institutional technology requirements.
  • Experience leading cybersecurity programs supporting national security, operational technology, scientific computing, or other highly specialized environments.
  • Professional certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, CCISO, or equivalent.
  • Active DOE Q Clearance or the ability to obtain and maintain one.

Essential Job Functions (can perform with or without reasonable accommodation):

Work Environment:

Work Location: The work location for this position is hybrid and is located in Los Alamos. Hybrid is defined as working partially onsite/partially offsite but within 2 hours ground commute of this location. All work locations are at the discretion of management and can change at any time with appropriate notice.

Position commitment: Regular appointment employees are required to serve a period of continuous service in their current position in order to be eligible to apply for posted jobs throughout the Laboratory. If an employee has not served the time required, they may only apply for Laboratory jobs with the documented approval of their Division Leader. The position commitment for this position is 1 year.

Note to Applicants:
Due to federal restrictions contained in the current National Defense Authorization Act, citizens of the People's Republic of China-including the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau-as well as citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), and the Russian Federation, who are not Lawful Permanent Residents ("green card" holders) are prohibited from accessing facilities that support the mission, functions, and operations of national security laboratories and nuclear weapons production facilities, which includes Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Where You Will Work

Located in beautiful northern New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security. Our generous benefits package includes:
  • PPO or High Deductible medical insurance with the same large nationwide network
  • Dental and vision insurance
  • Free basic life and disability insurance
  • Paid childbirth and parental leave
  • Award-winning 401(k) (6% matching plus 3.5% annually)
  • Learning opportunities and tuition assistance
  • Flexible schedules and time off (PTO and holidays)
  • Onsite gyms and wellness programs
  • Extensive relocation packages (outside a 50 mile radius)


Additional Details

About Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory initially organized during World War II for the design of nuclear weapons as part of the Manhattan Project. It is located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico in the southwestern United States. LANL conducts research in fields such as national security, space exploration, renewable energy, medicine, nanotechnology, and supercomputing. It is the largest institution of its kind in the world. LANL is managed and operated by Triad National Security, LLC, which is composed of Battelle Memorial Institute, the University of California, and the Texas A&M University System.
Learn more about Los Alamos National Laboratory
Size
12,000 employees
Industry
Founded
1943

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