ResponsibilitiesABOUT THE ROLE
Peraton Labs is hiring a Principal OT Cybersecurity / ICS Security Architect — a senior systems architect role bridging operational technology (OT), industrial control systems (ICS), and enterprise IT cybersecurity — to join our Strategic Innovation Group in support of a federal customer's cybersecurity and OT modernization program for critical infrastructure.
As a Principal OT Cybersecurity / ICS Security Architect on our team, you will lead the requirements and solutions-analysis effort for one or more parallel workstreams of the customer's modernization program, spanning core capability areas such as access control, security monitoring, and asset and vulnerability management. You will work with the customer's engineering, operations, cybersecurity, and test-and-evaluation stakeholders, alongside a Peraton Labs delivery team of engineers and technical writers. The goal is to define requirements, survey the market, evaluate candidate products, and deliver defensible recommendations that guide the customer's procurement decisions.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Lead end-to-end solutions analysis for one or more workstreams: elicit and validate requirements, produce System Requirements Specifications (SRS) with traceability to NERC CIP, FISMA, and CISA Zero Trust Architecture.
- Conduct market research to identify candidate commercial products across identity and access controls, network monitoring and threat visibility, and inventory / configuration / vulnerability management.
- Draft Requests for Information (RFIs), manage vendor response windows, and lead technical engagement with bidders under federal market-research guardrails.
- Assess vendor responses and product capabilities against requirements; author comparison reports and down-select recommendations.
- Design lab test environments, author test plans, and oversee hands-on product demonstrations and evaluation at customer and Peraton Labs facilities.
- Author Alternative Solutions Analysis (ASA) documents and brief steering committees and executive decision-makers.
- Facilitate multi-stakeholder workshops across operational technology (SCADA, RTUs, protective relays, industrial protocols) and enterprise IT cybersecurity domains to build consensus on requirements and product selection.
Qualifications
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- U.S. Citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust determination and PIV credential for unescorted access to the customer facility.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer or Electrical Engineering, Cybersecurity, or a related technical discipline, and 12+ years of progressive systems architecture or cyber engineering experience; in lieu of a degree, 16 years of relevant experience will be considered.
- Demonstrated systems-architecture experience across both operational technology (OT / ICS) and enterprise information technology (IT) security environments.
- Direct experience in the electric-utility or power-grid domain (utility, ISO / RTO, generation / transmission / distribution operator, DOE laboratory, or comparable critical-infrastructure operator).
- Hands-on experience applying NERC CIP standards (CIP-002 through CIP-014) in a utility environment.
- Proven record leading the full RFI and vendor-evaluation lifecycle: requirements, market survey, RFI authorship, response evaluation, lab validation, and recommendation.
- Strong technical writing and executive-briefing skills.
- Ability to travel domestically up to 25%, including routine trips to the Pacific Northwest.
DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Working familiarity with FISMA controls and CISA Zero Trust Architecture mappings.
- Depth in one or more component domains: identity and access management; network detection and monitoring; packet capture and data diodes; cyber-asset and configuration management; or vulnerability and patch management for embedded devices.
- Experience authoring alternatives analyses under a formal systems-lifecycle methodology (utility SLC, DoDAF, NIST RMF, or comparable).
- Industry certifications such as GICSP, CISSP, GRID, CISA, or NERC-CIP-focused credentials.
- Experience presenting to federal or utility executive steering committees.
- Comfort operating under federal market-research guardrails (open information exchange with vendors; no NDAs; no procurement commitments).
- Experience with privileged access management (PAM) solutions.
- Experience with log and traffic monitoring systems supporting power protection, SCADA, and telecommunications environments.
- Experience with configuration management systems for power protection, SCADA, and telecommunications environments.
WORKING CONDITIONS
- Location / posture: Remote (U.S.-based); fully remote day-to-day.
- Travel: Up to 25% domestic; routine trips to the Pacific Northwest; periodic trips to the Peraton Labs ICS Lab in New Jersey.
- Schedule: Standard business hours, with occasional evening or weekend work during lab test windows or scheduled vendor demonstrations.
- Customer interaction: Frequent — requirements workshops, vendor engagements, steering-committee briefings. Requires professionalism, strong communication, and resilience in multi-stakeholder consensus-building.
- Onboarding: Background check, PIV credential, and customer-required training must be completed prior to unescorted facility access.
Target Salary Range$135,000 - $216,000. This represents the typical salary range for this position. Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the individual’s experience, education, knowledge, skills, and competencies, as well as geographic location and business and contract considerations. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay.
