Senior HSEEP Exercise Planner / Exercise Lead
Position Type: Full-time
Location: Washington, DC Metro preferred; travel required for events
Clearance / Suitability: Secret preferred; ability to obtain and maintain Secret and DHS suitability required
Travel: Frequent travel possible based on exercise schedule
Position Summary The Senior HSEEP Exercise Planner / Exercise Lead leads cradle-to-grave design, planning, development, conduct, evaluation, and after-action reporting for discussion-based and operations-based infrastructure security exercises. This position will lead planning teams, interface with CISA and external stakeholders, develop exercise documentation, facilitate planning meetings, support exercise execution, and ensure HSEEP alignment across all assigned events.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities - Lead HSEEP-aligned exercise design and development from initial concept through final after-action products.
- Develop exercise objectives, scope, scenario narratives, discussion questions, timelines, planning meeting agendas, presentations, read-ahead materials, and stakeholder coordination products.
- Plan and facilitate C&O meetings, IPMs, MPMs, IPRs, MSEL synchronization meetings, FPMs, exercise events, hotwashes, CAP meetings, and AAMs.
- Develop, review, and integrate SITMANs, EXPLANs, MSELs, EEGs, COSINs, EXCON designs, injects, participant materials, facilitator guides, controller/evaluator materials, and administrative documents.
- Coordinate across CISA, federal agencies, SLTT partners, critical infrastructure owners and operators, private-sector partners, and internal contractor SMEs.
- Support discussion-based exercises, seminars, workshops, tabletop exercises, games, drills, functional exercises, full-scale exercises, senior leader exercises, national-level exercises, natural hazard exercises, threat-based exercises, and cyber/physical convergence exercises.
- Lead or support exercise facilitation, control cell operations, player/controller coordination, evaluator coordination, note taking, and data collection.
- Develop Summary Reports, Quick Look Reports, AARs, Improvement Plans, and Corrective Action Plans in coordination with analysts and technical editors.
- Support CTEP updates, new scenario development, emerging-threat integration, and exercise package modernization.
- Mentor junior exercise planners and ensure consistent HSEEP methodology and documentation quality across the team.
Required Qualifications - 8+ years of experience designing, developing, conducting, and evaluating HSEEP-aligned exercises.
- Demonstrated experience supporting federal, SLTT, private-sector, critical infrastructure, emergency management, homeland security, or public safety exercises.
- Experience developing SITMANs, EXPLANs, MSELs, EEGs, AARs, CAPs, QLRs, Summary Reports, planning meeting products, and exercise briefings.
- Strong understanding of discussion-based and operations-based exercise design, facilitation, control, evaluation, and after-action processes.
- Ability to lead complex stakeholder engagements and translate partner priorities into exercise objectives and realistic scenarios.
- Excellent writing, facilitation, briefing, and team leadership skills.
Preferred Qualifications - Completion of FEMA HSEEP course or equivalent.
- Master Exercise Practitioner Program or comparable advanced exercise credential.
- Prior CISA, FEMA, DHS, DoD, or national-level exercise experience.
Primary Deliverables / Work Products Supported - Exercise concept papers/fact sheets
- Planning meeting agendas, presentations, and minutes
- SITMANs, EXPLANs, MSELs, EEGs, COSINs, and EXCON products
- Exercise execution materials
- AAR/CAP, QLR, Summary Report, and CAP meeting inputs
