Location: Remote (U.S.)
Clearance: U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident Required with the ability to obtain a Public Trust
Salary Range: 110K - 125Kis seeking a
Senior Security RMF Engineer to join a cybersecurity transformation surge team supporting the VA.gov Platform. This role will serve as the bridge between VA security/RMF requirements and the engineers responsible for implementing those requirements across VA.gov.
The Senior Security / RMF Engineer must understand how security controls are implemented in modern cloud infrastructure and software delivery environments and be able to translate control deficiencies, authorization requirements, and security risks into actionable engineering work.This is not intended to be a documentation-only compliance role.
This individual will work closely with DevSecOps engineers and the existing VA.gov Platform ATO/security team to assess the current security posture, address gaps in VA.gov's Critical Controls, support ATO/cATO readiness, improve authorization artifacts, and automate evidence and control assessment wherever possible. The PWS specifically describes the desired model as one in which ATO/RMF documentation confirms security rather than defines it, with success measured through risk reduction and security outcomes rather than paperwork completeness.
What You'll Do:- Assess VA.gov Platform compliance with the 18 Critical Controls identified by VA and help establish a baseline of current implementation and remaining gaps.
- Perform security reviews, gap analyses, and risk assessments across VA.gov Platform infrastructure, pipelines, applications, and component systems.
- Support ongoing ATO and cATO readiness for the VA.gov Platform authorization boundary.
- Develop, update, and maintain RMF and authorization artifacts, including System Security Plans (SSPs), control narratives, POA&Ms, Business Impact Analyses (BIAs), Privacy Threshold Analyses (PTAs), and supporting evidence.
- Evaluate identified control deficiencies and work with DevSecOps engineers to translate them into prioritized technical remediation work.
- Validate completed engineering remediation against applicable security-control requirements and update supporting authorization documentation and evidence.
- Support implementation of OSCAL-based, machine-readable security control models and automated evidence collection.
- Develop and maintain POA&M processes and support automation of the POA&M lifecycle where feasible.
- Conduct and support threat modeling, secure-design reviews, and security risk assessments.
- Develop, coordinate, and maintain Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and Interconnection Security Agreements (ISAs) as required.
- Coordinate with VA security stakeholders, AODRs/AOs, OIS, CSOC, auditors, and other authorization stakeholders.
- Provide security guidance and consultation to VA.gov Platform and product teams.
- Help develop security guidance, standards, decision trees, and training that allow product teams to better understand and own their security responsibilities.
- Support security incident response, post-incident analysis, and identification of resulting security/control remediation.
- Participate in an on-call rotation for critical security events as required.
- Ensure ATO documentation and supporting evidence remain synchronized with technical changes implemented by the engineering team.
- The PWS specifically requires the team to determine current compliance with VA's Critical Controls, collaborate with the team managing the existing ATO, and ensure authorization documentation is updated as technical work is completed.
What We're Looking For:- Associate's degree + four years of relevant professional experience OR Bachelor's degree + two years of relevant professional experience OR five years of relevant Cyber Security Engineer experience in lieu of a degree - Meeting the government-defined Cyber Security Engineer LCAT requirement
- Strong experience with NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF) and NIST 800-53 security controls.
- Experience supporting ATOs for complex information systems.
- Experience performing security control assessments, gap analyses, risk assessments, and remediation planning.
- Experience developing and maintaining SSPs, control narratives, POA&Ms, and security authorization evidence.
- Ability to understand cloud infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, application architectures, and modern software-development practices well enough to evaluate how security controls are actually implemented.
- Ability to translate compliance/control requirements into specific technical requirements and engineering backlog items.
- Experience working directly with technical engineering teams on vulnerability and control remediation.
- Strong written communication and documentation skills.
- Ability to work with technical teams, security stakeholders, auditors, and government leadership.
Nice to Have:
- Experience supporting VA cybersecurity, RMF, or ATO processes.
- Experience with FISMA High systems.
- Experience with cATO or continuous authorization approaches.
- Experience with OSCAL and automated security evidence collection.
- Experience with VA security artifacts and processes, including PTA, PIA, BIA, MOU/ISA, SERA, or comparable federal processes.
- Experience with cloud-native AWS environments, Kubernetes/EKS, GitHub Actions, and Infrastructure-as-Code.
- Experience performing threat modeling or secure architecture reviews.
- Familiarity with vulnerability-management programs, WASA/DAST scanning, and continuous security monitoring.
- Experience working on large federal digital platforms or authorization boundaries containing multiple applications, services, and development teams
What's in it for you?The opportunity to support high visibility federal missions in IT and healthcare
A culture that values innovation, growth, collaboration, and quality
Access to cutting-edge tools and technologies
Comprehensive benefits for you and your family
A career path that rewards ambition and performance
If you're ready to push boundaries, sharpen your skills, and join a team that is passionate about building what's next, we'd love to meet you. Apply today and let's build a future together!
Pay Range
$110,000-$125,000 USD
shares salary ranges to promote transparency. Compensation ranges are provided for informational purposes, and final compensation may vary based on experience, skills, location, and role requirements.
is committed to offering eligible employees comprehensive benefits that will provide them with options intended to meet their needs and the needs of their family.
