GovCIO is hiring a Senior Security Engineer to support the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Data Modernization initiative with a focus on VA environment vulnerability remediation. The Senior Security Engineer will provide expert guidance on cloud security, deliver surge support for data ingestion needs, and help customers efficiently navigate the Security Impact Analysis (SIA) process. This role is critical to enabling secure, rapid, and scalable access to VA cloud environments. This position is fully remote within the United States.

• Performs advanced vulnerability identification, analysis, and remediation across UNIX/Linux systems (UNIX, RedHat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu), VMware infrastructures, and containerized workloads (Docker, Kubernetes, AWS EKS).
• Apply security engineering best practices to cloud environments in AWS (EC2, IAM, VPC, S3, ECR, ES) and Azure (Key Vaults, Storage Accounts, Databricks), ensuring secure configurations, compliance alignment, and mitigation of risks across application, infrastructure, and data layers using shell scripting, secure baselining, and automated remediation approaches.
• Provide end0to0end security support for all aspects of the Data Modernization effort, including secure workspace provisioning, access configurations, and governance controls.
• Deliver surge support to help customers ingest additional datasets securely, ensuring compliance with VA security and privacy requirements.
• Guide users through the Security Impact Analysis (SIA) process, ensuring documentation accuracy, risk identification, and alignment with VA security standards.
• Collaborate with intake, provisioning, and data engineering teams to ensure security requirements are integrated into automated workflows and common use0case configurations.
• Review and validate security controls for pre0created workspaces, including service principals, role-based access configurations, linked services, and data access pathways.
• Support the rapid provisioning goal by ensuring security checkpoints are met for DevTest and Production environments within required SLAs (12 days when applicable).
• Act as a security advisor to customers, helping them understand cloud-native tools, data governance policies, and best practices for secure analytics development.
• Coordinate with Databricks SMEs, CDW data teams, and VHA Data Lake stewards to validate security configurations and ensure secure data connectivity.
• Maintain and update security documentation, standard operating procedures, security architecture diagrams, and onboarding guidance.
• Support the 2single front door2 customer experience by contributing security-focused content related to onboarding, platform policies, and data access procedures.
• Help identify blockers that slow security review steps during provisioning and recommend enhancements to streamline approval workflows

• Required Skills and Experience:

  • Bachelor0s degree plus 12 years experience in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field (or commensurate experience)
  • Experience in security engineering, cloud security, or cybersecurity compliance roles.
  • Strong understanding of security frameworks such as NIST, RMF, FedRAMP, or similar governance models.
  • Experience conducting or supporting Security Impact Analyses (SIA), risk assessments, or security authorizations.
  • Proficiency with Azure cloud security tools, identity and access management (IAM), service principals, and role-based access controls.
  • Ability to work with cross-functional teams and communicate security requirements to both technical and non0technical audiences.
  • Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.

  Preferred Skills and Experience:

  • Expertise: UNIX, RedHat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, VMware, AWS( EC2, IAM, VPC, S3, ECR, ES), Azure ( Azure Resource provisioning, Databricks, key vaults, storage accounts),, ADF, Synapse, Azure DevOps, Github, IBM Rationale tools suite, Cockroach DB, Docker, Kubernetes, AWS EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service), Shell, Terraform, Cloud Migration and Application development
  • Experience supporting federal government environments, ideally within the Department of Veterans Affairs or healthcare-related systems.
  • Familiarity with Databricks security models, data lake access controls, and secure data ingestion processes.
  • Experience with automated provisioning workflows, intake systems, or customer enablement platforms.
  • Working knowledge of ServiceNow, Jira, SharePoint, or similar platforms used for workflow and ticketing.
  • Understanding of cloud data architectures, including data warehouse provisioning, linked services, and data pipeline security.
  • Certifications such as Security+, CISSP, CCSP, Azure Security Engineer, or equivalent.

  Clearance Required

  • Ability to obtain and maintain a suitability/Public Trust