Guidehouse

Zero Trust Strategist

Guidehouse$149K — $248K *
Information Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree from an accredited university
  • Minimum of 8 years of overall work experience
  • US Citizenship is contractually required
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a Federal or DoD "Public Trust" clearance
  • Experience managing large-scale IT deployments with US Federal government clients
  • Demonstrated expertise across all pillars of Zero Trust

Responsibilities

  • Design and maintain enterprise Zero Trust architectures across various pillars
  • Define strategic roadmaps aligned with organizational objectives
  • Embed Zero Trust principles into modernization efforts and cybersecurity initiatives
  • Perform organizational assessments using the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model
  • Lead project teams and manage vendor relationships for successful engagements

Benefits

  • Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance
  • Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays
  • Parental Leave and Adoption Assistance
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • Tuition Reimbursement and Skills Development Opportunities
Full Job Description

Job Family:

Technology Consulting


Travel Required:

Up to 10%


Clearance Required:

Ability to Obtain Public Trust

What You Will Do:

  • Our Cybersecurity Consultants are a team of business integrators with extensive consulting and industry experience who help our clients solve their complex business issues from strategy through execution. A career in an integrated team of developers and consultants provides the opportunity to grow and contribute to our clients' business issues every day, applying a collection of security spectrum capabilities, including security strategy and governance, IT risk, security technologies, and cybercrime and breach response.

  • We are seeking a senior Zero Trust strategist with a proven track record of leading large-scale IT deployments, specifically for government clients. The ideal candidate will possess strong hands-on technical knowledge of Zscaler, Okta, and Crowdstrike solutions and demonstrate exceptional project management skills to ensure successful delivery and ongoing support.

Key Responsibility Areas include, but are not limited to:

  • Design, document, and maintain enterprise Zero Trust architectures spanning identity, device, network/environment, application/workload, and data pillars.

  • Define strategic roadmaps and reference architecture aligned with organizational objectives and mission requirements.

  • Partner with cross-functional teams to embed Zero Trust principles into technology modernization efforts, cloud transitions, and cybersecurity initiatives.

  • Partner with cybersecurity, network engineering, cloud, DevSecOps, and governance teams to ensure cohesive implementation and maturity.

  • Perform organizational assessments using the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model.

  • Produce gap analyses and prioritized remediation plans aligned with maturity expectations.

  • Develop and maintain comprehensive project plans, including timelines, milestones, budget tracking, and resource allocation.

  • Identify, track, and mitigate project risks, issues, and dependencies to ensure successful, on-time, and within-budget project delivery.

  • Provide regular project status updates to leadership, technical teams, and other key stakeholders.

  • Manage cross-functional project teams, vendor relationships, and external consultants.

  • Lead the development of comprehensive Zero Trust program strategies and executive level briefings tailored for CISO and senior leadership audiences.

  • Independently design Zero Trust reference architectures and capability roadmaps without requiring hands on engineering support.

  • Serve as the senior Zscaler and CrowdStrike product expert for the engagement, advising on platform capabilities, constraints, and adoption patterns across identity, device, network, workload, and data protection domains.

  • Translate complex Zscaler and CrowdStrike technologies (e.g., ZIA/ZPA, Falcon Insight/XDR, Falcon DLP) into clear business outcomes and maturity recommendations.

  • Coordinate with separate Zscaler and CrowdStrike engineering teams to ensure alignment while driving architectural decisions autonomously and without operational disruption.

What You Will Need:

  • Bachelors degree from an accredited university

  • Minimum of EIGHT (8) years of overall work experience

  • US Citizenship is contractually required

  • Must be able to OBTAIN and MAINTAIN a Federal or DoD "PUBLIC TRUST"; candidates must obtain approved adjudication of their PUBLIC TRUST prior to onboarding with Guidehouse. Candidates with an ACTIVE PUBLIC TRUST or SUITABILITY are preferred.

  • Experience in IT or managing large-scale deployments and cross-functional technical teams with US Federal government consulting experience

  • Experience working in federal civilian, defense contractor, or highly regulated environments

  • Familiarity with federal compliance frameworks (e.g., FISMA, FedRAMP, NIST 800-53)

  • Experience collaborating with teams for IT security operations, threat response, or security architecture development, including IAM system requirements, design, implementation, integration, testing, or change management

  • Demonstrated expertise across all pillars of Zero Trust (identity, device, network/environment, application/workload, data)

  • Hands-on experience with Zero Trust technology platforms (e.g., CrowdStrike Falcon, Zscaler, and Okta)

  • Hands-on experience with automating security workflows and integrating Zero Trust technology platforms

  • Deep understanding of identity-centric security, segmentation, continuous monitoring, and least privileged access

  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and verbal and written communication abilities

  • Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment

  • Strong customer service and stakeholder management skills

  • Attention to detail and commitment to security best practices

  • Demonstrated ability to operate as an independent consultant—capable of leading strategic discussions, developing executive-ready deliverables, and facilitating program level decision making without reliance on product engineering teams

  • Proven experience developing Zero Trust program roadmaps, maturity plans, and strategic capability adoption aligned to CISA and DoD Zero Trust frameworks

  • Exceptional communication and client facing skills, including experience presenting to CISO level stakeholders and translating technical detail into strategic business guidance

  • Experience driving multi vendor Zero Trust integration approaches involving identity, endpoint, cloud, and network platforms

  • Ability to influence architecture decisions across engineering, operations, governance, and security architecture teams while maintaining strong, collaborative working relationships

What Would Be Nice To Have:

  • Active security clearance

  • Knowledge of NIST 800-53, 800-207, RMF, FedRAMP, and related frameworks

  • Experience with SIEM, SOAR, SASE, and identity threat detection and response technologies

  • Strong practical experience applying and assessing organizations against DoD and CISA Zero Trust Maturity Models

  • Familiarity with SDLC process, including designing and developing applications

  • Previous consulting experience delivering Zero Trust architecture guidance, for instance around Data Loss Prevention modernization, secure access, or cross-platform telemetry enrichment

The annual salary range for this position is $149,000.00-$248,000.00. Compensation decisions depend on a wide range of factors, including but not limited to skill sets, experience and training, security clearances, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs.


What We Offer:

Guidehouse offers a comprehensive, total rewards package that includes competitive compensation and a flexible benefits package that reflects our commitment to creating a diverse and supportive workplace.

Benefits include:

  • Medical, Rx, Dental & Vision Insurance

  • Personal and Family Sick Time & Company Paid Holidays

  • Position may be eligible for a discretionary variable incentive bonus

  • Parental Leave and Adoption Assistance

  • 401(k) Retirement Plan

  • Basic Life & Supplemental Life

  • Health Savings Account, Dental/Vision & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts

  • Short-Term & Long-Term Disability

  • Student Loan PayDown

  • Tuition Reimbursement, Personal Development & Learning Opportunities

  • Skills Development & Certifications

  • Employee Referral Program

  • Corporate Sponsored Events & Community Outreach

  • Emergency Back-Up Childcare Program

  • Mobility Stipend

About Guidehouse

Guidehouse is a management consulting firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. The firm provides consulting services to clients in the public and commercial sectors, with a focus on energy, financial services, healthcare, national security, and aerospace and defense. Guidehouse was founded in 2018 as a spin-off from PwC. The firm has over 7,000 employees and operates in more than 50 locations worldwide.
Learn more about Guidehouse
Size
8,000 employees
Industry
Founded
2018

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