Information Systems Security Engineer (ISSE)

Description

The AEGIS program at Leidos is seeking a highly experienced Information Systems Security Engineer (ISSE) to provide advanced cybersecurity engineering expertise in support of the security and protection of NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) systems and High-Performance Computing (HPC) environments.

The ISSE will lead and provide technical oversight for the development, documentation, implementation, enhancement, operation, and maintenance of comprehensive System Security Plans (SSPs) across NAS systems, clusters, interconnects, storage platforms, and data resources.

This role requires advanced technical expertise to ensure security documentation, configuration baselines, security checklists, and system hardening guidelines align with applicable security requirements while balancing the unique performance, throughput, and operational demands of complex HPC environments.

PRIMARY RESPOSIBILITIES:

• Ensure the compliance and integrity of System Security Plans (SSPs) and associated security artifacts with NASA and U.S. Government security requirements, including NPR 2810.1F, NIST 800-53/53B, FISMA, and NIST HPC Security Overlay guidance.
• Serve as a senior technical advisor to internal and external stakeholders on complex HPC-specific security challenges, including system hardening for MPI-based workloads, GPU/accelerator nodes, high-speed fabrics (InfiniBand, Slingshot), and performance-critical parallel filesystems.
• Evaluate and recommend advanced security solutions that balance high-performance computing capabilities with robust cybersecurity protections, ensuring security measures support large-scale simulation workflows, mission operations, and research productivity.
• Lead the analysis and reporting of HPC-specific security data, including vulnerability assessments, risk evaluations, security telemetry, and compliance findings, providing actionable insights and recommendations to Division and Branch leadership.
• Oversee the development, tracking, and remediation of Plans of Action and Milestones (POA&Ms) across HPC systems, coordinating resolution activities with systems engineering, networking, storage, and operations teams to address security risks and compliance gaps.
• Lead complex compliance assessments of large-scale HPC environments, evaluating specialized security considerations such as high-speed interconnect configurations, MPI-node exposure risks, GPU driver-level vulnerabilities, and HPC authentication and authorization workflows. Present findings and recommendations to NAS leadership.
• Provide technical leadership and coordination across multiple teams to implement, enforce, and maintain compliance with Government cybersecurity policies, including NPR 2810.1F, NIST 800-53/800-53B, NIST SP 800-234 (HPC Security Overlay), DHS directives, FIPS standards, OMB guidance, and FISMA requirements.
• Coordinate and provide senior-level technical expertise during NASA Assessment and Authorization (A&A) activities for large-scale HPC systems, including data calls, technical evaluations, security control inheritance definitions, and documentation updates.
• Lead credentialed and performance-aware vulnerability assessments across complex HPC environments, ensuring scanning methodologies accommodate specialized hardware, including GPU nodes, high-speed fabrics, and parallel filesystems, without impacting mission-critical workloads. Analyze findings and provide risk-based recommendations to NAS leadership and Information System Security Officials (ISSOs).
• Evaluate and escalate potential or actual HPC security incidents to appropriate NAS or Agency personnel, providing senior technical support during investigations in collaboration with the NASA Security Operations Center (SOC), Incident Response Teams, and NAS Management.
• Lead technical Root Cause Analysis (RCA) efforts and recommend corrective actions for complex HPC security issues, including system performance anomalies, distributed job failures, and vulnerabilities within parallel computing environments.
• Provide technical guidance in the development and refinement of cybersecurity policies, procedures, and guidelines to ensure HPC computational, storage, networking, and data-analysis systems maintain compliance with NASA and federal security requirements.
• Maintain advanced expertise in HPC cybersecurity by evaluating emerging threats, technologies, and security advisories from NASA, NIST, DOE, and industry sources. Provide technical guidance to facility staff on HPC-specific risks, including accelerator vulnerabilities, MPI/RDMA protocol threats, and job-scheduler exploitation vectors.
• Provide senior-level coordination and technical oversight of security compliance activities related to Section 508, Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM), IPv6 adoption, and cybersecurity reviews for HPC IT acquisitions, including compute clusters, interconnects, accelerators, and data-storage hardware.
• Lead complex vulnerability assessments and contribute to the design and enhancement of intrusion detection tools for advanced network architectures supporting HPC environments.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 12 years of relevant experience in cybersecurity, information systems security, or a related technical discipline.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex technical projects, coordinating cross-functional activities, and ensuring successful execution of cybersecurity initiatives.
• Advanced technical knowledge of cybersecurity principles, security frameworks, risk management, and compliance requirements within complex IT environments.
• Proven ability to independently prioritize, delegate, and oversee multiple concurrent projects while ensuring alignment with technical requirements, organizational priorities, and established timelines.
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical leadership, mentor and develop team members, and effectively coordinate workforce activities to achieve program objectives.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, with the ability to evaluate complex technical challenges and recommend effective solutions.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively across multidisciplinary teams and engage technical stakeholders and leadership.

CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS:

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance ranging from a Public Trust, at minimum, up to a Top Secret clearance, as required.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

October 21, 2026

Pay Range:

Pay Range $131,300.00 - $237,350.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.

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Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.