Senior Penetration Tester

GovCIO is currently hiring for a Senior Pentration Tester with an active TS/SCI clearance to support DHS onsite in Washington, DC.

Responsibilities

The Senior Penetration Tester serves as Key Personnel responsible for leading advanced penetration testing and vulnerability assessment activities within a TS/SCI environment. This role ensures mission-critical security assurance across enterprise systems, applications, and cloud infrastructures by applying deep technical expertise, zero-trust principles, and attacker-focused methodologies. The Senior Penetration Tester guides technical direction, ensures rigorous execution, and provides authoritative recommendations to strengthen security posture across sensitive environments.

• Lead, plan, and oversee penetration testing operations for systems, networks, cloud resources, and web-based applications in a TS/SCI environment
  
• Execute comprehensive vulnerability assessments and software assurance evaluations; authoritatively document findings and drive remediation strategies
  
• Conduct deep technical analysis of vulnerabilities including buffer overflows, SQL injection, CSRF, XSS, race conditions (TOCTOU), XXE, encryption weaknesses, authentication bypass, and similar issues
  
• Assess and advise on security considerations during software acceptance activities, including criteria definition, risk acceptance evaluation, documentation review, and independent validation approaches
  
• Apply advanced security defense functions (encryption, access control, identity management) to reduce exploitation risks, including those related to supply chain considerations
  
• Provide threat intelligence insights and vulnerability research aligned with frameworks such as NIST 800-53 and MITRE ATT&CK to inform cloud security architecture decisions
  
• Develop new or enhanced penetration testing methodologies to identify emerging vulnerabilities and expand organizational capability
  
• Serve as a senior technical advisor and mentor to penetration testing staff; ensure consistency, quality, and rigor in testing execution
  
• Represent the penetration testing function in discussions with leadership, engineering teams, and mission stakeholders as required for Key Personnel roles
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor's with 12+ years of penetration testing experience (or commensurate experience)
• Minimum of 8 years of experience supporting enterprise security architectures and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
  
• Proven, extensive experience as a Penetration Tester in complex or classified environments
  
• Advanced knowledge of penetration testing methodologies, offensive security techniques, and industry tools
  
• Experience with AWS, Azure, RHEL, Linux, and Tenable
  
• Hands-on experience with tools including Kali Linux, Burp Suite Pro, and Metasploit
  
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with an ability to think like an attacker
  
• Excellent communication skills to deliver clear, actionable findings to both technical and executive stakeholders
  
• Preferred certifications: CEH, OSCP, or equivalent offensive security certifications
  
• Clearance Required: Active TS/SCI clearance

Posted Salary Range

USD $124,540.00 - USD $180,000.00 /Yr.