Federal Cybersecurity Jobs in Reston, VA (NOW HIRING)

At Ardent, we hire people who want more than a job - they want to serve a mission that matters. Our teams support the federal government's most critical national security and defense priorities, helping protect the nation, strengthen resilience, and advance the technologies and capabilities that keep America secure. For veterans, cleared professionals, and purpose-driven innovators, Ardent is a place to continue serving alongside a team that understands the importance of the mission and the people behind it.

We also know top talent has choices, which is why we back our mission with benefits and flexibility that stand out: competitive pay, comprehensive health coverage, flexible PTO, federal holidays off, tuition reimbursement, professional development support, wellness stipends, and a culture that values and rewards hard work, dedication, and adaptability. If you want to build something meaningful, while enjoying the kind of flexibility and support that you need to do your best work - Ardent is where your next mission begins.

Ardent is seeking a Cybersecurity Engineer to join our team.  

This position is based in Washington, DC and may require a combination of on-site and remote support depending on program needs.

Position Description:

Ardent is seeking a Cybersecurity Engineer to support the design, implementation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of enterprise cybersecurity controls across cloud, network, endpoint, and identity environments. This role will support Zero Trust initiatives, continuous monitoring, threat detection, incident response, vulnerability management, and security operations activities while helping strengthen the overall security posture of the organization.

The Cybersecurity Engineer will collaborate with cloud, network, application, and infrastructure teams to ensure security technologies, systems, and services are properly configured, hardened, monitored, and maintained in accordance with federal cybersecurity standards and industry best practices.

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Support the implementation, operation, and optimization of enterprise security platforms and services across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments.
• Implement and maintain enterprise security controls aligned with NIST SP 800-53 and Zero Trust Architecture principles.
• Support identity and access management initiatives, including authentication, authorization, role-based access controls, privileged access management, and multi-factor authentication.
• Configure and manage identity services and enterprise access control solutions.
• Monitor, analyze, and respond to security events and alerts using SIEM, EDR/XDR, and related security technologies.
• Support incident triage, containment, investigation, remediation, and forensic data collection activities.
• Maintain continuous security monitoring capabilities, including log collection, correlation, and analysis.
• Conduct vulnerability assessments, risk analysis, and remediation activities across systems, applications, and infrastructure.
• Support patch management, mitigation efforts, and security hardening initiatives.
• Assist with securing cloud and hybrid environments, including AWS, Azure, and related cloud security services.
• Configure and maintain centralized logging, monitoring, and audit capabilities.
• Support change management processes, security documentation, and operational procedures.
• Develop and maintain cybersecurity standard operating procedures, security baselines, and asset inventories.
• Perform root cause analysis for security incidents and control failures and assist with corrective action implementation.
• Collaborate with network, cloud, application, and engineering teams to resolve security issues and improve overall security operations.
• Support 24/7 monitoring and operational security activities as required.

Requirements: 

• Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience supporting cybersecurity engineering, security operations, incident response, vulnerability management, or related disciplines.
• Experience implementing and supporting enterprise security controls aligned with NIST cybersecurity frameworks.
• Experience supporting Identity and Access Management (IAM), role-based access control, privileged access management, and multi-factor authentication.
• Experience working with SIEM, EDR/XDR, vulnerability management, and security monitoring technologies.
• Experience supporting security incident response, threat detection, and remediation activities.
• Experience securing cloud, hybrid, and enterprise environments.
• Experience with centralized logging, monitoring, and audit solutions.
• Strong understanding of Zero Trust Architecture principles and least-privilege access models.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
• Ability to successfully complete and maintain a government background investigation.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience supporting federal government environments.
• Familiarity with NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-207, FISMA, and Risk Management Framework (RMF) requirements.
• Experience supporting AWS and Azure cloud security initiatives.
• Experience with privileged access management, segmentation strategies, and enterprise security architecture.
• Experience supporting automated patch management and vulnerability remediation programs.
• Experience performing forensic analysis, root cause analysis, and security investigations.
• Industry certifications such as Security+, CySA+, CISSP, GSEC, GCIA, GCIH, or equivalent.

Due to the nature of the work we support, all candidates in consideration for this role must be willing to undergo the government issued background investigation process. We highly encourage all Veterans and those with disabilities to apply.

Ardent is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, color, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other basis protected by state, local, or federal law.