[Hiring] IHE Cybersecurity Compliance & Incident Response Specialist @Valiant Solutions

Role Description

Valiant Solutions is seeking an IHE Cybersecurity Compliance & Incident Response Specialist to provide senior cybersecurity compliance, breach response, incident management, and risk management support for institutions of higher education (IHEs) that handle sensitive federal data. You will help our government customer respond to cybersecurity incidents at institutions outside its system boundary, including incidents that may involve Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), Federal Tax Information (FTI), and Personally Identifiable Information (PII). You will coordinate response and remediation, manage IHE cybersecurity cases through closure, and evaluate institutional cybersecurity compliance. Your guidance, grounded in NIST SP 800-61 Rev. 3, will help institutions strengthen how they protect sensitive federal information.

Qualifications

• More than 10 years of experience in cybersecurity incident response, incident handling, cybersecurity compliance, security assessments, or cyber risk management.
• Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Assurance, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• A senior industry professional certification such as CISSP or equivalent.
• Demonstrated experience investigating, coordinating, documenting, and managing cybersecurity incidents through remediation and closure.
• Experience conducting or supporting cybersecurity compliance assessments and evaluating technical, administrative, and physical safeguards.
• Strong knowledge of incident containment, remediation, recovery, corrective action tracking, and cybersecurity risk management.
• Experience evaluating security controls and identifying compliance gaps and remediation requirements.
• Experience working with sensitive or regulated information such as CUI, PII, FTI, or comparable protected data.
• Ability to analyze complex cybersecurity information and translate findings into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Excellent technical writing, analytical, communication, and stakeholder coordination skills.
• Ability to work effectively with government personnel, institutional stakeholders, cybersecurity teams, auditors, technical personnel, and organizational leadership.
• Familiarity with NIST SP 800-61 Revision 3.
• Strong knowledge of applicable cybersecurity regulatory and control frameworks.

Requirements

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance.
• U.S. citizenship is required to obtain the necessary clearance for this position.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior cybersecurity incident response and breach management support for IHEs that handle federal data.
• Provide incident reporting and handling guidance that helps IHEs contain, remediate, and recover from cybersecurity incidents.
• Coordinate remediation and incident response activities with reporting institutions.
• Categorize, analyze, document, track, and manage IHE cybersecurity cases through closure.
• Coordinate breach response activities across affected customer offices, customer contractors, IHEs, and affiliated organizations.
• Analyze incident information and supporting evidence to identify cybersecurity risks, compliance concerns, affected data, and required remediation.
• Track remediation activities and corrective actions through resolution.
• Develop incident reports, technical findings, recommendations, case documentation, and status updates for customer stakeholders.
• Conduct and support cybersecurity compliance assessments for institutions and systems that handle federal data.
• Evaluate the adequacy of administrative, technical, and physical safeguards and identify cybersecurity and compliance gaps.
• Develop assessment plans that address methodology, data collection, sampling, reporting timelines, and risk-rating methodology.
• Evaluate institutional information security programs and the implementation of required cybersecurity safeguards.
• Review compliance audit information to determine whether identified requirements have been implemented or are addressed through acceptable corrective action plans.
• Assess safeguards across areas including risk assessment, identity and access management, data classification and inventory, encryption, multi-factor authentication, change management and secure development, logging and monitoring, incident response capabilities, vendor and third-party risk management, and cybersecurity awareness and training.
• Identify cybersecurity risks and control weaknesses that affect how IHEs protect federal information.
• Provide actionable remediation recommendations based on assessment and incident findings.
• Support IHE corrective action planning and remediation efforts.
• Provide cybersecurity consulting, threat advisories, and remediation support to participating institutions.
• Work with institutional security teams and customer stakeholders to resolve cybersecurity and compliance issues.
• Ensure assessment and incident response work products meet applicable agency data handling and CUI protection requirements.
• Serve as a senior cybersecurity resource to the customer and participating institutions on compliance and incident response matters.
• Communicate complex cybersecurity incidents, vulnerabilities, compliance gaps, and remediation requirements clearly to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Coordinate activities across IHE stakeholders, customer offices, contractors, cybersecurity personnel, and other affected organizations.
• Support cybersecurity awareness activities and tabletop exercises with IHEs.
• Provide senior guidance to less-experienced cybersecurity professionals, as assigned.

Benefits

• A choice of medical plans, from an affordable HSA option to a full-featured PPO, with generous company contributions.
• Dental and vision coverage for you and your family.
• Company-paid life, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance.
• Optional supplemental life, accident, and critical illness coverage to round out your protection.
• 401(k) retirement plan with company match.
• Paid time off that grows with your years of service, plus paid federal holidays.
• Paid certifications, professional development, and the Valiant University training portal.
• Flexible spending accounts and a wellness and fitness program.
• Referral bonuses when you help us bring great people to Valiant.