Senior Zero Trust Security Architect – Special Projects

Work Location and On-Site/Telework Requirements: Hybrid. You'll work remotely and on site at NIH facilities in Bethesda and Rockville, MD, for workshops, training sessions, and stakeholder meetings, as the work requires. Work is performed on Government-furnished equipment under NIH access requirements.

Citizenship: U.S. Citizenship required

Eligibility: Ability to obtain and maintain NIH suitability and a PIV credential. An existing Tier 2 (Moderate Risk Public Trust) or higher investigation, eligible for reciprocity, is preferred. No security clearance is required. English fluency, spoken and written.

Overview:

eTelligent Group, LLC supports the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in turning its Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) strategy into operating practice across its Institutes and Centers (ICs). This position supports Task 8, Special Projects: a dedicated team, separate from the core program staff, that develops and delivers NIH-wide ZTA training and supports Government-directed ZTA special projects. This architect is the technical lead for Government-directed ZTA special projects. You'll turn NIH's Zero Trust direction into practical architecture, analysis, and implementation support for specific initiatives.

Responsibilities:

• Technical analysis: Perform architecture and gap analysis against NIH reference patterns, the NIH ZTA Overlay, and the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model. Develop options analyses with clear recommendations.
• Discrete initiatives: Support work such as IC-specific adoption of NIH reference architectures, pilots of AI-enabled ZTA use cases, and inherited-controls onboarding for systems added to the FISMA inventory.
• Implementation support: Develop implementation plans, design documents, and configuration guidance, and support testing and validation for assigned ZTA initiatives.
• Security documentation: Assess how proposed designs affect control inheritance, authorization, and continuous monitoring evidence.
• Briefings: Brief technical and leadership stakeholders, and contribute technical content to planning briefs, status reports, and closeout memos.

Required Qualifications:

• A bachelor's degree in cybersecurity, computer science, information systems, or a related field.
• At least 10 years of security architecture or engineering experience, including Zero Trust implementation in federal hybrid or cloud environments.
• Hands-on expertise in ICAM, micro-segmentation, cloud security, and policy enforcement.
• Working knowledge of the NIST RMF, SP 800-53 Rev. 5, and control inheritance.
• A CISSP or equivalent certification.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A CCSP, CCZT, or cloud security certification (AWS, Azure).
• Experience in HHS, NIH, or research or clinical computing environments.
• Experience securing AI/ML workloads or applying AI-enabled security analytics.
• Enterprise architecture frameworks (TOGAF, SABSA, FEAF).