Sr. IR Specialist

About the role

Nightwing provides technically advanced full‑spectrum cyber, data operations, systems integration and intelligence mission support services to meet our customers’ most demanding challenges. Our capabilities include cyber space operations, cyber defense and resiliency, vulnerability research, ubiquitous technical surveillance, data intelligence, lifecycle mission enablement, and software modernization. Nightwing brings disruptive technologies, agility, and competitive offerings to customers in the intelligence community, defense, civil, and commercial markets.

Nightwing is supporting a U.S. Government customer to provide rapid deployment and management of secure cloud‑based engagement kits for cyber incident response and threat hunting operations. As part of the Engagement Support Services (ESS) contract, this program enables analysts to quickly access the tools and environments they need to investigate cyber threats affecting federal agencies, state and local governments, and critical infrastructure.

Working on this team means directly supporting the nation's cybersecurity defenders by ensuring they have reliable, scalable, and secure cloud infrastructure available within hours of a cyber incident—helping protect America's digital infrastructure when it matters most.

Responsibilities

• Conduct advanced triage and analysis of complex, high‑severity cyber threat intelligence, and IOC packages.
• Serve as technical escalation point for challenging or ambiguous threat assessments requiring deep expertise.
• Perform sophisticated IOC enrichment using classified and unclassified intelligence sources.
• Coordinate directly with FBI, NSA, USCYBERCOM, and other interagency partners on joint threat assessments.
• Provide technical mentorship and training to mid‑level and junior triage analysts.
• Develop and refine analytical tradecraft, triage playbooks, and decision matrices.
• Lead special projects to enhance triage processes, automation, and threat detection capabilities.
• Author detailed threat assessments and intelligence briefs for JCDC leadership and partner organizations.
• Represent the triage team in interagency working groups and information‑sharing forums.
• Identify patterns across multiple threat reports to detect emerging campaigns or threat actor activity.
• Conduct quality review of analyst products and provide constructive feedback.
• Support after‑hours on‑call rotation for critical incidents requiring senior‑level triage assessment.
• Contribute to strategic planning for JCDC operational capability development.
• Interface with critical infrastructure sector partners to understand threat concerns and provide tailored analysis.

Required Skills

• U.S. Citizenship.
• Active Top Secret with SCI eligibility.
• Ability to obtain DHS Suitability.
• 5‑7 years of progressive experience in threat intelligence, SOC operations, or cyber incident response.
• Demonstrated expertise in malware analysis, threat actor attribution, and cyber campaign analysis.
• Advanced proficiency with threat intelligence platforms, SIEM tools, and analytical frameworks.
• Deep knowledge of MITRE ATT&CK framework and intelligence‑driven cyber defense concepts.
• Proven track record coordinating with federal agencies and managing complex stakeholder relationships.
• Strong understanding of critical infrastructure interdependencies and sector‑specific threats.
• Exceptional analytical writing skills with ability to communicate complex technical findings to diverse audiences.
• Experience briefing technical and non‑technical audiences, including senior leadership.
• Ability to work collaboratively across physical locations.

Desired Skills

• Prior experience in federal government cybersecurity roles (CISA, FBI, NSA, DoD).
• Experience with the CISA NCISS National Cyber Incident Scoring System to prioritize triaging of incidents.
• Knowledge of general attack stages (e.g., foot printing and scanning, enumeration, gaining access, escalation of privileges, maintaining access, network exploitation, covering tracks, etc.).
• Demonstrated experience recognizing and categorizing types of vulnerabilities and associated attacks.
• Knowledge of Computer Network Defense policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Understanding of different operational threat environments (first generation [script kiddies], second generation [non‑nation‑state sponsored], third generation [nation‑state sponsored]).
• Knowledge of system and application security threats and vulnerabilities (e.g., buffer overflow, mobile code, cross‑site scripting, PL/SQL injections, race conditions, covert channel, replay, return‑oriented attacks, malicious code).
• Published threat intelligence research or contributions to the open‑source security community.
• Experience with threat hunting and proactive threat detection methodologies.
• Knowledge of foreign adversary cyber capabilities and geopolitical threat landscape.
• Familiarity with Privacy Act and information handling requirements for government operations.

Certifications

• CISSP, GCTI, GCFA, GREM, or similar advanced certifications.

Salary & Benefits

The salary associated with this position is $99,000‑$206,000, commensurate with the selected candidate’s qualifications, years of relevant experience, and demonstrated level of expertise.

• Medical, vision, and dental insurance coverage.
• 401(k) retirement plan.
• PTO and holidays.
• Additional insurances.