IT Security Specialist II – AWS Security

The remote IT Security Specialist II – AWS Security will serve as a senior, hands-on cloud security specialist supporting complex AWS environments and federal information systems in a remote work environment.

This position combines deep technical AWS security expertise with the documentation and compliance responsibilities required within federal cybersecurity programs. The successful candidate will assess and validate security controls, analyze vulnerabilities, review security findings for accuracy and completeness, monitor security posture and metrics, coordinate remediation with technical teams, and support compliance activities for FISMA High and Moderate systems.

The ideal candidate is technically strong enough to work directly with cloud engineers, system administrators, developers, and security teams, while also being able to clearly document findings, maintain security evidence, and support federal cybersecurity processes such as POA&Ms and security assessments.

Success in this role means identifying meaningful security risks, validating that controls are functioning as intended, ensuring remediation activities actually resolve identified weaknesses, and producing accurate, defensible security findings and documentation that federal stakeholders can rely on.

What You Will Do in This Role

The IT Security Specialist II – AWS Security will provide hands-on technical security support across AWS cloud environments while supporting federal security assessment, vulnerability management, control validation, and compliance activities.

Responsibilities include:

• Assess the security posture of complex AWS cloud environments and identify technical security risks, vulnerabilities, and control weaknesses.
• Implement, review, validate, and monitor security controls within AWS environments.
• Evaluate whether security controls are operating effectively and whether supporting technical evidence accurately demonstrates compliance.
• Perform technical quality assurance reviews of security findings, vulnerability reports, assessment results, and supporting documentation.
• Operate and work with security scanning and monitoring technologies to identify vulnerabilities, configuration weaknesses, and potential security concerns.
• Analyze vulnerability findings and prioritize remediation based on technical risk, system impact, and applicable federal requirements.
• Work directly with cloud engineers, system administrators, developers, and infrastructure teams to coordinate vulnerability remediation and security improvements.
• Review remediation evidence and perform follow-up validation or retesting to confirm findings have been appropriately resolved.
• Develop and monitor security metrics that provide visibility into vulnerabilities, control effectiveness, remediation progress, and overall security posture.
• Support security assessments for FISMA High and Moderate systems.
• Apply NIST security requirements, federal cybersecurity standards, and applicable system security controls when assessing AWS environments.
• Support the development, review, and maintenance of security assessment evidence and compliance documentation.
• Assist with POA&M activities, including documenting findings, tracking remediation activities, reviewing evidence, and supporting closure.
• Maintain clear, accurate, and audit-ready documentation describing technical findings, risks, controls, and remediation status.
• Support security repository and compliance-management activities as required.
• Review system security documentation to ensure it accurately reflects the technical environment and implemented controls.
• Collaborate with federal security stakeholders, ISSOs, system owners, engineers, program managers, and other technical personnel.
• Communicate complex technical security findings clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Maintain a calm, professional, and solutions-oriented approach when working through difficult security findings, competing priorities, or stakeholder disagreements.
• Provide technical guidance and cybersecurity expertise to team members as needed.

What You Will Bring

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Demonstrated senior-level, hands-on experience securing AWS cloud environments.
• Strong understanding of AWS cloud security concepts, including identity and access management, security monitoring, configuration, network security, vulnerability management, and cloud security controls.
• Hands-on experience implementing, validating, and monitoring security controls within AWS environments.
• Experience performing cloud vulnerability management, including vulnerability identification, risk prioritization, remediation coordination, and validation of corrective actions.
• Experience reviewing and performing technical QA on security findings, assessment results, vulnerability reports, and supporting evidence.
• Experience assessing or supporting systems subject to FISMA High, FISMA Moderate, or comparable security requirements.
• Working knowledge of the NIST Risk Management Framework and NIST SP 800-53 security controls.
• Ability to understand technical security evidence and determine whether controls are effectively implemented.
• Experience collaborating directly with cloud engineers, system administrators, developers, or infrastructure teams to resolve security issues.
• Strong technical writing skills and ability to produce clear, accurate, and defensible security documentation.
• Strong verbal communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to professionally navigate difficult technical discussions and stakeholder relationships.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting federal government information systems.
• Experience supporting security assessments for FISMA High or Moderate systems.
• Experience developing, maintaining, or supporting POA&Ms.
• Experience with federal cybersecurity repository or governance tools such as CSAM.
• Experience developing or maintaining security policies, procedures, SOPs, assessment documentation, and compliance artifacts.
• Experience with cloud security monitoring, vulnerability scanning, security posture management, or related technologies.
• CISSP, CISM, CISA, CCSP, CEH, Security+, or comparable cybersecurity certification.
• AWS security or cloud certification.
• Experience working in highly regulated, mission-critical, or government cloud environments.

Work Authorization / Security Clearance Requirements

• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.

Work Environment

• This work is normally completed in a remote environment.

Physical Demands

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

Travel Required

• No routine travel required.