NERC CIP Consultant

Lead NERC CIP Analyst / Consultant

Location(s)

• Remote - anywhere in the continental United States.
• Occasional travel averaging approximately 15%-25% for site walkdowns, audit support, client workshops, and industry events.

Compensation

• Base salary: $150,000-$185,000, plus an annual performance bonus.
• Final compensation depends on experience, depth of NERC CIP background, certifications, and location.

Position Summary

The Lead NERC CIP Analyst / Consultant is a senior, client-facing technical leader responsible for delivering end-to-end NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) compliance engagements. This hands-on role leads CIP applicability and categorization, program development, evidence preparation, audit and CMEP support, and practical implementation while mentoring less experienced consultants and helping shape a growing compliance practice.

Job Function

• Serve as the technical lead on NERC CIP engagements, owning the scope, quality, and outcomes of the CIP workstream.
• Perform CIP-002 applicability and impact-rating analyses, including BES Cyber System and BES Cyber Asset identification, categorization, and supporting rationale.
• Advise clients on practical implementation of CIP-003 through CIP-015 requirements for Low, Medium, and High Impact environments.
• Distinguish clearly between explicit regulatory requirements and supporting practices or industry guidance, with appropriate source support.
• Translate regulatory requirements into sustainable controls, processes, and documentation for operations and IT/OT teams.
• Develop and mature CIP programs, including policies, procedures, work instructions, control descriptions, and compliance calendars.
• Build evidence packages and Reliability Standard Audit Worksheet (RSAW) responses alongside client personnel.
• Design sustainable evidence-management and retention practices that support audit readiness.
• Support implementation of cybersecurity awareness, physical and electronic access controls, incident response, transient cyber asset and removable media programs, and vendor electronic remote access controls.
• Advise on network architecture, segmentation, remote access, access control, logging and monitoring, patch and vulnerability management, and configuration change management as they relate to CIP obligations.
• Lead gap assessments, mock audits, internal control reviews, and compliance risk assessments for new and existing registered entities.
• Support compliance due diligence for portfolio acquisitions, including compliance exposure assessments and realistic remediation roadmaps.
• Prepare clients for and support Regional Entity audits, spot checks, self-certifications, data requests, walkthroughs, and auditor interviews.
• Assist clients with evaluating potential noncompliance, developing self-reports and mitigation plans, and tracking remediation through closure.
• Conduct on-site walkdowns to confirm that documented configurations, asset inventories, and physical and electronic access controls match field conditions.
• Contribute to practice methodologies, templates, checklists, service offerings, delivery standards, and technical direction.
• Mentor and review the work of less experienced consultants while remaining hands-on in client delivery.
• Apply automation and AI-enabled tools where they improve speed and quality while maintaining regulatory accuracy.
• Participate in NERC, Regional Entity, and industry forums and support constructive relationships with regulators.
• Support scoping, estimating, proposal development, and identification of additional client service opportunities.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, information systems, cybersecurity, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Eight or more years of professional experience in the electric utility or energy sector, including at least five years focused specifically on NERC CIP compliance.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience across the CIP standards, including asset categorization, evidence development, and audit readiness in a registered entity or consulting environment.
• Direct experience supporting a Regional Entity audit, spot check, self-certification, or enforcement matter from the entity or consultant side.
• Consulting or advisory experience serving multiple registered entities across more than one NERC Region is preferred.
• Experience with inverter-based resources, including solar, storage, and wind, and first-time registrant onboarding is preferred.
• Experience standing up a CIP program from the ground up, particularly a Low Impact program under CIP-003, is preferred.
• Experience with Medium or High Impact environments, including Electronic Security Perimeters and associated CIP-005, CIP-007, and CIP-010 obligations, is preferred.
• Experience with compliance due diligence for mergers, acquisitions, or portfolio transactions is preferred.

Qualifications

• Working knowledge of operational technology (OT) and industrial control system (ICS) environments, including control systems, SCADA/EMS, industrial networking, segmentation, and remote access.
• Understanding of how operational reliability affects the practicality of cybersecurity controls.
• Strong writing skills with the ability to produce documentation that is clear to operational leaders and defensible to auditors.
• Judgment, self-direction, and professional maturity to lead client workstreams with limited oversight and communicate difficult findings clearly and promptly.
• Ability to distinguish regulatory requirements from supporting practice and industry guidance with precision.
• Hands-on, ownership-oriented approach to consulting, including willingness to develop procedures, assemble evidence, and perform site walkdowns.
• Familiarity with tools such as Tripwire, Splunk, Nessus/Tenable, or comparable configuration monitoring, log management, and vulnerability management platforms is preferred.
• Familiarity with NERC systems and processes such as Align, Secure Evidence Locker, CORES, and self-report and mitigation plan workflows is preferred.
• Certifications such as CISSP, GICSP, CISA, CISM, CRISC, ISA/IEC 62443, or a Professional Engineer license are preferred.
• Working knowledge of adjacent frameworks, including NIST Cybersecurity Framework, NIST SP 800-82, and ISA/IEC 62443, is preferred.
• Authorization to work in the United States without visa sponsorship.
• Ability to pass a Personnel Risk Assessment consistent with CIP-004 requirements.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401(k) with company match.
• Paid time off and company holidays.
• Professional development and certification support.
• Home office arrangement.

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