Senior Network Security Operations Center (SOC) Engineer (Federal)

We support mission-critical federal environments with advanced cybersecurity engineering and operational excellence. Our team safeguards national security infrastructure through proactive defense strategies, automation, and secure-by-design principles. We value innovation, accountability, diversity of thought, and a strong bias for action.

If you are a security builder not just a monitor this role is designed for you.

Position Overview

We are seeking a Senior Network Security Operations Center (SOC) Engineer to serve as a technical leader within our Federal Security Operations program. This is not a passive monitoring role. You will proactively hunt threats, optimize enterprise security tooling, and engineer resilient defensive architectures to outpace sophisticated adversaries.

This position bridges rigorous federal compliance frameworks (FISMA, NIST, TIC 3.0) with high-performance security engineering to ensure our security stack is deeply integrated, finely tuned, and operationally effective.

Key Responsibilities

Security Stack Ownership & Engineering

• Lead optimization of SIEM, EDR, XDR, and Next-Generation Firewall platforms

• Manage integration across disparate systems to ensure seamless data flow and visibility

• Enhance telemetry, log pipelines, and detection logic for maximum operational efficiency

Proactive Threat Hunting

• Develop hypothesis-driven threat hunting strategies across on-prem and cloud environments

• Identify stealthy persistence mechanisms, lateral movement, and advanced attack patterns

• Map findings to the MITRE ATT&CK framework for reporting and intelligence enrichment

Advanced Incident Response (Tier 3 Escalation)

• Serve as the senior escalation point for complex security incidents

• Perform deep packet inspection (PCAP analysis), TLS/SSL decryption review, and memory forensics

• Lead containment, eradication, and root cause analysis efforts

Automation & Orchestration (SOAR)

• Design and maintain SOAR playbooks using Python or Bash

• Automate triage, enrichment, and remediation workflows

• Reduce Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) and mitigate analyst fatigue

Federal Compliance & Secure-by-Design Implementation

• Implement NIST 800-53 controls within operational workflows

• Support TIC 3.0 architecture alignment

• Champion phishing-resistant MFA, SSO, and audit logging best practices

• Maintain continuous compliance without sacrificing operational velocity

Required Technical Expertise

SOC Tooling

• Expert-level experience with SIEM platforms (e.g., Splunk Enterprise Security)

• Advanced EDR/XDR experience (e.g., CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender)

• Hands-on configuration and management of Next-Generation Firewalls (e.g., Palo Alto)

• Familiarity with consolidated AI-driven SOC platforms (e.g., Cortex XSIAM) highly desirable

Network & Protocol Mastery

• Deep understanding of TCP/IP, DNS, TLS/SSL

• Ability to analyze and interpret PCAP data

• Experience with encrypted traffic inspection and advanced network telemetry

Infrastructure & Systems

• Strong Linux and Windows administration background

• Security-first systems hardening and baseline management

• Cloud security exposure preferred (AWS/Azure Gov environments)

Analytical & Reporting Skills

• Ability to translate technical vulnerabilities into executive-level insights

• Experience aligning detections to MITRE ATT&CK

• Strong documentation and briefing capabilities

Qualifications

• Experience: 7+ years in high-stakes Network Security within Federal environments

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, or equivalent experience

• Certifications (Required): CISSP, CASP+, GCIH, or other qualifying IAT Level III / IAM Level II certification

• Clearance: Active Top Secret (TS), eligible for SCI

GAMA-1 also offers a variety of benefits, including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, 401(k) savings plan, training and career development opportunities, paid holidays and paid time off (PTO - to cover vacation, illness or disability, appointments, emergencies or other situations that require time off from work). For more information click here.

ABOUT GAMA-1

GAMA-1 is a rapidly growing technology business that is based in Greenbelt, Maryland. GAMA-1 Technologies provides strategic information assurance, information security, and business enterprise and networking solutions to the Federal Government. Our success is based on the utilization of industry and agency standards, establishment of standardized processes, and IT Services expertise. At GAMA-1, we believe employees should grow, achieve, and develop just as the company grows, achieves, and develops. GAMA-1 is committed to providing our employees with opportunities for career advancement throughout their employment. For more information, visit www.gama1tech.com

GAMA-1 is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to: veteran status, uniformed servicemember status, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin or ancestry, citizenship or immigration status, physical or mental disability, genetic information (including testing and characteristics), domestic violence victims, political orientation, status as a smoker or tobacco user, hairstyle, use of a service animal, education status, familial status, HIV/AIDS status, height, weight, reproductive healthcare decisions or any other category protected by federal, state or local law.