Overview

The Information System Security Manager (ISSM) serves as the primary cybersecurity authority and liaison for contractor-designed, built, and supported networks and systems operating within Army and Navy program environments. Working on-site alongside Government Organization ISSMs, Authorizing Official Designated Representatives (AODRs), and Authorizing Officials (AOs), this role is directly responsible for leading systems through the complete Risk Management Framework (RMF) lifecycle—from initial conceptual design to achieving and maintaining Authorization to Operate (ATO) and continuous monitoring.

Aligned with the DoD Cyber Workforce Framework (DCWF) Work Role CS-722, the ISSM ensures that contractor technical solutions comply with all applicable DoD, Army, Navy, and NIST cybersecurity directives, security technical implementation guides (STIGs), and risk thresholds without compromising operational mission requirements.

Beyond government-facing compliance, this position will have the opportunity to act as an internal cybersecurity champion—driving security-by-design, system hardening, and DevSecOps best practices directly into company-developed technology, architectures, and software solutions prior to customer deployment.

Core Objectives & Mission Impact:

Direct Government Engagement: Operates on-site as a trusted advisor and peer to Government ISSMs and cybersecurity leadership, bridging the gap between contractor engineering teams and government accreditation authorities.
Full RMF Lifecycle Governance: Oversees the creation, defense, and maintenance of comprehensive ATO packages within key government repositories, primarily eMASS (Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Service) and Navy/Army-specific workflow databases.
Network & System Assurance: Evaluates contractor-designed architecture, software stacks, hardware configurations, and network topologies against DoD baseline security controls (NIST SP 800-53 R5, CNSSI 1253) to identify and mitigate risks early in the systems engineering lifecycle.
Sustained Compliance & Continuous Monitoring: Establishes robust Continuous Monitoring (ConMon) strategies, managing Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&Ms), vulnerability remediation (ACAS/Nessus scans, STIG compliance), and annual assessment reviews to prevent ATO expiration or authorization revocation.

Responsibilities

Government RMF Accreditation & ATO Management (Army & Navy Focus)

On-Site Government Collaboration: Serve as the primary contractor cybersecurity authority operating directly on-site with Army and Navy Organization ISSMs, AODRs, and AOs to facilitate accreditation processes.

eMASS Package Development & Maintenance: Build, manage, and maintain formal Assessment & Authorization (A&A) packages within eMASS (Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Service) and relevant customer databases, ensuring accurate control allocation and implementation statements.

Security Control Assessment: Evaluate baseline security controls (NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, CNSSI 1253) across contractor-designed networks, verifying implementation of administrative, operational, and technical safeguards.

Vulnerability & Scan Management: Oversee automated vulnerability assessment tools (ACAS, Nessus, SCAP Compliance Checker), evaluating raw scan results, prioritizing findings, and ensuring required DISA STIGs/SRGs are applied.

POA&M Ownership: Draft, track, and remediate Plans of Action and Milestones (POA&Ms), negotiating acceptable risk levels and mitigation strategies with government stakeholders.

Continuous Monitoring (ConMon): Establish and execute ongoing ConMon strategies to maintain authorization boundaries, managing annual security reviews, boundary modification requests, and re-authorization events.

Internal Cybersecurity Hardening & Product Security

Shift-Left Security Engineering: Collaborate with internal software, network, and systems engineering teams during early development lifecycle phases to embed cybersecurity requirements into company-developed technology before deployment.

System Hardening Standards: Develop and enforce internal baseline configuration guides, utilizing DISA STIGs and CIS Benchmarks across company-built hardware appliances, software stacks, and operating environments.

Architecture & Code Review Oversight: Evaluate internal product architectures and software deliverables for security posture, facilitating static/dynamic code analysis, dependency scanning, and zero-trust alignment.

Best Practices & Governance: Establish company-internal cybersecurity standard operating procedures (SOPs), hardening checklists, and secure development guidelines to ensure consistency across product lines.

Incident Management & Cyber Hygiene

Vulnerability Response: Lead protective and corrective measures upon discovery of critical vulnerabilities or zero-day threats affecting deployed customer networks or company solutions.

Incident Handling Support: Coordinate with government security leadership and internal teams to report, contain, investigate, and remediate potential security incidents or policy non-compliance.

Audit & Inspection Readiness: Coordinate and prepare systems for formal government cybersecurity inspections, and internal quality audits.

Strategic Advisory & Stakeholder Communication

Leadership Consultation: Advise internal engineering managers and government leadership on security posture, mission risk trade-offs, and emerging cybersecurity threats.

Technical Interface: Translate complex government compliance requirements (DoDI 8510.01, NIST guidelines) into actionable technical requirements for internal development teams.

Education/Qualifications

Active TS Clearance (TS/SCI preferred)

Must hold a TS security clearance (TS/SCI preferred)

DoD 8140/8570 Baseline Certification (Required):

Intermediate Level (Minimum): CompTIA Security+, CompTIA SecurityX (formerly CASP+), Cloud+, GSEC, or equivalent
Advanced Level (Preferred): CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional), CISM (Certified Information Security Manager), GCSA, GCIA, or CISSP-ISSMP.

Bachelors in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Inforamtion Systems, Software Engineering or equivalent +5 years of relevant experience supporting Army or Navy customers in the full RMF lifecycle.

Required Technical & Functional Competencies:

Government RMF & Compliance Mastery

Demonstrated hands-on experience navigating the complete Risk Management Framework (RMF) lifecycle per DoDI 8510.01, NIST SP 800-53 (Rev. 5), and CNSSI 1253.
Advanced operational capability using eMASS (Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Service) to build, manage, and defend Assessment & Authorization (A&A) packages for Army and/or Navy customers.
Experience managing vulnerability assessment tools (ACAS/Nessus, SCAP Compliance Checker), evaluating raw technical scan data, and applying DISA STIGs / SRGs.
Proven track record drafting, negotiating, and tracking POA&Ms through mitigation to secure ATO, ATO with Conditions, or Interim Authority to Test (IATT).

Internal Product Hardening & DevSecOps

Solid working knowledge of system hardening standards across operating systems (Linux/Windows), network infrastructure, containerized environments, and cloud architectures.
Experience embedding cybersecurity requirements into early software/systems engineering workflows (Shift-Left Security / DevSecOps pipelines).
Familiarity with static/dynamic application security testing (SAST/DAST) tools and software bill of materials (SBOM) management.

Preferred / Desirable Qualifications

Direct experience supporting Army (eMASS-Army) or Navy (NAVIFOR / NAVSEA / NAVAIR / SPAWAR) program offices and Authorizing Officials (AOs).
Specialized certifications in audit, risk management, or cloud security (e.g., CISA, CRISC, CCSP, AWS/Azure Security Specialties).

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Advisory Information Security Manager

Overview

Responsibilities

Education/Qualifications

Internal Product Hardening & DevSecOps

Categories

Skills