Threat Hunt Lead - Top Secret

Threat Hunt Lead is responsible for overseeing all cyber threat hunt, adversary analysis, malware analysis, and digital forensics mission activities under an upcoming government contract. Hunts will include operations within sensitive environments such as Operation Technology (OT), Industrial Control Systems (ICS), and other Critical Infrastructure (CI) networks. The successful leader directs multidisciplinary hunt and forensic teams providing full spectrum detection, analysis, and response capabilities that enable federal stakeholders to identify, understand, and counter sophisticated cyber threats across federal, State Local Tribal and Territorial (SLTT), commercial, critical infrastructure, and cloud environments. The Threat Hunt Lead ensures continuous detection of adversary behavior, manages simultaneous deployed hunt operations, oversees advanced malware and forensics workflows, and delivers high quality analytic products that inform national cyber defense actions. The role maintains readiness of personnel, tools, and flyaway kits to support rapid, remote, or onsite engagements. Adversary, Malware, and Forensics Analysis Oversight Oversee simultaneously deployed hunt operations teams performing adversary tool analysis, including dynamic and static malware analysis and full reverse engineering of binaries, scripts, malicious documents, and artifacts to determine functionality, behavior, and command-and-control mechanisms. Oversee simultaneously deployed teams conducting digital forensic analysis of affected systems to determine malware impact, persistence mechanisms, and threat actor behavior. Deep understanding of all levels of threat actor tools, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) that actors may deploy, including advanced (AI/ML) modeling techniques. Extensive knowledge of emerging, established, and nation‑state level threat actor behaviors, including subversion and/or false‑flag operations designed to circumvent established cyber inspection tools. In‑depth ability to adapt to diverse cyber environments in which teams may need to “live off the land” with on-site‑provided cyber tools. Strong knowledge of air‑gap environments and how to deploy teams within them to ensure consistent reporting. Ensure teams develop custom scripts, tools, and analytic methods to identify, characterize, and visualize adversary techniques across hunt, malware, and forensics workflows within both established and atypical cyber environments, e.g., OT/ICS and commercial environments. Ensure production of high‑quality indicators of compromise, detection artifacts, and adversary capability assessments that support national cyber defense operations. Thread Hunt Operations Management Oversee full spectrum hunt and incident response engagements, onsite and/or remote, ensuring teams identify threats, assess impact, and recommend remedial actions to local stakeholders. Direct continuous analysis of established and atypical cyber‑defense sensor data, endpoint activity, network flows, cloud telemetry, and communications data to detect adversarial behavior and anomalous activity. Ensure teams maintain continuous awareness of emerging attack techniques, threat actors, tools, and methodologies to remain effective and up to date. Oversee both classified and unclassified delivery of federal stakeholder‑branded analytic products, intelligence deliverables, threat assessments, and technical reports that contextualize adversary activity. Determine mechanisms for timely and accurate release of indicators to maintain a proactive threat posture against cyber threat actors. Prepare, support the delivery, and oversee the creation of on‑demand and formal reporting to ensure timely and accurate reporting of shifting threat actor TTPs regardless of attribution. Host‑Based, Network, Cloud, and OT/ICS Forensics Leadership Oversee simultaneously deployed teams performing forensic examination across host systems and digital media (phones, hard drives, memory images, etc.). Direct network forensics operations to identify attacker behavior, develop network signatures, analyze traffic and configurations, and produce authoritative forensic reports. Oversee cloud forensic teams. Manage OT/ICS forensic teams conducting analysis across industrial control systems. Support, lead, direct and oversee remediation suggestions and work with local stakeholders, including OT/ICS engineers. Malware Analysis and Operations Oversight Oversee malware operations teams responsible for evaluating complex malicious code, performing static/dynamic analysis, triaging samples, and generating high‑quality technical reports. Ensure development of custom detection signatures (YARA, SIGMA) and automated cleanup tools to enhance detection and remediation activities. Oversee team workflows for management of malware submissions to pre‑approved stakeholders only, including triage, prioritization, and status tracking. Ensure teams develop metrics to evaluate analysis throughput, accuracy, timeliness, and mission impact. Operational Processes, Procedures, and Performance Metrics Oversee the stakeholder‑approved development, maintenance, and improvement of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), playbooks, analytic processes, workflows, robotic process automations (RPAs), and procedures supporting hunt, malware, and forensic operations. Ensure teams contribute to performance metrics measuring forensic effectiveness, response quality, hunt mission impact, and operational readiness. Oversee the threat hunt team’s participation in classified and unclassified interagency technical exchanges and communities of interest to strengthen national cyber defense integration. Deployable Hunt and Forensic Capability Management (Flyaway Kits) Oversee readiness of all deployable hunt and forensics resources, including full and reduced capacity flyaway kits, storage media, imaging systems, and tools. Ensure kits are provisioned, tested, updated, sanitized, and secured in accordance with chain of custody and data handling requirements. Oversee rapid deployment capabilities supporting remotely or onsite incident response, exercises, and surge support events. Required Qualifications Experience leading simultaneously deployed hunt, malware analysis, digital forensics, or incident response teams within large, scale, enterprise, commercial and OT/ICS cyber defense programs. Deep knowledge of nation‑state, emerging and established adversary TTP analysis, reverse engineering, forensic acquisition, and threat detection methodologies. Deep understanding and experience with host‑based, network, cloud, and OT/ICS forensics. Strong understanding of malware analysis, dynamic/static analysis tools, and detection signature development across multiple operating environments, including OT/ICS. Ability to oversee multidisciplinary teams and coordinate multiple concurrent engagements. Strong communication, reporting, and analytic leadership skills. 10 years of overall cybersecurity experience with 5 years of management of cybersecurity teams. Preferred Qualifications Experience supporting federal stakeholders such as DHS, DoW, the Intelligence Community (IC), the FBI, and/or other national security cyber missions. Experience supporting commercial threat hunting operations. Experience supporting, leading and/or directing threat hunt teams within OT/ICS environments. Experience supporting, leading and/or directing cyber protection teams. Significant hands‑on experience with advanced threat hunting techniques in air‑gapped and/or otherwise sensitive operating environments. Certifications such as GREM, Certified Threat Hunter (MTH), Offensive Security Certified Professional Plus (OSCP+), GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN), GCTI, GNFA, GRID, CRTO or similar advanced technical credentials. Experience with ATT&CK frameworks across Enterprise, Cloud, and IC. Experience managing deployable cyber hunt kits or rapid response teams. #J-18808-Ljbffr