Cybersecurity Analyst

Position: (GRC) Cybersecurity Analyst

Employment Type: W2 Contract-to-Hire
Location: Atlanta, GA
Travel Requirement: Less than 10%

Key Hiring Expectations

• Minimum 5-7+ years of relevant IT/Cybersecurity experience
• Strong technical foundation with hands-on engineering experience
• Solid understanding of Cloud Technologies, Cybersecurity Concepts, Risk Assessment, and Enterprise IT Infrastructure
• Excellent critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills
• Candidates should demonstrate ownership of technical projects and systems, not just support activities
• Evaluate candidates based on their actual responsibilities and technical accomplishments, rather than job titles alone

Must-Have Skills

• Cybersecurity
• GRC / IRM
• Risk Assessments
• Systems Engineering
• Cloud Technologies
• Security Engineering
• Technical Project Ownership
• Strong customer-facing communication
• Ability to work with unfamiliar technologies

Job Purpose

The Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Cybersecurity Analyst is responsible for leading the assessment and oversight of business policies, procedures, and operations to ensure the organization meets internal requirements and government regulations for the protection of sensitive and critical information. GRC Analysts own complex legal, regulatory, and operational risk areas related to information assets, drive continuous risk assessment across business units, and design and implement policies, procedures, and training needed to meet or exceed internal and external requirements.
Cybersecurity Analysts are responsible for protecting the institution's information systems and data from cyber threats and vulnerabilities. This role involves monitoring security incidents, conducting risk assessments, and implementing security measures to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and best practices in cybersecurity.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor the institution's information systems for security incidents and vulnerabilities, responding promptly to mitigate potential threats.
• Conduct regular risk assessments and security audits to identify weaknesses in the institution's cybersecurity posture and recommend remediation measures.
• Develop and implement security policies, procedures, and protocols to protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Provide cybersecurity training and awareness programs for faculty, staff, and students to promote a culture of security within the institution.
• Analyze security incidents and breaches to determine their root causes and develop strategies to prevent future occurrences.
• Stay informed about emerging cybersecurity threats and trends, continuously updating security measures to address new challenges.
• Prepare and present reports on the status of cybersecurity efforts, highlighting incidents, vulnerabilities, and progress on remediation activities.
• Serve as a liaison with external agencies and partners on cybersecurity initiatives, collaborating on strategies to enhance the institution's security capabilities.
• Collaborate with IT teams to deploy security technologies, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and encryption tools, to safeguard institutional data.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Additional Responsibilities

• Serve as a primary point of contact for complex or sensitive cybersecurity and compliance inquiries from customers and leadership.
• Validate security control implementation and configuration on systems to ensure compliance with requirements such as NIST, DFARS, CMMC, and related frameworks.
• Lead the development and ongoing improvement of departmental website content (articles, processes, procedures, FAQs, contacts, organizational charts, and team member information).
• Provide advanced support to the GRC Team service desk by resolving complex tickets and establishing standards and workflows for ticket triage and resolution.
• Lead or coordinate activities related to audits, assessments, and regulatory reviews, including evidence collection, policy review, and compliance analysis.
• Own or significantly contribute to the preparation and presentation of regulatory and compliance reports and dashboards, working with other units to ensure data completeness and accuracy.
• Mentor junior and mid-level GRC analysts, providing guidance on best practices, work products, and professional development.
• Actively collaborate with customers and cross-functional teams; derive and refine requirements; and facilitate forums that capture the voice of the customer to improve ICD's people, processes, and services.
• Serve as a subject-matter expert in governance, risk, and compliance within ICD.
• Interpret and apply laws, regulations, standards, policies, and industry best practices to complex secure infrastructures and research environments.
• Lead or co-lead GRC-related projects and initiatives, managing scope, timelines, and deliverables for a range of complex compliance and risk problems.
• Recommend and drive process improvements to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the enterprise cybersecurity and compliance program.

Required Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in cybersecurity, information security, information assurance, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in governance, risk, compliance, or information security in a complex environment.
• Strong practical knowledge of security technologies and controls, as well as operating system platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, and core networking technologies.
• Demonstrated experience with vulnerability management processes and tools, including scanning, reporting, prioritization, and remediation tracking.
• Solid understanding of threats, vulnerabilities, exploitation techniques, and how they map to business risk.
• Advanced experience with data analysis and reporting in Excel (pivot tables, lookups, intermediate/advanced formulas; scripting or macros a plus).
• Proven ability to assess and communicate the priority and business impact of vulnerabilities and risks to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience drafting policies, standards, and executive-level summaries.
• One or more intermediate or advanced cybersecurity/GRC certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CISA, SecurityX, CCNP-Security, or equivalent.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Secret clearance.
• Master's degree in cybersecurity, information security, information assurance, business, or a related field.
• Deep understanding of cybersecurity frameworks and best practices such as NIST 800-53/171, CMMC, RMF, MITRE Telecommunication&CK, and OWASP Top 10.
• Demonstrated experience leading audit, assessment, or certification efforts (e.g., NIST, CMMC, DFARS, FedRAMP, or similar).
• Experience developing and tracking security and compliance metrics for remediation stakeholders and leadership.
• Strong knowledge of common vulnerability categorizations and scoring systems such as CVE, CVSS, and CWE.
• Proficiency with Atlassian Confluence for documentation and knowledge management.
• Proficiency with Atlassian Jira for workflow, issue tracking, and project management.