Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) Subject Matter Expert (SME)

Are you looking for a great way to support the United States?  The Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) Subject Matter Expert (SME) position supports the Space Force (USSF) Space Operations Command (SpOC) Intelligence and Cyber Defense for the Enterprise Services (SPICES) contract by providing and employing DCO capabilities, conducting intrusion detection monitoring and analysis, identifying malicious cyber activity and determining attack vectors, executing cyber response activities, developing defensive countermeasures, and providing Subject Matter Expertise to the United States Space Force Cyber Guardians.

As a dynamic systems integrator, SMS offers proven solutions in engineering, operations, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. With expertise in modernizing and optimizing legacy infrastructure and systems, ensuring operational efficiency, and designing, implementing, and managing secure environments, SMS supports business and mission goals with proficiency, quality, and integrity.

SMS has been serving the advanced information technology needs of the federal government since 1976, delivering talented teams and innovative, cost-effective solutions and services to support our customers’ missions for more than 40 years. SMS is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, with offices and on-site operations at customer locations throughout the United States. For additional information on SMS, visit www.sms.com.

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• Develop operational and technical materials to aid in increasing proficiency of the crews
• Provide cyber defense remediation and mitigation implementation recommendations in support of all incidents/events
• Provide support for all Operational Planning Teams (OPTs) and crew shift planning processes. Support includes participating in the planning process, recommending course of action (COAs), and validating the technical approach to meet mission objectives
• Draft and validate accuracy of squadron level DCO Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs); Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs); Operational Instructions (OIs); as well as DCO Crew operations products, evaluation and material, and other related materials
• Conduct analysis on new DCO-Space capability releases to assess new functionality and inform employment for mission execution
• Attend meetings, teleconferences, and Video Teleconferences (VTCs) at the Unclassified, Secret, and TS/SCI level (as required)
• Provide recommendations for exercises and mission rehearsals
• Maintain proficiency by performing DCO crew operation for assigned space mission systems
• Provide expertise for DCO-Space capabilities, to include Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM); Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems; ELK (Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana) Stack; Endpoint Protection Systems; Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR); Firewalls; Log Aggregator; Protocol Analyzers; Vulnerability Assessment Tools
• Augment and advise the crews performing intrusion detection monitoring and analysis
• Provide input and review Cyber 9-Line; and review accuracy of cyber incident inputs for SITREP and MISREP
• Advise and assist with cyber incident response processes IAW squadron policies and procedures, to include:
  • Assist in providing in-depth analysis of incidents by determining the incident’s nature, formulating recommended response actions, correlating event and incident data across assigned space mission systems, determining actions to be taken, and assessing possible effects on assigned mission systems
  • Participate in Government-established Cyber Incident Response Teams (CIRTs) and provide technical assistance in determining the cyber events/incident’s nature and impact to space mission systems; develop and recommend mitigation and/or remediation COAs; ensure mission system owners/operators and leadership have situational awareness of active response activities via recurring status reports and/or update briefs
  • Provide technical expertise in the creation of recommendation of Courses of Action (COA) along with suggested timing and sequencing of actions to mitigate and/or remediate cyber threats to space mission systems
  • Participate in post-incident hot washes and lessons learned processes as required by the Government
  • Recommend cyber incident response best practices to improve TTPs, processes, and policies
• Provide recommendations on how to best optimize DCO-Space capabilities, to include countermeasure development (i.e., signatures, rules, policies, etc.) for defensive sensors and capabilities deployed on space mission system networks and endpoints to eliminate false positives; prioritize actionable alerts; and to provide enhanced correlation accuracy for cyber incidents, events, trends, and behaviors
• Assist and support CYS Government personnel on how to identify, document, and track normal baseline activity for assigned space mission systems by monitoring, collecting, and analyzing space mission system data traffic; and reviewing, auditing, and analyzing network and endpoint logs
• Assist and support CYS Government personnel on performing Mission Relevant Terrain – Cyber (MRT-C) identification and mapping, leveraging Functional Mission Analysis – Cyber (FMA-C) concepts for assigned space mission systems
• Assist and support CYS Government personnel on how to conduct cyber missions, to include Survey, Recon, Escort, Hunt, Strike, Recover and others on assigned space mission systems to detect, track, and disrupt Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) that evade existing cybersecurity controls and detection capabilities
• Provide inputs to post-mission analysis process for Cyber missions as required by the Government
• Recommend cyber mission best practices to improve TTPs, processes, and policies

• Active DoD TS/SCI Clearance 
• Three or more years Cyber Security Services Provider activity and experience.  This includes continuous Cybersecurity Monitoring, Intrusion Detection and/or Cyber Incident Response is required.   
• Minimum of one active DoD 8570.07-M Cyber Security Services Provider (CSSP) Analyst Certification AND/OR Incident Responder Certification (CEH, CySA+, GCIH, GCIA, CFR, CCNA Cyber Ops, CCNA-Security, GICSP, Cloud+, SCYBER, PenTest+, CHFI or GCFA)
• Familiarity with Space Operations is highly desired 

SMS is a veteran-owned network integrator established in 1976.  With an employee retention rate averaging over 5 years, our ability to hire quality people and retain them in a rapidly evolving IT market proves why we are a world-class information technology company. At SMS, we place a high value on quality of service, customer satisfaction, and best-of-breed policies and practices. As a result, SMS is proud to be ISO 9001:2008 Registered and a CMMI Level 3 certified company, ensuring that we continue to meet and exceed the expectations of our customers, partners and employees. 

SMS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.