Zero Trust Lead (Network)

Overview:

GovCIO is currently hiring a senior Zero Trust Lead (Network) to serve as the accountable technical lead for advancing DFC’s Zero Trust capabilities across identity, device, network, cloud, and security domains. The role will define Zero Trust policy intent, technical standards, integration requirements, and roadmap priorities; lead cross-tower design and implementation; and ensure approved capabilities are tested, documented, operationally ready, and transitioned into production. This role is distinct from day-to-day Network Operations leadership, but requires equivalent network subject-matter expertise and is fully hands-on: the Zero Trust Lead will perform network engineering and operational tasks alongside the Network Operations team as needed. This position will be located in Washington, DC and will be hybrid

Responsibilities:

• Own the Zero Trust technical strategy and cross-tower integration model, defining policy intent, technical standards, control objectives, architecture requirements, and roadmap priorities across identity, device posture, network, cloud, endpoint, and security domains.
• Provide hands-on team operations support alongside Network Operations engineers, including installation, configuration, troubleshooting, maintenance, resilience, and optimization of Cisco routing/switching and LAN/WAN services. Maintain the same depth of network subject-matter expertise required to independently execute complex network engineering tasks when needed.
• Define and lead Zero Trust integration requirements for Palo Alto firewall controls, including least-privilege policy intent, identity-aware enforcement, segmentation, and alignment with Zscaler and identity controls; remain capable of performing hands-on firewall engineering and troubleshooting as part of team operations.
• Define and lead Zero Trust requirements for Zscaler ZIA/ZPA and Client Connector, including identity-aware access, least-privilege policy, application access, posture integration, and alignment with enterprise identity and network controls; provide hands-on engineering and troubleshooting support as required.
• Define and lead Zero Trust requirements for Aruba wireless and ClearPass NAC, including secure access, identity/device posture enforcement, segmentation, and integration with identity, firewall, and Zscaler controls; provide hands-on wired/wireless engineering support as required.
• Advance DFC Zero Trust principles across the environment: no implicit trust based on location, identity-aware access, least privilege, segmentation, continuous monitoring, and integration of identity, device posture, network, cloud-security, and security policies.
• Act as the primary cross-tower coordination point for Zero Trust across Network Operations, Infrastructure/Cloud, IAM, endpoint management, Service Desk, Security Operations, and Engineering; establish priorities, define integration requirements, resolve dependencies, and ensure Zero Trust requirements are translated into sustainable operational controls.
• Lead Zero Trust design in partnership with Engineering Operations, including identity-aware access and segmentation enhancements, integration across identity, network, device posture, cloud, and security platforms, and definition of least-privilege and continuous-monitoring requirements. Lead architecture reviews, identify gaps and risks, define remediation approaches, and ensure new Zero Trust capabilities are fully tested, documented, and ready for handoff before moving into production operations.
• Lead Zero Trust technical coordination during high-impact incidents involving access controls or cross-domain dependencies; participate in Major Incident bridges and provide hands-on network troubleshooting when required, while driving long-term remediation of recurring Zero Trust integration issues.
• Ensure all network and Zero Trust changes follow ServiceNow ERB/CCB processes, including impact/risk analysis, testing, implementation, post-change validation, rollback planning, and traceability to affected services and configuration items.
• Define Zero Trust monitoring and measurement requirements across access, identity, device posture, segmentation, and security controls; use operational telemetry and incident trends to identify control gaps, risks, and improvement priorities.
• Maintain high-quality operational documentation, including network diagrams, Zero Trust architecture/control documentation, SOPs, runbooks, confi…