Red Team Operator

The mission of the DHS Chief Information Security Officer Directorate (DHS CISOD) is to support the Department’s implementation of all applicable regulatory requirements—including the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), relevant OMB circulars, Executive Orders, Federal laws, directives, policies, and regulations—while providing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) a secure and trusted computing environment. Information security is an essential business function, critical to enabling DHS to conduct its operations and deliver service to the public. 

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced individual to join our cybersecurity team as a Red Team Operator. In this role, you will be responsible for conducting advanced penetration testing and red team exercises to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in our organization's systems, network, and applications. 

The ideal candidate will bring deep technical expertise, proven experience in vulnerability research and exploitation, and the ability to work as part of a collaborative offensive security team. 

Primary Responsibilities: 

• Develop and execute comprehensive red teaming exercises to simulate real-world cyberattacks against our organization's infrastructure and applications. 
• Identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities in our systems and network through active exploitation and testing. 
• Collaborate with the Blue Team and other cybersecurity professionals to enhance our organization's overall security posture. 
• Provide detailed reports and recommendations for remediation based on the findings of red team exercises. 
• Stay up-to-date on the latest cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities, and exploitation techniques to continually improve red team operations. 

Required Qualifications:

·  Bachelor’s degree in a related discipline and 8+ years of professional experience, or Master’s degree and 6+ years of professional experience. 

·  Minimum of 3 years of experience in penetration testing 

·  Experience with at least 3 of the following tools: 

• Kali Linux 

• Metasploit 

• Burp Suite 

• Nmap 

• Cobalt Strike 

• Bloodhound 

• Responder 

• Tenable Nessus 

• WebInspect 

• Scuba 

• AppDetective 

·  Must hold one or more of the following certifications: GPEN, GWAPT, GISF, GXPN, OSCP, OSCE, OSWP, OSEE, CISSP, or CEH. 

·  U.S. Citizenship required; must be able to obtain DHS Public Trust and EOD clearance. 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Prior DHS IT security or audit experience. 
• Previous system administration experience. 
• Familiarity in at least one of the following languages: 
• Python 
• PowerShell 
• Go 
• Ruby 
• Familiarity with common payload obfuscation techniques 
• Malware Analysis experience 
• 7+ years of IT experience in a Computer Science discipline. 

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

October 6, 2026

Pay Range:

Pay Range $131,300.00 - $237,350.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.