Job Specifications
The role supports the state's cybersecurity program by performing risk assessments, control testing, and governance activities across enterprise systems, applications, networks, and cloud services. This position partners with IT, business owners, and audit teams to ensure security controls are designed, implemented, and operating effectively in alignment with state policy, NIST CSF/800-53, and other regulatory frameworks (e.g., CJIS, IRS Pub 1075, HIPAA, PCI DSS). The individual develops pragmatic recommendations, tracks remediation, and produces metrics for leadership and regulatory reporting.
Key Responsibilities
Risk Assessment & Control Assurance
Conduct technical security risk assessments for on-prem, cloud (IaaS/PaaS/SaaS), and hybrid solutions; document risks, likelihood/impact, and recommended mitigations.
Perform control design/operating-effectiveness testing against NIST CSF/800-53, CIS Controls, ISO/IEC 27001, and agency security standards.
Support Authority to Operate (ATO) processes, security attestations, and continuous monitoring.
Facilitate threat modeling and security architecture reviews; advise on secure patterns (network segmentation, IAM, least privilege, encryption, logging).
Governance & Compliance
Maintain security policies, standards, procedures, and control libraries; align updates with legislative or regulatory changes.
Map agency controls to relevant mandates (e.g., CJIS, IRS 1075, HIPAA, FERPA, PCI DSS, state statutes/policies) and track compliance gaps.
Coordinate internal/external audits; lead evidence collection, responses, and remediation plans.
Administer or contribute to GRC tooling for issues, exceptions, and risk registers.
Vulnerability & Third-Party Risk
Establish governance for vulnerability management (SLAs, exception management, risk acceptance); monitor patching and remediation progress.
Perform vendor/security reviews (SaaS, MSPs, cloud providers), evaluate SOC 2/ISO certifications, and negotiate security clauses with procurement/legal.
Review data protection, encryption, and privacy risks in new procurements and major system changes.
Metrics, Reporting & Communication
Develop and maintain dashboards and performance indicators (risk posture, control maturity, vulnerability closure rates); brief leadership on trends and priorities.
Produce clear, actionable reports for technical teams and non-technical stakeholders.
Promote security awareness and targeted training (e.g., secure configuration, privacy by design, third-party onboarding).
Incident & Change Advisory Support
Provide risk-informed guidance during incident response (root cause, control gaps, corrective actions).
Review change requests for security impacts; ensure appropriate testing, logging, and rollback plans.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Information Security, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field; OR equivalent experience.
1-3 years in information security, risk management, audit, or related technical role.
Preferred Qualifications (not Required)
CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CGRC (CAP), Security+, CCSK/CCSP, CISA
Vendor/cloud certs (AWS/Azure/GCP security specialty) are a plus.
Knowledge
Security frameworks and regulations: NIST CSF/800-53, CIS Controls, ISO 27001; familiarity with CJIS, IRS Pub 1075, HIPAA, FERPA, PCI DSS, and state policy.
Core security domains: identity and access management (IAM), network security, endpoint security, vulnerability management, logging/SIEM, encryption/PKI, secure DevOps.
Cloud security concepts (shared responsibility, CSPM, workload protection, KMS/CMKs, conditional access, zero trust).
Skills
Technical assessment and control testing; ability to validate configurations and interpret scan results.
Risk analysis and documentation; creating practical risk treatment plans and exceptions with compensating controls.
Using GRC platforms; building workflows, control libraries, and risk registers.
Data analysis and dashboarding (Excel/Power BI), concise report writing, and presentation to executives.