Deputy Project Manager / Technical Lead

Deputy Project Manager / Technical Lead Location: Florida, Remote Tallahassee metro preferred, within 50 miles Candidates must reside in Florida Compensation: $90,000–$100,000 Employment Type: Full Time, W-2 Start: Contingent upon contract award About Emerging Tech At Emerging Tech, we support government and public sector customers through technology, cybersecurity, and mission driven solutions. As a growing SDVOSB, 8(a), and HUBZone company, we provide our team with the opportunity to take ownership, work directly with clients and leadership, and contribute to meaningful government missions. We’re big enough to take on meaningful government work, but still small enough that your expertise and ideas have a direct impact. If you enjoy solving complex problems, working with talented teams, and having a real role in building something that’s growing, you’ll fit right in at Emerging Tech. Role Overview The Deputy Project Manager / Technical Lead will report to the Project Manager and serve as the second in command for the program, while acting as the technical lead for cybersecurity testing activities. This role will translate program objectives into executable testing strategies and detailed procedures, coordinate technical execution across concurrent agency engagements, review findings and root cause determinations, support project management activities, and assume Project Manager responsibilities when needed. This is a growth opportunity with direct exposure to senior technical practitioners and a funded certification pathway. Key Responsibilities • Develop and maintain the Testing Strategy and Detailed Testing Procedures, including the pre approved technique catalog and rules of engagement. • Own the traceability matrix linking each test to its MITRE ATT&CK technique, NIST CSF subcategory, regulatory criterion, and expected telemetry source. • Oversee emission, observation, and outcome reconciliation across concurrent agency engagements. • Review findings and root cause classifications for completeness and consistency before client release. • Define and enforce testing safety controls, including risk ratings, rollback procedures, agency deconfliction contacts, and stop work triggers. • Serve as the day to day technical point of contact for agency security and information technology staff. • Ensure testing remains within approved scope and obtain documented written client authorization for any changes. • Support executive and audit briefings regarding testing methodology, results, cybersecurity risks, and findings. • Support the Project Manager with program management responsibilities and assume Project Manager duties when required. Required Technical Skills • 3+ years of experience in cybersecurity consulting, assessment, audit, or security operations. • Experience serving as a technical point of contact or coordinating technical testing activities on at least one engagement. • Experience contributing to cybersecurity testing procedures, playbooks, or assessment methodologies. • Exposure to detection validation, purple team, or security operations activities beyond configuration based compliance assessments. • Experience developing and maintaining cybersecurity testing procedures, playbooks, and evidence standards. • Hands on experience performing penetration testing, configuration reviews, cloud assessments, or security control validation. • Working knowledge of detection engineering and SIEM effectiveness testing, including common causes of missed detection such as absent telemetry, broken log pipelines, missing detection content, alert tuning, and failed analyst triage. • Familiarity with adversary simulation and threat emulation frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK, Atomic Red Team, or MITRE CALDERA. • Experience creating risk based testing plans aligned to NIST CSF control categories. • Strong working knowledge of Active Directory, Windows security architecture, Microsoft Entra ID, major cloud platforms, identity management, logging, and monitoring technologies. • Demonstrated ability to coordinate technical activities across multiple agencies and testing environments concurrently. • Experience creating testing procedures, scripts, playbooks, and evidence collection methodologies. • Strong technical writing skills, including testing strategies, procedures, and technical memoranda. • Experience briefing executive leadership and audit personnel on cybersecurity risks and findings. Minimum Qualifications • 3+ years of cybersecurity consulting, assessment, audit, or security operations experience. • Experience coordinating technical testing activities. • Experience contributing to cybersecurity testing procedures, playbooks, or assessment methodologies. • Must reside in the state of Florida. Certifications Required: At least one of the following: • Security+ • CySA+ • GSEC • CEH • PenTest+ • GCIH Preferred: • CISSP • CISA • OSCP • CRTO • GCIA • GCDA • SC-200 • PMP Preferred Qualifications • Prior technical delivery supporting an Office of Inspector General or independent audit function. • Experience operating under formal rules of engagement in production government environments. • Prior experience working in a Florida state agency information security or information technology role. Working Conditions This is a remote position for Florida based candidates. The Tallahassee metro area, within approximately 50 miles, is preferred. The role requires significant technical coordination with government stakeholders, cybersecurity teams, and agency personnel across multiple concurrent engagements.