Cyber Security Development Engineer - JobID-0255
Innovative Defense Technologies · Arlington, VA
$90,000–$184,000
Jul 22, 2026
Arlington, VA
Jul 23, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A hands-on engineering role focused on building and hardening secure software systems for defense applications. Day-to-day work spans designing security controls, conducting vulnerability assessments and penetration testing, automating DevSecOps tooling, investigating incidents, and developing machine learning models for anomaly detection and threat hunting. Suited to a software-proficient engineer with a cybersecurity background and prior DoD development experience who can obtain a Secret clearance.
Mid level · 3+ years · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · Secret clearance · Full-time
Pay in the description: $90,000–$184,000
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
Why we read it this way (9)
This role is a genuine hybrid between security analysis/engineering (15-1212) and software development (15-1252). The title and responsibilities emphasize designing and building secure systems and security tooling, but the required skills and day-to-day work lean heavily toward security assessment, vulnerability management, and DevSecOps — 15-1212 was chosen as the primary classification.
The posting lists two overlapping pay bands ($90K–$150K and $114K–$184K), explicitly noting IDT is hiring at multiple levels. The header compensation ($90K–$184K) represents the full combined range and is what is reported here.
A Bachelor's degree in a STEM field is listed as required, but the JD explicitly accepts 'equivalent full-time professional experience' in lieu of a degree, so the degree requirement is set to None.
C++, Java, and Python are listed together as interchangeable proficiency options ('such as, C++, Java, or Python'); C++ is used as the primary with the others as alternatives.
Security testing tools (Nessus, Nmap, Wireshark, Splunk, SCAP, Burp Suite, Metasploit) are listed as a group of examples under required qualifications; Nessus is used as the primary with the others as alternatives.
Docker and Kubernetes appear under the 'What Makes You Stand Out' (preferred) section.
Terraform and Ansible appear under 'What Makes You Stand Out' as Infrastructure as Code/configuration management examples — listed as preferred with Ansible as an alternative.
STIGs and MITRE ATLAS experience appear under 'What Makes You Stand Out' and are marked preferred.
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
The employer publishes the full description on their own site — read it there ↗. Or sign in to read it here — it's free, and it also lets you track this application.