OT Security Specialist

Job Title: OT Security Specialist

Duration: 3 Months

Location: Richmond, VA 23219

Work Module: Hybrid

Position Summary

The OT Security Specialist will provide industrial control system and operational technology expertise throughout the assessment. This role will guide safe testing of the selected TOC, field cabinet, field-connected assets, communications paths, and any approved controlled device scenario.

The specialist will determine whether proposed testing techniques are suitable for the operational environment and will help protect system availability, traffic operations, and public safety.

Key Responsibilities

• Review the architecture of the  OT environment, including the Central Office, selected TOC, field network, Azure DMZ, LTE connectivity, and field cabinet.
• Interpret the OT environment using the Purdue Model and identify relevant security zones and conduits.
• Review approved OT network diagrams, device configurations, field connectivity, industrial protocols, and operational dependencies.
• Identify testing methods that are safe for the selected operational systems and connected field devices.
• Establish asset-specific safety constraints, stop conditions, emergency procedures, and prohibited actions for inclusion in the ROE.
• Support testing of the selected TOC and approved field-connected assets.
• Evaluate the security of field communications paths and field-adjacent access opportunities.
• Support approved physical access and controlled device scenarios.
• Evaluate whether field access could provide unauthorized connectivity to internal OT resources.
• Assess OT host hardening, default services, management interfaces, insecure protocols, trust relationships, and segmentation controls.
• Advise the testing team when active validation could affect operational availability or device stability.
• Prevent unauthorized PLC logic changes, firmware updates, configuration changes, persistence, denial-of-service activity, or other unsafe actions.
• Coordinate testing with  OIS, TOC personnel, field operations staff, and escorts.
• Evaluate technical findings in the context of operational impact, public safety, recoverability, and compensating controls.
• Map applicable findings to MITRE ATT&CK for ICS and NIST SP 800-82.
• Develop practical remediation recommendations that account for OT availability, maintenance windows, equipment lifecycle, and operational constraints.
• Prepare technical content for the field, physical, controlled device, TOC, and consolidated assessment reports.
• Support final debriefing and retesting of remediated OT findings.

Required Skills

• OT and ICS cybersecurity
• SCADA environments and industrial architecture
• Purdue Model segmentation
• Industrial network protocols
• Field device and cabinet security
• OT network discovery and asset identification
• Safe assessment of operational systems
• OT vulnerability analysis
• Field communications and remote-access security
• OT logging, monitoring, and detection
• Physical and field-access risk analysis
• Operational safety and availability protection
• MITRE ATT&CK for ICS
• NIST SP 800-82
• Technical report writing and risk communication

Required Experience

• Minimum five years of OT, ICS, SCADA, or industrial cybersecurity experience
• Experience assessing operational networks and field-connected devices
• Experience conducting or supporting penetration testing in operationally sensitive environments
• Experience applying safety restrictions and stop-work procedures during technical testing
• Experience evaluating OT segmentation, remote access, and field connectivity
• Experience documenting technical findings in terms of both cybersecurity risk and operational impact
• Experience working with network engineers, penetration testers, SOC teams, and operations personnel

Desired Experience

• Experience with transportation systems, traffic operations centers, roadside technology, cameras, dynamic message signs, sensors, or similar field devices
• Experience with LTE-connected industrial or field networks
• Experience assessing cloud-connected OT boundary environments
• Experience supporting public-sector or critical infrastructure organizations
• Familiarity with NIST SP 800-53, CIS Controls, SEC530, SEC520, and SEC502
• Desired Certifications
• Global Industrial Cyber Security Professional, GICSP
• GIAC Response and Industrial Defense, GRID
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional, CISSP