Senior Cyber Mission Specialist – Offensive Operations

Senior Cyber Mission Specialist – Offensive Operations

Location: Annapolis Junction, MD

Clearance Required: TS/SCI with CI Polygraph

Salary Range: $125,000 to $135,000

At Shadow Strategies, you will join a culture defined by innovation, purpose, and meaningful impact. We seek experienced offensive cyber operations professionals who can apply deep mission knowledge to the capabilities that support today’s operators and shape what comes next. If you are inspired by complexity, motivated by clarity, and committed to excellence, we invite you to become part of something exceptional.

This role places operational expertise at the center of cyber mission capability development. You will work alongside software engineers, systems engineers, product teams, and mission stakeholders to turn operational needs into practical features, validate performance against mission realities, and support the adoption of new capabilities.

What You’ll Do

• Translate offensive cyber mission needs, operational workflows, and requirements into actionable guidance for development teams


• Provide operational expertise to shape software features, automation, orchestration, and mission workflows


• Evaluate proposed capabilities and implementations against operational realities and mission objectives


• Collaborate with engineers, designers, and product teams to improve mission effectiveness and operational usability


• Lead operational validation, user acceptance testing, and demonstrations for mission stakeholders


• Support planning and prioritization with operational context, dependencies, and informed judgment


• Develop training materials, operational guidance, and resources that support capability adoption


• Conduct operational assessments and recommend improvements to tools, processes, and workflows


• Support deployment, transition, and operator onboarding activities


• Mentor less experienced mission specialists and help technical teams understand offensive cyber operations

Who This Might Be a Fit For

• You have 10+ years of experience performing or directly supporting offensive cyber operations


• You understand how OCO missions are planned, executed, evaluated, and sustained


• You can turn complex operational problems into clear requirements and practical recommendations


• You understand how automation and orchestration can improve cyber mission execution


• You communicate effectively with mission operators, software developers, engineers, and stakeholders


• You bring sound judgment, ownership, and a collaborative approach to evolving mission needs

Required Skills

• Deep knowledge of offensive cyber operations, mission tools, and methodologies


• Operational requirements analysis and mission workflow development


• Understanding of cyber operations automation and orchestration


• Ability to validate software capabilities against operational needs


• Communication, stakeholder engagement, and training experience


• Experience with cross-functional development teams and Agile practices


• Active TS/SCI clearance with CI Polygraph and U.S. citizenship

Helpful Experience Areas

• Cyber mission planning, execution, assessment, or capability integration


• Software capability development for offensive cyber operations


• User acceptance testing, capability demonstration, and operational evaluation


• PI Planning, backlog refinement, and mission-driven prioritization


• Operator training, user onboarding, and deployment readiness

Years of Experience and Degree Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and at least 10 years of directly relevant offensive cyber operations experience, or a qualifying degree/experience substitution under the contract.

Work Environment

• Based in Annapolis Junction, Maryland, supporting offensive cyber mission capabilities in a classified environment.


• Work within a multidisciplinary team alongside operational specialists, software engineers, systems engineers, product teams, and mission stakeholders.


• Apply mission experience directly to software development priorities, validation, deployment, and user readiness.

What Comes With It

You will have what you need to do your best work:

• Fully covered health insurance for medical, dental, and vision


• Paid parental leave: 16 weeks if you give birth, 4 weeks if your partner does


• Flexible leave: 36 days total each year, including 25 days of PTO and 11 paid holidays


• 401(k) for your future


• Short-term and long-term disability


• Annual health stipend if you opt out of our insurance

The Extras? They’re Built In.

No points systems. No bean bags. Just clarity, autonomy, and a mission that matters.

Shadow invests in exceptional people because demanding work requires more than a paycheck. Our benefits are designed to provide meaningful support inside and outside the mission.

See our benefit plan at: https://www.shadowstrategies.io/benefits

Shadow Strategies is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a workplace that values diversity and fosters inclusion. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.

Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to location, the individual’s particular combination of education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, as well as contract-specific affordability and organizational requirements.