Penetration Testing Lead Engineer

Job Title: Penetration Testing Lead Engineer
Location: Kearney Nebraska
Experience Required: 12 Years
Employment Type: Contract
Interview Type: In-Person or Webcam

We are looking for an experienced Penetration Testing Lead Engineer to guide security testing initiatives and strengthen the organizations threat resilience. This role requires deep technical expertise in offensive security the ability to lead complex penetration testing engagements and strong communication skills to collaborate with technical and executive stakeholders. The ideal candidate will bring hands-on security assessment capabilities manage vulnerability remediation processes and mentor a team of ethical hackers and security analysts.

• Lead and execute penetration testing engagements across networks applications APIs cloud environments and infrastructure.

• Perform security assessments including threat modeling vulnerability analysis red team simulations and social engineering activities.

• Develop detailed test plans methodologies and risk-based testing strategies.

• Identify security risks and vulnerabilities providing clear recommendations and actionable remediation guidance.

• Work closely with engineering IT and DevSecOps teams to ensure identified risks are resolved and validated.

• Create and deliver detailed technical reports and executive-level summaries to non-technical stakeholders.

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of emerging threats exploit techniques and zero-day vulnerabilities.

• Improve internal testing frameworks tools and processes to enhance organizational security maturity.

• Mentor and guide junior testers and security engineers.

• Ensure compliance with industry standards such as NIST ISO PCI-DSS and regulatory frameworks.

• 12 years of professional experience in penetration testing ethical hacking or offensive security roles.

• Strong hands-on experience with common penetration testing tools and frameworks (e.g. Burp Suite Metasploit Kali Linux Nmap Nessus Wireshark BloodHound).

• Expertise in web application and network security cloud security testing and vulnerability exploitation.

• Deep understanding of cybersecurity principles networking OS internals and secure coding practices.

• Experience performing red team operations adversarial simulations or threat emulation exercises.

• Proficiency in scripting or programming languages such as Python Bash PowerShell or JavaScript.

• Proven ability to develop professional penetration testing reports and communicate findings clearly.

• Relevant certifications such as OSCP OSCE OSEP GPEN GWAPT CEH or similar.

• Strong analytical troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to lead teams effectively in a collaborative environment.

• Experience working with cloud platforms such as AWS Azure or GCP from a security perspective.

• Background in cyber incident response and threat intelligence.

• Experience with CI/CD pipeline security and DevSecOps practices.

• Experience testing industrial control systems (ICS) or IoT security is a plus.