Detection Engineer/Threat Hunter in Arlington, Virginia at Partner Forces LLC

Partner Forces is a management consulting firm helping homeland security organizations solve some of their most pressing and complex challenges. We partner with government agencies and industry to strengthen national security and critical infrastructure through expertise in strategy, program management, stakeholder engagement, technology implementation, preparedness, and business transformation.

At Partner Forces, we're more than consultants—we're trusted advisors. We work alongside our clients to solve meaningful problems, deliver actionable solutions, and make a lasting impact. As a growing firm, every employee has the opportunity to contribute not only to our clients' success, but also to the future of Partner Forces. We believe great consultants are developed through collaboration, mentorship, continuous learning, and meaningful opportunities to lead.

Our culture is grounded in six core values: Integrity, Excellence, Positivity, Candor, Determination, and Teamwork. These values shape how we work with our clients, support one another, and grow together. We believe that when our people thrive, our clients do too, which is why we invest in our employees' well-being, professional development, and long-term success.

What we are looking for:

Partner Forces is looking for a Detection Engineer / Threat Hunter to support a critical federal cybersecurity mission. We are looking for someone who is naturally curious, analytical, and energized by solving complex problems. Someone who wants to dig into security data, understand how adversaries operate, and help clients stay ahead of emerging threats. The ideal candidate brings hands on experience in threat hunting, detection engineering, security operations, or incident response and can pair strong technical expertise with the communication and collaboration skills needed to work effectively with clients and teammates.

What you'll do:

• Conduct proactive threat hunts across enterprise networks, endpoints, cloud environments, applications, and identity systems.
• Develop hunting hypotheses using threat intelligence, behavioral analytics, and emerging threat research.
• Design, develop, test, and tune security detections across SIEM, EDR/XDR, NDR, and cloud security platforms.
• Develop Sigma rules, YARA signatures, SIEM queries, analytics rules, and detection playbooks.
• Analyze security telemetry to identify suspicious activity, emerging threats, and potential compromises.
• Use MITRE ATT&CK and other threat frameworks to evaluate and improve detection coverage.
• Operationalize cyber threat intelligence by translating adversary TTPs and indicators into actionable detection opportunities.
• Partner with SOC, Incident Response, and Cyber Threat Intelligence teams during investigations and active incidents.
• Identify visibility and monitoring gaps and recommend improvements to logging, telemetry, and security controls.
• Support adversary emulation and purple team exercises to test and strengthen detection capabilities.
• Develop metrics, dashboards, and recommendations that help clients understand and improve security monitoring effectiveness.
• Clearly communicate technical findings and recommendations to technical and nontechnical stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Must be a US Citizen
• Top-Secret Clearance
• Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
• 3 to 7 years of cybersecurity experience with direct experience in threat hunting, detection engineering, security operations, incident response, or a related discipline.
• Strong understanding of adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures.
• Experience with SIEM platforms, security analytics tools, and endpoint, network, cloud, or identity based security telemetry.
• Working knowledge of MITRE ATT&CK, Cyber Kill Chain, and threat hunting methodologies.
• Familiarity with scripting and automation using Python, PowerShell, KQL, or similar languages.
• Strong investigative, analytical, and problem solving skills.
• Ability to communicate complex technical information clearly and work collaboratively in a client facing environment.
• Experience with cloud security monitoring, malware analysis, digital forensics, cyber threat intelligence, adversary emulation, or zero trust initiatives is a plus.

Next Steps:

If your application looks like a match, someone from our People Operations team will reach out to schedule a phone screening. During this conversation, we will determine if the current or future position aligns with your experience and skills. If things go well, from there you'll meet with members from the project team, including the hiring manager and teammates, and possibly be asked to submit a writing assessment to showcase your practical knowledge. If we find you are a match, you’ll get a call offering you the role. While we wish we could hire every great candidate who comes our way, the reality is that we can't. If you are not selected, we will be sure to connect with you and let you know so you can move on with your search. We will also keep your resume for future needs.

Partner Forces is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. We are committed to fostering a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected. If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact us at recruiting@partnerforces.com.