Zero Trust Lead (Washington, DC)

What to expect when you join Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary

Team members at Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary have a lot in common while also being part of a rich and varied group of contributors, creating a distinct and thriving culture. Chief among our commonalities is a desire for growth and a shared unity of purpose in our professional lives. We believe that through diverse perspectives, challenging the status quo and rewarding action, we accelerate innovation and drive growth – for our clients, for ourselves and for our communities.

The professional services landscape continues to evolve. For Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary, this means we have an opportunity to further cement our leadership position in this industry and continue to grow our organization in increasingly exciting ways. This growth is meaningful for every team member at our company because larger companies simply see more interesting client opportunities and can attract impressively talented individuals like you. Through a dedicated focus on key business priorities and intentionally creating a rewarding employee experience, Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary has developed into a highly regarded provider of professional services and a sought-after employer of choice.

Do you want to work with other skilled and agile practitioners who thrive on challenge and growth? We believe everyone has untapped potential. That’s why we lead with vision and act fast, pairing deep expertise with practical solutions. Our teams cut through complexity and deliver real impact. It's our hope that you find more than just a job. At Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary, you'll find optimism, clear insights and genuine warmth, without egos.

Are you ready to grow with us?

Position summary

Reporting to the Program Manager, the Zero Trust Lead will serve as DFC’s primary authority for implementing, maturing, and governing the agency’s Zero Trust architecture across identity, network, device, application, and data pillars. The Lead will ensure all operational practices align with Zero Trust principles, oversee policy enforcement, validate identity and access workflows, and guide cross-domain integration with cloud, network, and cybersecurity operations. This role will also drive continuous improvement, compliance alignment, and readiness for emerging threat landscapes through coordinated stakeholder engagement and modernization initiatives.

What will you do in this role?

• Provide hands on technical expertise and guidance
• Ensure technical standards and best practices are followed
• Oversee documentation quality and best practice are followed
• Coordinate activities across task areas
• Provide specialized contribution to roadmap for future state
• Not function solely as administrative managers

What do you need to succeed in this role?

• 5–10+ years of experience in cybersecurity architecture, identity & access management, or enterprise security engineering.
• Direct experience implementing or maturing Zero Trust architectures across identity, device, network, application, and data pillars.
• Hands‑on experience with identity‑aware access controls, conditional access policies, MFA enforcement, and user/device trust evaluation.
• Experience designing and governing least‑privilege access, segmentation policies, and adaptive risk-based access workflows.
• Experience with Azure AD/Entra ID, Conditional Access, Identity Governance, and SSO integrations.
• Experience with Okta federation and lifecycle management.
• Experience enforcing identity-driven policies across Palo Alto firewalls, Zscaler ZIA/ZPA, and Aruba/ClearPass integrations.
• Background integrating identity posture signals into network segmentation and Zero Trust controls.
• Strong grounding in service integration across ServiceNow (incident, change, CMDB alignment)
• High‑Risk Public Trust (T4) Clearance
• Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Assurance, Engineering, or related technical field.
• Zscaler ZCCA‑IA (Internet Access) or ZCCA‑PA (Private Access) Certification
• Palo Alto PCNSE Certification

In compliance with this state’s pay transparency laws, the midpoint of the salary range for this role is $170,000. This is not a guarantee of compensation or salary, as final offer amount may vary based on factors including but not limited to experience and geographic location.

In addition, specific skills/experience required are as follows:

• Values driven – You embody and model absolute integrity and servant leadership and you have a bias for action and continuous innovation.
• Uncompromising problem solver – You see opportunities in every business challenge and can develop, articulate and implement solutions.
• Collaboration – You are a relationship builder across all levels of the organization and across all business units.
• Instills trust – You do what you say, without ego, and you follow through on commitments consistently and credibly.
• Impact & influence – You are relentlessly focused on making a difference and can gain support for ideas, proposals and solutions. You get others to act, with or without formal authority, to advance initiatives and objectives.

About Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary

Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary offers the public and private sectors a diverse platform of professional services across consulting, technology and compliance. Highly specialized and hands-on teams deliver integrated solutions rooted in deep industry experience. Our approach is strategically and thoughtfully designed to help our clients, teams and communities accelerate success. 

Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary has approximately 2,000 team members and operates across North America, EMEA and APAC. 

Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary Total Rewards

Our team members enjoy expansive benefits ranging from competitive compensation and insurance options to wellness programs and a flexible time off policy, to name only a few. Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary also takes pride in prioritizing team members’ health, total wellbeing and time spent with family, friends and in the pursuit of personal goals, hobbies, and endeavors.

Some examples of our many benefits:

• Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary maintains a Flexible Time Off (FTO) Policy. We encourage every full-time employee, as your role permits, to utilize paid time off (personal time, mental/physical health care, vacation, sick leave, etc.). Waiting for time off to accrue is common at other companies. At Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary, you do not have to wait for this benefit to kick in. FTO is activated on your first day with our organization.

• Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary will also recognize paid holidays during the year and strives to permit employees to have time off the last week of the calendar year when client and project work permits. 

• Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary offers a comprehensive wellness program to engage, challenge and empower team members to take responsibility for their wellbeing. Activities can be tracked through our wellness provider to obtain gift cards and other rewards.

We also offer:

• Flexible work arrangements
• Health, dental, vision, life, and accident/death/disability insurance options
• HSA employer contribution
• Nine (9) paid holidays annually.
• A robust paid Parental Bonding Leave program covering birth, adoption, and foster children.
• 401(k) with employer contributions
• CPA bonus with four (4) paid exam days & four (4) paid study days.
• Tuition reimbursement
• Generous employee referral bonus program
• Client referral bonus program
• Pet insurance
• FORCE – Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary community volunteer program enabling each team member to use up to four hours of paid time annually to volunteer and make a difference in their local communities.

Want to learn more? Visit our Careers website or Glassdoor profile.

Tantus, a Sikich Subsidiary is an Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V

Sikich currently practices in an alternative practice structure in accordance with the AICPA Professional Code of Conduct and applicable law, regulations, and professional standards. Sikich CPA LLC is a licensed CPA firm that provides audit and attest services to its clients. Sikich LLC has a contractual arrangement with Sikich CPA LLC under which Sikich LLC provides Sikich CPA LLC with professional and support personnel and other services to support Sikich CPA LLC’s performance of its professional services, and Sikich CPA LLC shares certain client information with Sikich LLC with respect to the provision of such services.