Vulnerability Researcher / Penetration Tester (Mid & Sr level)
Company websiteparsons.com (Parsons, opens in new tab)
Base salary $112,200 to $196,400
Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Maryland
You apply on the employer's own site. Six Figure Work does not handle applications.
- LocationMaryland
- WorkplaceWorkplace not stated
- Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
- Last checked (1 h ago) · observed since
About this job
Job Description:
Parsons is growing its team of Penetration Testers (at several levels) to support upcoming mission-critical cybersecurity work. If you enjoy hands-on penetration testing, thrive on solving difficult technical problems, and want to work alongside experienced practitioners in a highly collaborative environment, these opportunities offer an excellent next step in your career.
We are looking for technical professionals who enjoy digging into complex problems, working through challenging cyber questions, and contributing to high-quality analysis that makes a real difference for the customer. We are interested in connecting with people who are excited to contribute and continue growing the skills and expertise. Our cybersecurity professionals work together as a cohesive unit, share knowledge freely, learn from one another, and continually improve both individual and team capability.
You’ll be joining Parsons’ local Analytics & Engineering team, a community known for its strong culture of defensive cyber operations, technical excellence, and collaboration. We invest in both mission success and team connection through regular social events, technical talks, training opportunities, and hands-on innovation activities at our Cybersecurity Center of Excellence Lab in Columbia, MD. From team lunches and ice cream socials to family-friendly seasonal events and technical learning sessions, we work hard to create an environment where people can do meaningful work and enjoy being part of our amazing team.
What You'll Be Doing:
- Plan and execute vulnerability campaigns, rapid-response campaigns, red team engagements, and DAST scans.
- Maintain VDP Assessment Playbook and researching emerging exploits and TTPs.
- Collaborating closely with other analysts and subject matter experts to solve complex technical problems
- Continuously improving your technical skills and adapting to new tools, technologies, and cyber threats
- Contributing to a team culture centered on learning, knowledge sharing, and technical excellence
What Required Skills You'll Bring:
- Mid Bachelors' degree and 5-9 years' experience
- Senior - Bachelors' degree and 10+ years' experience
- Must have a current/active TS/SCI clearance
- Experience with penetration testing / red teaming / offensive cyber operations
- Willingness to learn, grow, and contribute in a collaborative technical environment
- An IAT II Certification
What Desired Skills You'll Bring:
- At least one intermediate or advanced-level industry certification relevant to penetration testing (e.g., OSCP, CEH, PenTest+, GPEN)
Security Clearance Requirement:
An active Top Secret SCI security clearance is required for this position.This position is part of our Federal Solutions team.The Federal Solutions segment delivers resources to our US government customers that ensure the success of missions around the globe. Our intelligent employees drive the state of the art as they provide services and solutions in the areas of defense, security, intelligence, infrastructure, and environmental. We promote a culture of excellence and close-knit teams that take pride in delivering, protecting, and sustaining our nation's most critical assets, from Earth to cyberspace. Throughout the company, our people are anticipating what’s next to deliver the solutions our customers need now.Salary Range: $112,200.00 - $196,400.00We value our employees and want our employees to take care of their overall wellbeing, which is why we offer best-in-class benefits such as medical, dental, vision, paid time off, 401(k), life insurance, flexible work schedules, and holidays to fit your busy lifestyle!Parsons is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other protected status.We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!Parsons is aware of fraudulent recruitment practices. To learn more about recruitment fraud and how to report it, please refer to https://www.parsons.com/fraudulent-recruitment/.
Source: Parsons on Workday · View original posting (opens in new tab)
Pay in context
This role's base floor ($112,200) is above 10% of the 103 IT & Security roles in Maryland listed on this site; 2 others list the same floor. Their median floor is $139,000; the middle half runs from $120,800 to $150,000.
Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 7, 2026.
This listingVulnerability Researcher / Penetration Tester (Mid & Sr level)$112,200 to $196,400
Senior Safety Manager - Rail and Transit / Tunnel$108,700 to $190,200
CEI Senior Project Manager$108,700 to $190,200
Data Scientist - TS/SCI$112,200 to $196,400
Command & Control Modeling & Simulation Engineer$112,200 to $196,400
Senior Project Engineer$112,200 to $196,400
Chinese Language Enabled OSINT Collector$112,200 to $196,400
Chart as a table
| Role | Published base |
|---|---|
| Vulnerability Researcher / Penetration Tester (Mid & Sr level) (this listing) | $112,200 - $196,400 |
| Senior Safety Manager - Rail and Transit / Tunnel | $108,700 - $190,200 |
| CEI Senior Project Manager | $108,700 - $190,200 |
| Data Scientist - TS/SCI | $112,200 - $196,400 |
| Command & Control Modeling & Simulation Engineer | $112,200 - $196,400 |
| Senior Project Engineer | $112,200 - $196,400 |
| Chinese Language Enabled OSINT Collector | $112,200 - $196,400 |
Observed changes
- First observed on the employer's board
- Began meeting the published-salary criteria
- Observed since
- Employer-stated posting date
- 2026-11-04
Where this pay comes from
Location as the employer wrote it: US - MD (Field Location)
Salary Range: $112,200.00 - $196,400.00
- Method
- Employer text, read with fixed rules and re-verified
- Checked
- Rule set
- us-base-v2
The pay passage appears in the employer's own job text. Fixed, deterministic rules located it, and the passage below was checked against the stored copy of the posting.
What we verified
- The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
- The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
- The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.
We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.
