Specialist – Forensic Examiner (Digital Forensics)

Europol; Den Haag; On-site; EUR 78,000 - 81,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Expatriation allowance

Annual leave

Teleworking options

Global insurance coverage

Job summary

Europol is seeking a Specialist – Forensic Examiner (Digital Forensics) based in The Hague. The role focuses on delivering expert digital forensic services, automating workflows, and developing innovative forensic solutions to support European security objectives.

The candidate will engage with EU member states and international partners, contributing to reports and strategic documents while advancing automation capabilities within the EC3 DSU Forensics Team.

Qualifications

• 5+ years’ experience in digital forensics using standard forensic tools (commercial and open-source).
• Experience automating processing and indexing of large structured/unstructured datasets.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert digital forensic services for Europol EC3 DSU Forensics Team, including on-site support.
• Automate digital forensic/workflow processes; collaborate with Europol ICT on tooling.
• Represent the Forensic Team in EU MS and international bodies on digital forensic matters.
• Support unit projects by organizing meetings, training sessions and conferences.
• Represent Europol at high-level digital forensic and security events across Europe and globally.
• Research and develop new forensic methods, tools, and best practices.
• Draft and finalise reports, briefings, and strategic documents.

Skills

Digital forensics

Python programming

PowerShell

Bash

SQL

Docker

CI/CD

APIs

Automation

Windows

Tools

SQLite

Elasticsearch

dtSearch

Git

Job description

Headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, Europol offers a purpose-driven career, as every role offers a profound sense of accomplishment through making a positive contribution to society. Europol’s mission is to support its Member States in preventing and combating all forms of serious international and organized crime, cybercrime and terrorism. We are committed to upholding the values of service, integrity, accountability, initiative, partnership, and diversity. As part of Europol, you will collaborate with diverse top-tier experts, forge international connections, be involved in the ongoing evolution of strategies, technologies, tools and methodologies that underpin European Security, and thrive in a supportive environment that nurtures both personal and professional growth.

Currently Europol is looking for a Specialist – Forensic Examiner (Digital Forensics), who will be responsible for providing digital forensics services and advanced programming in order to support Europol and its partners in the fight against cyber-dependant crime.

He/she will be entrusted with the following tasks:

• Providing expert digital forensic services in the field of competence of Europol’s EC3 DSU Forensics Team, including on-site assistance when required;
• Operating, maintaining and developing solutions designed to automate digital forensic and data minimisation workflows and reporting. Liaise with Europol ICT on this topic;
• Representing Forensic Team in EU MS, EU bodies, third countries, and international organisations on digital forensic matters;
• Supporting projects of the Unit, such as organising meetings, training sessions and conferences;
• Representing Europol at high-level digital forensic and digital security events across Europe and internationally;
• Contributing to and conducting research and development of new digital forensic and automation methods, tools, and best practices;
• Independently drafting and finalising reports, briefings, and strategic documents;

Key requirements and knowledge:

• Level of education as described in the vacancy notice on Europol's website;
• Preferably at least 5 years’ experience in digital forensics using standard forensic tools (commercial and open-source solutions);
• Experience in automating the processing and indexing of large structured and unstructured datasets;
• Experience in designing, building, and operating automated processing pipelines or workflow orchestration;
• Experience in software development in Python with proficiency in PowerShell, Bash and command-line scripting;
• Experience working with SQL and structured data stores, including SQLite;
• Experience with containerisation (Docker) and CI/CD, and with developing reusable APIs, libraries, plugins or automation frameworks.
• Knowledge in digital forensics investigation and examination techniques, including acquisition methods, file systems, data minimisation and chain of custody;
• Knowledge in Windows and Linux operating systems and their forensic artefacts;
• Knowledge of software engineering principles, including testing, debugging, and version control;
• Ability to analyse existing forensic processes, identify opportunities for automation, and engineer scalable, maintainable, and validated workflow solutions;
• Knowledge of Indexing and search at scale: text extraction, OCR, deduplication, index integrity, and the behaviour of Lucene/Elasticsearch/dtSearch-style engines.

The basic monthly salary is 6.961,29 (step 1) or EUR 7.253,84 (step 2)

a) Staff member (single) in receipt of expatriation allowance (16%): EUR 7.240

b) Staff member with two dependent children in their custody in receipt of expatriation allowance (16%): EUR 9.436

Compensation and benefits:

• Healthy work-life balance and working environment: flexible working hours, structural teleworking opportunities (depending on the nature of your job), comprehensive annual leave, and maternity/parental leave In line with the EU civil service rules;
• Employees are protected against illness, accidents, and the risk of occupational disease by the Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS), which offers global insurance coverage;
• Staff pay EU tax at source, but salaries are exempt from national taxes;
• A competitive salary and benefits package (which can include expatriation, household, foreign residence and education allowances) in line with the EU civil service rules (Click here to explore our supplementary allowances;
• Europol fosters a continuous learning culture. We offer a comprehensive learning and development programme that is aligned with the overall business strategy and that values people’s performance and development;
• Social benefits in the form of unemployment allowance under certain conditions, as well as pension rights for Temporary and Contract Agents after 10 years of service;
• Possibility to advance in grade/salary through annual appraisal exercise and opportunities for lateral development within the organisation;
• A workplace that values environmental sustainability, diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities.