AOUSC - Forensic and Malware Lead

cFocus Software Incorporated; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

cFocus Software Incorporated seeks a Forensic and Malware Lead to join AOUSC on a Hybrid basis with onsite in Washington, DC. The role requires an Active Public Trust clearance and deep experience in digital forensics and malware analysis across Windows, Linux, macOS, cloud, and enterprise environments.

You will coordinate with incident response teams, develop forensic and malware reports, and ensure evidence handling aligns with chain-of-custody procedures and Judiciary SOPs.

Qualifications

• Active Public Trust clearance is required.
• B.S. in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field.
• Five+ years in IR within a large SOC (over 5,000 endpoints) with at least 3 years in digital forensics.
• Three+ years of disk, memory and registry analysis using EnCase, FTK, X-Ways, Volatility.
• Understanding of file systems and OS artifacts (SRUM, Shellbags, Prefetch).
• Familiarity with federal evidence guidelines and chain of custody requirements.
• Active GCFA, GREM, CFCE, or OSED certification.

Responsibilities

• Lead digital forensics and malware analysis activities for AOUSC SOD operations.
• Provide advanced forensics expertise for Windows, Linux, macOS, cloud, and enterprise environments.
• Perform static and dynamic malware analysis to identify IOCs, TTPs, and root cause.
• Analyze forensic artifacts, memory images, endpoint telemetry, SIEM data, and timelines.

Skills

Public Trust clearance

Digital forensics

Malware analysis

Windows forensics

IR/forensics leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / Information Technology or related field

Tools

EnCase

FTK

X-Ways

Volatility

Splunk

Microsoft Sentinel

EDR tools

Job description

cFocus Software seeks a Forensic and Malware Lead to join our program supporting the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOUSC). This position is Hybrid with the onsite location being in Washington, DC. This position requires a Public Trust clearance.

Qualifications:

• Active Public Trust clearance
• B.S. Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field
• Five (5) years within IR in a large SOC (over 5,000 endpoints) with at least 3 years focused on digital forensics for Operating System or file systems.
• Three (3) years of demonstrated expertise in disk, memory and registry analysis using industry standard tools such as EnCase, FTK, X-Ways, Volatility.
• Demonstrated understanding of file systems and Operating System artifacts including but not limited to (SRUM, Shellbags and Prefetch).
• Familiarity with federal evidence guidelines and chain of custody requirements.
• This role aligns with NICE work role PD-WRL-002 (Digital Forensics).
• Active GCFA, GREM, CFCE, or OSED certification

Duties:

• Lead digital forensics and malware analysis activities in support of AOUSC Security Operations Division (SOD) operations.
• Provide advanced subject matter expertise for forensic investigations involving Windows, Linux, macOS, cloud, and enterprise environments.
• Perform static and dynamic malware analysis to identify indicators of compromise (IOCs), attacker tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and root cause.
• Analyze forensic artifacts, memory images, endpoint telemetry, SIEM data, and filesystem timelines to identify malicious activity and intrusion vectors.
• Coordinate with Cybersecurity Triage and Incident Response teams to support investigation, escalation, containment, remediation, and recovery activities.
• Conduct live forensic analysis utilizing Splunk Enterprise Security, Microsoft Sentinel, EDR tools, and AO-provided investigative tooling.
• Collect, preserve, duplicate, and maintain digital evidence in accordance with forensic evidence handling and chain-of-custody procedures.
• Develop forensic reports, malware analysis reports, incident artifacts, and technical documentation in accordance with Judiciary SOC Forensics SOPs and JSOCIRP requirements.
• Provide real-time investigative support for Priority 1 and Priority 2 cybersecurity incidents.
• Support analysis of advanced persistent threats (APT), ransomware, phishing campaigns, malicious scripts, and suspicious binaries.
• Perform memory analysis using approved forensic tools such as Volatility and other Judiciary-approved forensic platforms.
• Extract deleted or hidden data using forensic data carving and recovery techniques.