Chip-Off Forensics Lab Lead Engineer

Nightwing; Arlington (VA); On-site; Full time

Job description

Nightwing provides technically advanced full-spectrum cyber, data operations, systems integration and intelligence mission support services to meet our customers’ most demanding challenges. Our capabilities include cyber space operations, cyber defense and resiliency, vulnerability research, ubiquitous technical surveillance, data intelligence, lifecycle mission enablement, and software modernization. Nightwing brings disruptive technologies, agility, and competitive offerings to customers in the intelligence community, defense, civil, and commercial markets.

Nightwing is supporting a U.S. Government customer to provide support for onsite incident response to civilian Government agencies and critical asset owners who experience cyber-attacks, providing immediate investigation and resolution. Contract personnel perform investigations to characterize of the severity of breaches, develop mitigation plans, and assist with the restoration of services. Nightwing is seeking an Electrical Engineerto support this critical customer mission.

The Electrical Engineer will lead the establishment and operation of Client’s Chip-Off Forensics Lab,providingexpert technical guidance on hardware forensics, chip extraction, and low-level device analysis. This senior position requires deepexpertisein electrical engineering principles applied to forensic investigations of network-edge devices and embedded systemscontainingdeeply embedded malware where standard forensic methods cannot obtain usable device images.

This position serves as the technical lead for lab establishment and will be the primary point of contact for laboratory infrastructure, equipment procurement, and technical capability development. The ideal candidate will have strong project leadership abilities combined with deep hands-on technicalexpertise.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical design and setup of Chip-Off Forensics Lab infrastructure at government facility
• Provideexpert guidance on chip extraction, PCB analysis, and hardware-level forensics
• Develop and document chip-off forensics workflows and standard operating procedures
• Conduct forensic analysis of compromised network-edge devices and embedded systems
• Perform circuit board reverse engineering andcomponentidentification
• Extract and analyze data from flash memory, EEPROM, and other storage components
• Design and implement safe chip removal and data recovery procedures
• Specify andprocurelaboratory equipment and forensic tools
• Collaborate with Nightwing SMEs on hardware and skillset requirements
• Train CSD analysts on chip-off forensics techniques and procedures
• Conduct lab demonstrationsshowcasingchip-off capabilities
• Analyze proprietary hardware systems targeted by threat actors
• Support forensic investigations where EDR solutions are absent or insufficient
• Document technical findings and forensic methodologies
• Provide reach-back support and technical consultation to analysts
  
  

Required Skills

• U.S. Citizenship
• Must have an active TS/SCI clearance
• Must be able to obtain DHS Suitability
• 10+ years of experience in electrical engineering or hardware design
• Expert knowledge of PCB design, circuit analysis, and digital electronics
• Strong experience with chip extraction and hardware forensics techniques
• Proficiencywith electronic test equipment (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters)
• Understanding of embedded systems architecture and memory technologies
• Experience with microcontrollers, SoCs, and embedded processor platforms
• Knowledge of data recovery from damaged or protected storage devices
• Strong soldering and desoldering components to access memory chips and other critical hardware for data extraction
• Experience with reverse engineering proprietary hardware systems
• Excellent documentation and technical writing abilities
  
  

Desired Skills

• Experience supporting federal cybersecurity or forensics programs
• Background in digital forensics or incident response
• Knowledge of firmware analysis and reverse engineering
• Experience with network-edge device security and vulnerabilities
• Familiarity with JTAG, SPI, I2C, and other hardware debugging interfaces
• Understanding of IoT and OT device architectures
• Experience training technical personnel on forensics methodologies
• Knowledge of malware embedded in hardware or firmware
• Familiarity with EDR limitations in embedded device environments
  
  

Required Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or related discipline; Master’s degree or PhD preferred

Desired Certifications

• Professional Engineer (PE) license or equivalent advanced certification preferred
• PMP
• DoD 8140.01 IAT Level III
  
  

Syndeo: ESS-3419

Salary & Benefits

The salary associated with this position ($122,000-$253,000) is commensurate with the selected candidate’s qualifications, years of relevant experience, and demonstrated level of expertise. Compensation will be determined based on these factors to ensure alignment with skills, responsibilities, and market standards.

Nightwing offers medical, vision and dental insurance coverage in addition to a 401k plan, PTO, Holidays, and additional insurances.

Nightwing is An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age or any other federally protected class.