Junior Incident Response Consultant - Hybrid

Pondurance; McLean (VA); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 92,000; Full time

Job summary

Pondurance is seeking a Junior Incident Response Consultant to join our incident response team in a hybrid role based in McLean, VA. You will support forensic investigations alongside senior colleagues to help stop compromises during containment, eradication, and data access forensic efforts.

Responsibilities include analyzing forensic data, identifying signs of malicious activity, and reporting findings with clarity to the Pondurance team.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.
• Proven understanding of Business Email Compromise (BEC) attack lifecycles.
• Familiarity with phishing tactics and mitigation strategies.
• Proficiency in utilizing diverse investigative tools to construct detailed incident timelines.

Responsibilities

• Assist Principal and Senior consultants throughout the Incident Response lifecycle, from containment to reporting.
• Analyze relevant forensic datasets and present findings clearly to the internal Pondurance team.
• Detect signs of unauthorized or malicious activity across collected forensic evidence.
• Highlight potential evidence gaps and report findings in a structured format to team members.
• Work from the McLean, VA office approximately 20% of the time for device collection and other business needs.
• Deliver after-hours investigative support on an as-needed basis.

Skills

BEC lifecycle understanding

Phishing awareness

Investigative tools proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity/CS

Tools

PowerShell

Terminal/iTerm2

Python

Bash

Java

C++

Windows

Microsoft 365

Slack

Job description

Junior Incident Response Consultant

Hybrid (McLean, VA)

About the Role:

Do you want to influence real change? Do you want to be part of the solution? Then join Pondurance in ensuring every organization is able to detect and respond to cyber threats – regardless of size, industry, or current in-house capabilities.

As a Junior Incident Response Consultant, you will support forensic investigations alongside Principal, Senior, and standard Consultants within the Incident Response program. Your goal will be to assist in stopping compromises through containment, eradication, and data access forensic efforts. You will leverage our tech stack and support our clients during incident response.

This is a hybrid role, and candidates must be located in the McLean, VA area. Employees are expected to work in the McLean office approximately 20% of the time for device collection and other business needs.

Responsibilities:

• Assist Principal and Senior consultants throughout the Incident Response lifecycle, from containment to reporting.
• Analyze relevant forensic datasets and present findings clearly to the internal Pondurance team.
• Detect signs of unauthorized or malicious activity across collected forensic evidence.
• Highlight potential evidence gaps and report findings in a structured format to team members.
• Work from the McLean, VA office approximately 20% of the time for device collection and other business needs.
• Deliver after-hours investigative support on an as-needed basis.

Technologies:

• Productivity Suites: Microsoft 365 & MS Office
• Team Collaboration Tools: Live chat platforms (e.g., Slack)
• Command Line Tools: PowerShell, Terminals, iTerm2
• Basic Scripting Languages: Python, Bash, Java, C++
• Operating Environments: Windows Systems

Knowledge and Skills:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience in a relevant discipline
• Proven understanding of Business Email Compromise (BEC) attack lifecycles
• Familiarity with phishing tactics and mitigation strategies
• Proficiency in utilizing diverse investigative tools to construct detailed incident timelines

Compensation:

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $85,000 - $92,000 annually. Actual compensation will be determined in good faith based on factors such as relevant experience, technical expertise, certifications, geographic location (where applicable), and internal equity. This position may also be eligible for bonus or other incentive compensation, as well as the benefits described below.

Who we are:

At Pondurance, we embrace, educate, and protect people by helping make our world a better and safer place. We believe in inviting good people into our company who are driven to become great!

Every person at Pondurance is encouraged to focus and grow in their individual areas of interest, passion, and career path. We have accessible leaders as mentors who believe "None of us are as smart as all of us" (R. Pelletier).

We believe everyone has the freedom to be themselves, especially at work, and so we embrace, support, and celebrate each other. Each one of us influences our company’s direction through speaking up; you have a voice, and we want you to use it.

Do you want to be a part of something different? Do you want to influence real change? Do you want to be part of the solution? Then join us in redefining the security and cyber risk landscape.

What We Offer:

The opportunity to apply your expertise, take on new challenges, and help customers address their biggest security objectives.

An inclusive culture of teamwork that embraces the diversity of our people and communities in which we work.

Some of the corporate benefits (there are more) for full‑time employees include:

• Medical, dental, vision, disability, FSA, HSA, life and AD&D insurance, 401(k) Plan.
• Time off: PTO, sick, holiday, & parental leave details are available

To promote a healthy and safe work community, we require background and drug screenings as part of our hiring process. Details of our process will be provided upon request.

We are an equal opportunity employer focused on celebrating diversity and inclusion. We believe that each individual should be treated equally without regard to race, color, identity, national origin, protected veteran status, religion, sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.