Senior Associate/Recovery Services (Forensic Services practice)

Charles River Associates; Oakland (CA); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 153,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) plan

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Paid time off

Parental leave

Wellness program

Commuter benefits

Immigration support

Job summary

Charles River Associates (CRA) in Oakland seeks a Senior Associate to lead incident response, forensics, and recovery engagements end to end, overseeing scoping, staffing, and delivery. You will direct technical workstreams and serve as the primary contact for executives, counsel, and carriers.

The role requires 5-7+ years in cybersecurity incident response and strong knowledge of hybrid identity architectures; executive communication skills are essential for briefing boards and CISOs.

Qualifications

• 5-7+ years in cybersecurity incident response, digital forensics, or enterprise recovery.
• 3+ years leading engagements or teams.
• Proven track record leading large ransomware recovery or complex intrusion matters in enterprise environments.
• Strong command of hybrid Microsoft identity architecture (Active Directory, Entra ID, Conditional Access, privileged access models).
• Experience working under legal privilege and managing the counsel and carrier dynamics of breach response.
• Demonstrated ability to scope and price engagements accurately, and to manage delivery to fixed-price commitments.
• Executive-grade written and verbal communication; comfortable briefing boards, GCs, and CISOs.

Responsibilities

• Lead multiple incident response, forensic investigation, and recovery engagements.
• Direct technical workstreams across containment, forensics, identity remediation, and infrastructure recovery.
• Develop evidence-based scoping and level-of-effort models for fixed-price recovery engagements.
• Serve as primary point of contact for client executives, outside counsel, and insurance carrier representatives.
• Own final written work product: investigation reports, executive briefings, insurance guidance memoranda, and remediation roadmaps.
• Review and quality-control consultant deliverables for technical accuracy and defensibility.
• Mentor and develop consulting associates and associates, including structured feedback and engagement-level coaching.
• Contribute to practice development: methodology and playbook standardization, reusable engagement IP, service line definition, and thought leadership.
• Support business development through carrier and law firm relationship management, proposal development, and scoping calls for inbound matters.

Skills

Incident response

Cybersecurity

Forensics

Leadership

Executive communication

Client management

Tools

Active Directory

Entra ID

Job description

About Charles River Associates

CRA is a leading global consulting firm that provides independent economic and financial analysis behind litigation matters, guides businesses through critical strategy and operational issues to become more profitable, and advises governments on the economic impact of policies and regulations. Our two main services – economic and management consulting – are delivered by practice groups that focus on specific areas of expertise or industries. Click here to learn how CRA can help you launch your career.

About Charles River Associates

CRA is a leading global consulting firm that provides independent economic and financial analysis behind litigation matters, guides businesses through critical strategy and operational issues to become more profitable, and advises governments on the economic impact of policies and regulations. Our two main services – economic and management consulting – are delivered by practice groups that focus on specific areas of expertise or industries. Click here to learn how CRA can help you launch your career.

Position Overview

CRA’s Forensic Services practice supports companies’ commitment to integrity by assisting them and their counsel in independently responding to allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct, and non-compliance. We are noted for deploying cross-trained teams of forensic professionals to assist our clients in gaining deeper insights and greater value more quickly. We provide accounting and forensic services as well as cybercrime investigation services.

The Senior Associate leads incident response and recovery engagements end to end: scoping, workstream direction, client and counsel management, and delivery quality. You will own matters from intake through final report, direct consultant teams during active response, and contribute to the growth of the recovery practice through relationship development and reusable methodology. This role requires someone who has run large engagements under pressure and can represent findings credibly to executives, boards, counsel, and carriers.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead multiple concurrent incident response, forensic investigation, and recovery engagements, owning scope, budget, staffing, and delivery quality
• Direct technical workstreams across containment, forensics, identity remediation, and infrastructure recovery, setting priorities and unblocking consultant teams
• Develop evidence-based scoping and level-of-effort models for fixed-price recovery engagements, sequenced by client business priority
• Serve as primary point of contact for client executives, outside counsel, and insurance carrier representatives throughout active matters
• Own final written work product: investigation reports, executive briefings, insurance guidance memoranda, and remediation roadmaps
• Review and quality-control consultant deliverables for technical accuracy and defensibility
• Mentor and develop consulting associates and associates, including structured feedback and engagement-level coaching
• Contribute to practice development: methodology and playbook standardization, reusable engagement IP, service line definition, and thought leadership
• Support business development through carrier and law firm relationship management, proposal development, and scoping calls for inbound matters

Desired Qualifications

• 5-7+ years in cybersecurity incident response, digital forensics, or enterprise recovery, including 3+ years leading engagements or teams
• Track record leading large-scale ransomware recovery or complex intrusion matters in enterprise environments (thousands of endpoints, multi-site)
• Strong command of hybrid Microsoft identity architecture (Active Directory, Entra ID, Conditional Access, privileged access models) at a level sufficient to direct and validate technical work
• Experience working under legal privilege and managing the counsel and carrier dynamics of breach response
• Demonstrated ability to scope and price engagements accurately, and to manage delivery to fixed-price commitments
• Executive-grade written and verbal communication; comfortable briefing boards, GCs, and CISOs

Preferred Qualifications

• Certifications such as CISSP, GCFA, GCIH, CISM, or equivalent; advanced degree in a relevant field a plus
• Prior consulting experience at a professional services firm, IR boutique, or carrier panel firm
• Existing relationships with breach counsel or cyber insurance carriers
• Experience testifying or supporting expert work product in litigation or regulatory contexts
• Background in security assessment methodologies and compliance frameworks (NIST CSF, CISA SCuBA, CMMC)

Work Environment

• Incident response work involves surge periods, including nights and weekends during active engagements.

Career Growth And Benefits

• CRA’s robust skills development programs, including a commitment to offering 100 hours of training annually through formal and informal programs, encourage you to thrive as an individual and team member. Beginning with research and analysis skill building, training continues with technical training, presentation skills, internal seminars, and career mentoring and performance coaching from an assigned senior colleague. Additional leadership and collaboration opportunities exist through internal firm development activities.
• We offer a comprehensive total rewards program including a superior benefits package, wellness programming to support physical, mental, emotional and financial well-being, and in-house immigration support for foreign nationals and international business travelers.

Work Location Flexibility

CRA creates a work environment that enables our colleagues to benefit from being together in the office to best deliver on our promise of career growth, mentorship and inclusivity. At the same time, we recognize that individuals realize a range of benefits when working from home periodically. We currently expect that individuals spend at least 3 to 4 days a week working in the office (which may include traveling to another CRA office or to client meetings), with specific days determined in coordination with your practice or team.

Our Commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity

Charles River Associates is an equal opportunity employer (EOE). All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Salary And Other Compensation

A good-faith estimate of the annual base salary range for this position is $130,000 - $152,500. Stating pay within this range may vary based on factors such as education level, experience, skills, geographic location, market conditions, and other qualifications of the successful candidate. This position may be eligible for additional bonus incentive compensation.

CRA offers a comprehensive benefits package, subject to eligibility requirements, which may include:

• medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• life and disability insurance
• paid time off (vacation, sick leave, holidays)
• paid parental leave
• wellness programs and employee assistance resources
• commuter benefits
• in-house immigration support for foreign nationals and international business travelers