Senior/Principal NSA Certification Analyst - High Assurance Product Realization Team, Onsite

Sandia National Laboratories; Albuquerque (NM); On-site; USD 118,000 - 236,000; Full time

Job summary

Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM seeks an NSA Certification Analyst (R&D Systems Research and Analysis) to support NSS certification for products developed by the High Assurance Product Realization group.

You will document the security architecture, coordinate with internal teams and certification authorities, and apply cryptography, cybersecurity, and risk management knowledge to move products toward on-time certification.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline and five years of directly relevant experience or equivalent
• Ability to acquire a DOE Q-level security clearance

Responsibilities

• Coordinate with internal teams and certification authorities to ensure NSS requirements are met
• Document security architecture and support CDRL artifacts
• Manage certification timelines and mitigate risks

Skills

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline

Graduate degree (preferred)

Tools

Cameo/MagicDraw

DOORS

Jira

Job description

Location: Albuquerque, NM

Full-Time

Regular

About Sandia

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation's premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
• Extraordinary co-workers
• Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
• Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov

*These benefits vary by job classification.

What Your Job Will Be Like

This NSA Certification Analyst (R&D Systems Research and Analysis) will support the NSA Certification Lead as they seek NSA national security system (NSS) certification for products developed by the High Assurance Product Realization group (8450). The individual in this role will assist coordination of internal Product Realization Teams (PRT) and external government certification authorities to ensure products meet rigorous NSS requirements and sponsor mission needs. They will apply knowledge of cryptography, cybersecurity principles, and risk management to document the implemented security architecture for NSA Contract Deliverable Requirements List (CDRL) artifacts and move products towards on-time certification. They will help interpret security requirements, execute certification activities, identify and manage certification-related risks, and support process improvements to streamline timelines. This role works closely with the Certification and PRT leads, and technical teams.

On any given day, you may be called on to:

• Manage multiple workstreams and adapt to changing project scopes.
• Translate the implications of changes in security requirements to the broader team.
• Explain complex system designs and risk management strategies to stakeholders.
• Convey schedule implications of NSA expectations to PRT and management.
• Anticipate the response of evaluators and advise the project team accordingly.
• Exercise critical thinking to identify, assess, and mitigate risks to component design.
• Coordinate with stakeholders to deconflict overlapping requirements and priorities.
• Monitor, interpret, and apply evolving policies and requirements.
• Support communications with certification authorities, evaluators, and internal experts.
• Support the development, review, and timely submission of documents.
• Develop technical documents that align with required formats.
• Work with NSA certification lead, PRT leads, project management on CDRL delivery.
• Coordinate schedules to support certification that also align with program timelines.
• Collaborate with certification authorities to manage certification timelines.
• Conduct research and analysis to inform an efficient certification strategy.

Due to the nature of this work, the selected candidate must be able to work onsite.

Applicants on this requisition may be interviewed by multiple organizations at Sandia National Laboratories.

Salary Range

$117,500 - $235,700

*Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate's experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.

Qualifications We Require

• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline and five (5) years of directly relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and engineering or scientific experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform independent research and development.
• Ability to acquire a DOE Q-level security clearance.

Qualifications We Desire

The ideal R&D S&E Systems Research and Analysis candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in a highly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience working as part of multi-disciplinary teams examining complex systems.
• Experience working with federal sponsors in the defense and intelligence sectors, as well as their domestic FFRDC partners, international partnering agencies, and foreign governments.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, ability to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams delivering critical information to customers in a succinct manner.

Also, for this posting we are seeking individuals with the following:

• A degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Mathematics, Information Assurance, Information Systems Design, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• Experience supporting or leading high assurance product through NSA certification.
• Experience aligning certification activities with other deliverables.
• Experience developing, tailoring, managing, and tracing security requirements, certification schedules, security controls, and verification evidence.
• Experience using Model Based Systems Engineering, requirements-management, or project-management tools (e.g., Cameo/MagicDraw, DOORS, Jira, or similar).
• Experience conducting fail-safe, fail-secure, or fault-tolerant design analyses to inform system design, risk mitigation, and verification activities.
• Experience providing threat-informed security guidance to development teams designing high-assurance hardware, software, or firmware security architectures.
• Experience with cryptographic security, including evaluation of cryptographic design features, cryptographic algorithms, or post-quantum cryptography roadmaps.
• Experience with applicable product-realization, NSA certification, or program-management processes.

About Our Team

The High Assurance Product Realization group develops embedded and ground support equipment in support of National Security missions. We are a leader for high-assurance National Security hardware, utilizing current and advanced electronic hardware approaches, tools, and techniques in developing information assurance subsystems. These responsibilities span research, design, development, production liaison, and existing product evaluation for Use Control applications. Our staff develop custom electronic technologies in support of the DOE/DoD Use Control community and specialize in real-time embedded electronic design solutions with emphasis on security and reliability. The team also has a key role in the development, maturation, and deployment of advanced technologies for next-generation weapon systems and information assurance products.

Posting Duration

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of three (3) calendar days, including the 'posting date'. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Security Clearance

Sandia is required by DOE to conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain a security clearance may be impacted.

Applicants offered employment with Sandia are subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for access to classified information or matter if the duties of the position require a DOE security clearance. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause a clearance to be denied or terminated by DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

EEO

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.

NNSA Requirements for MedPEDs

If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.

If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.