Location: Onsite – New Carrollton, MD or Kearneysville, WV
Terms: Full-time
Clearance: Public Trust
Travel: 0% (onsite presence at client facilities as directed)
Position Description
We are seeking a Sr. Digital Forensic Analyst to serve as task lead for forensic artifact analysis and malware analysis in a 24x7x365 Security Operations Center (SOC) supporting a large federal agency. This seasoned subject matter expert collects and analyzes forensic artifacts and malicious content to support incident response, technical analysis, and detection improvement, leads the forensic analysts performing this work, and develops solutions to undefined, complex technical problems.
The successful candidate will:
- Lead forensic and malware analysis for priority incidents.
- Preserve evidentiary value while protecting operational systems.
- Deliver technical reports that drive response and detection improvements.
- Mentor forensic analysts.
Responsibilities:
- Serve as task lead for forensic artifact and malware analysis, assigning and reviewing the work of forensic analysts.
- Collect or support collection of forensic images, files, logs, memory captures, and other artifacts relevant to cybersecurity incidents.
- Analyze forensic images, digital media, files, and other artifacts in a manner that protects operational systems and preserves evidentiary value.
- Identify, analyze, reverse engineer, and de-obfuscate malicious or suspicious content related to cybersecurity incidents.
- Conduct malware analysis in an appropriately isolated and controlled environment.
- Document analysis methodology, findings, indicators of compromise, and recommended follow-on actions in technical reports and incident records.
- Coordinate findings with the client SOC team to support monitoring, response, containment, and detection refinement.
Required Skills and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related field and 10+ years of relevant professional experience; three (3) years of additional relevant experience may be substituted in lieu of a degree.
- Extensive expertise in the technical domain area, with expert knowledge of and ability to apply advanced technical principles, theories, and concepts.
- Ability to develop solutions to undefined, complex technical issues and problems that impact multiple areas or disciplines.
- Demonstrated ingenuity and creativity in developing new technical solutions and systems to achieve functional objectives.
- Expert experience in digital forensics and malware analysis, including memory, disk, and network forensics.
- Proficiency with forensic and reverse engineering tools (e.g., EnCase, FTK, Volatility, IDA Pro, Ghidra).
- Knowledge of evidence handling and chain-of-custody procedures.
- Experience leading a team or serving as a task lead, including assigning work, reviewing quality, and reporting status to client leadership.
- Experience supporting federal government contracts as a contractor, including working to contract performance standards, deliverable schedules, and government review and approval processes.
- Certifications such as GCFA, GREM, GCFE, or EnCE.
- Experience with cloud forensics in AWS or Azure.
- Scripting skills (Python, PowerShell) for analysis automation.
Work Authorization/Clearance:
Must be a U.S. Citizen and able to obtain a Public Trust clearance.