Digital Forensic Specialist (Forensic Scientist 3) | Medicaid Fraud & Abuse | Olympia

State of Washington•Thurston County – Olympia, WA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Attorney General’s Office is recruiting for a permanent full time Digital Forensic Specialist (Forensic Scientist 3) in the Medicaid Fraud & Abuse Division. This position is located in Olympia, Washington, and is represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE). The work of the Office’s Medicaid Fraud & Abuse Division (MFAD) focuses on both criminal and civil law enforcement. The 75% federally funded MFAD‘s mission is combating provider fraud, abuse and neglect in residential facilities and involving Medicaid recipients in non-institutional settings. MFAD’s Headquarters is located in Olympia, Washington with some team members also located at the AGO's Spokane Office and Seattle Office. The Division currently has a staff of 84 FTEs, including attorneys, special agents, data scientists, clinical health investigators and professional support staff. MFAD involves protecting not only the Medicaid program of roughly 22.9 billion dollars annually, but also its most vulnerable persons, typically elderly persons in residential facilities or persons abused or neglected by a Medicaid Provider. In many of our cases, there is no precedent, so MFAD is consistently on the cutting edge of legal theories and issues. The cases range from abuse and neglect of persons in nursing homes, large scale organized individual and corporate civil and criminal fraudulent activity to national whistleblower actions. Our staff is a highly professional, fun and seasoned analytical investigative team. MFAD is unique in that all cases have an attorney, special agent, and data scientist assigned with legal support. In cases involving digital evidence, a Digital Forensics Specialist is assigned as needed to provide specialized technical expertise. This, and the great people who make up the division, gives MFAD a particularly terrific team atmosphere.

Requirements

Five (5) years of experience in digital forensics or a related technical or quantitative field with at least two (2) years of technical experience working in a forensic lab.
A Bachelor’s degree in forensic science or closely related field may substitute for two (2) years of experience.
Professional certifications such as GCFA, GCFE, CCO, CCPA, CCME, MCFE, FTK or CFCE.
Background in specialized areas such as SQL, SQLite, Python, and other programming languages, cloud forensics, IoT forensics, or malware reverse engineering.
Ability to apply knowledge of network computer systems, common communication software, including Outlook, and familiarity with electronic e-mail systems; knowledge of different operating systems, including Windows, DOS, Linux, and Mac OS; the Internet; hardware in standalone computers; various electronic storage media including internal and external hard drives and data archiving technology; USB/Firewire technology; and skilled in the use of various digital forensic software, including but not limited to Axiom Cyber, Encase and Forensic Tool Kit.
Knowledge of the physical sciences; principles embraced in the scientific method; theory and practice of forensic science as it relates to digital forensics.
Technical casework experience.
Demonstrated competency in coordinating and planning projects, programs, or task forces; Healthcare Fraud and/or Abuse and Neglect experience.
A background check consisting of employment history, professional references and educational verification (e.g., degree, license, or official transcript) may be conducted.
Prior to any offer, the applicant selected will be required to submit to and pass a fingerprint-based criminal background check conducted by the Washington State Patrol, Criminal Records Division.
The incumbent will submit to additional background checks as a condition of employment every five (5) years thereafter.

Responsibilities

Serves as a forensic specialist in the Olympia DF Laboratory and MFAD mobile labs, applying research, method modification, or unique approaches to complex digital forensic casework, forensic acquisition, and advanced data analysis while ensuring legal defensibility, evidentiary integrity, and compliance with applicable forensic, data governance, and laboratory standards.
Maintains quality processes and ensures operational compliance with all certifications, accreditation, legal standards, and requirements.
Responsible for the design, development, and maintenance of digital forensic acquisition, analysis, and digital forensic laboratory systems.
Responding to requests for assistance for digital forensics at search warrant sites across WA state and in the laboratory.
Identify, preserve, acquire, validate, analyze, extract, and document electronically stored information (ESI) obtained through legal process, using multiple forensic acquisition methods to collect and preserve structured and unstructured data from diverse digital sources, including computers, mobile devices, IoT devices, and removable media.
Perform highly complex analyses of digital evidence from computers, mobile devices, cloud services, IoT devices, network traffic, and other storage media.
Interpret complex datasets, identify patterns and anomalies, and reconstruct events from multiple evidence sources.
Document and protect evidence according to laboratory procedures, ensuring that the chain of custody is maintained.
Forensic reporting of digital evidence across numerous formats.
Reports findings in the form of a written laboratory report based on the interpretation of observations and analytical test results.
Provides assistance with civil and criminal prosecutions and testifies in court as a subject matter expert in digital forensics.
Facilitate technical training on relevant digital forensics topics

Benefits

Medical/Dental/Vision for employees & dependent(s)
Vacation, Sick, and Other Leave
11 Paid Holidays per year
Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) plans
Life Insurance
Dependent Care Assistance
Flexible Spending Accounts
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Tuition Waiver
Deferred Compensation
Employee Recognition Leave
Flexible schedules
Part-time/hybrid telework options
A Wellness Program
An Infants in the Workplace Program
The Employee Assistance Program, which provides counseling, webinar, and other cost-free support resources
Numerous employee-driven affinity groups to foster community and connection, including Bereavement, Elder Care, Parenting, POC, LGBTQ+, Veterans and more.