Digital Forensics Analyst

Pantex•Amarillo, TX

13h•Onsite

About The Position

The Digital Forensic Analyst is responsible for conducting technical investigations involving digital evidence related to ethics and employee concerns. This role performs digital forensic investigations for the PanTeXas Deterrence (PXD) Ethics and Employee Concerns department, providing forensic acquisition and analysis support to Internal Audit, Employee Relations, Legal, and other departments by collecting, preserving, and analyzing digital evidence in accordance with forensic best practices. The analyst will respond to external Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigator requests with rigor, accuracy, and adherence to enterprise protocols. Key activities include creating forensically sound duplicates of evidence, decrypting seized data, providing technical summaries of findings, ensuring chain of custody, performing various types of media and malware analysis, extracting data using carving techniques, and using specialized equipment to catalog, document, extract, collect, package, and preserve digital evidence. The role also involves Windows registry analysis, collecting and analyzing intrusion artifacts to enable mitigation of cyber defense incidents, and preparing clear, defensible reports summarizing investigative steps, findings, evidence limitations, and methodologies.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree with a minimum of 9 years of relevant experience (typical relevant experience ranging from 10 to 15 years).
OR Master's Degree with a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience (typical relevant experience ranging from 10 to 15 years).
OR PhD with a minimum of 3 years of relevant experience.
Requires a Q clearance; however all qualified candidates will be considered regardless of their current clearance status.
The ability to obtain and maintain a Department of Energy Q clearance is required.
Position may require entry into Materials Access Areas (MAA) and participation in the Human Reliability Program (HRP).
If HRP is required, candidate must complete a counterintelligence-scope polygraph, pursuant to 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 709.
Medical requirements may apply.
Pantex is a drug-free workplace.
Candidates accepting a job offer will be required to pass a pre-placement physical, drug screening and background investigation.
As an employee, you may be required to receive and maintain a security clearance from the United States Department of Energy in order to meet eligibility requirements for access to sensitive information or matter.
U.S. citizenship is a requirement for security clearance applicants.
All employees are subject to random selection for drug testing without advance notification.

Nice To Haves

Experience with enterprise systems (Microsoft 365, Teams, Outlook, secure storage).
Knowledge of digital evidence handling, cyber logging, and chain of custody standards.
Ability to collaborate with Information Technology (IT), cybersecurity and other teams.
Training or certification in cyber forensics.

Responsibilities

Perform digital forensic investigations for the PanTeXas Deterrence (PXD) Ethics and Employee Concerns department.
Provide forensic acquisition and analysis support to Internal Audit, Employee Relations, Legal and other departments by collecting, preserving, and analyzing digital evidence in accordance with forensic best practices.
Respond to external Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigator requests with rigor, accuracy, and adherence to enterprise protocols.
Create a forensically sound duplicate of the evidence (i.e., forensic image) that ensures the original evidence is not unintentionally modified, to use for data recovery and analysis processes.
Decrypt seized data using technical means.
Provide technical summary of findings in accordance with established reporting procedures.
Ensure that chain of custody is followed for all digital media acquired in accordance with the Federal Rules of Evidence.
Perform file signature, static media, and malware analysis.
Extract data using data carving techniques.
Use specialized equipment and techniques to catalog, document, extract, collect, package, and preserve digital evidence.
Perform Windows registry analysis.
Collect and analyze intrusion artifacts (e.g., source code, malware, and system configuration) and use discovered data to enable mitigation of potential cyber defense incidents within the enterprise.
Prepare clear, defensible reports summarizing investigative steps, findings, evidence limitations, and methodologies.
Produce technical summaries of forensic findings following standardized reporting formats.
Perform additional responsibilities as necessary.