AOUSC - Forensic and Malware Lead

cFocus Software Incorporated•Washington, DC

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

cFocus Software is seeking a Forensic and Malware Lead to join their program supporting the Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOUSC). This is a Hybrid position located in Washington, DC, requiring a Public Trust clearance. The role involves leading digital forensics and malware analysis activities, providing advanced subject matter expertise, and performing static and dynamic malware analysis. The lead will analyze various data sources, coordinate with incident response teams, conduct live forensic analysis, and collect/preserve digital evidence. Responsibilities also include developing reports, providing investigative support for critical incidents, analyzing advanced threats, performing memory analysis, and extracting deleted data. The position requires coordinating findings with leadership, validating deliverables, developing procedures, supporting security awareness reporting, participating in meetings, and contributing to process improvement and knowledge transfer.

Requirements

Active Public Trust clearance
B.S. Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field
Five (5) years within IR in a large SOC (over 5,000 endpoints) with at least 3 years focused on digital forensics for Operating System or file systems.
Three (3) years of demonstrated expertise in disk, memory and registry analysis using industry standard tools such as EnCase, FTK, X-Ways, Volatility.
Demonstrated understanding of file systems and Operating System artifacts including but not limited to (SRUM, Shellbags and Prefetch).
Familiarity with federal evidence guidelines and chain of custody requirements.
Active GCFA, GREM, CFCE, or OSED certification

Nice To Haves

This role aligns with NICE work role PD-WRL-002 (Digital Forensics).

Responsibilities

Lead digital forensics and malware analysis activities in support of AOUSC Security Operations Division (SOD) operations.
Provide advanced subject matter expertise for forensic investigations involving Windows, Linux, macOS, cloud, and enterprise environments.
Perform static and dynamic malware analysis to identify indicators of compromise (IOCs), attacker tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and root cause.
Analyze forensic artifacts, memory images, endpoint telemetry, SIEM data, and filesystem timelines to identify malicious activity and intrusion vectors.
Coordinate with Cybersecurity Triage and Incident Response teams to support investigation, escalation, containment, remediation, and recovery activities.
Conduct live forensic analysis utilizing Splunk Enterprise Security, Microsoft Sentinel, EDR tools, and AO-provided investigative tooling.
Collect, preserve, duplicate, and maintain digital evidence in accordance with forensic evidence handling and chain-of-custody procedures.
Develop forensic reports, malware analysis reports, incident artifacts, and technical documentation in accordance with Judiciary SOC Forensics SOPs and JSOCIRP requirements.
Provide real-time investigative support for Priority 1 and Priority 2 cybersecurity incidents.
Support analysis of advanced persistent threats (APT), ransomware, phishing campaigns, malicious scripts, and suspicious binaries.
Perform memory analysis using approved forensic tools such as Volatility and other Judiciary-approved forensic platforms.
Extract deleted or hidden data using forensic data carving and recovery techniques.
Conduct analysis of endpoint, network, identity, and cloud telemetry to support incident investigations and threat hunting operations.
Coordinate escalation and communication of investigative findings to AO leadership, incident responders, SOC management, and federal staff.
Review and validate forensic and malware analysis deliverables to ensure technical accuracy, completeness, and compliance with SLA requirements.
Develop and maintain forensic analysis procedures, malware analysis SOPs, investigative work instructions, and operational playbooks.
Support enterprise security awareness reporting by contributing forensic findings, threat trends, and investigative recommendations.
Participate in weekly technical meetings, operational briefings, and cybersecurity reporting activities.
Support continuous process improvement initiatives related to digital forensics, malware analysis, investigative workflows, and incident response operations.
Assist in transition-in and transition-out activities including knowledge transfer, operational readiness, training, and documentation support.