Senior Consultant, DFIR, Reactive Services (Unit 42)

Palo Alto Networks • Santa Clara, CA

22h • $128,000 - $176,000 • Remote

About The Position

As a client-facing Senior Consultant in Unit 42, you will lead reactive incident response engagements from start to finish. You will work directly with diverse customers and stakeholders, including C-suite executives, to produce key deliverables and guide clients through complex forensic investigations. Your expertise will be crucial in managing the overall engagement process, containing security incidents, and providing actionable remediation plans to enhance client security posture.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Security, Computer Science, Digital Forensics, Cyber Security, or a related field, or equivalent military/professional experience.
• 4+ years of direct experience in incident response or digital forensics.
• Proficiency in host-based forensics, data breach response, and evidence handling procedures.
• Hands-on experience with forensic tools such as EnCase, FTK, X-Ways, SIFT, Splunk, Volatility, or similar technologies.

Nice To Haves

• Prior experience in a client-facing incident response consulting role.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to communicate complex technical findings to C-level stakeholders.
• Demonstrated external presence through public speaking, conference presentations, or industry publications.
• Proven ability to build collaborative relationships with internal teams, external partners, and clients.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end incident response engagements, guiding clients through investigation, containment, and long-term remediation strategies.
• Perform host-based forensic analysis on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X systems to identify Indicators of Compromise (IOCs).
• Analyze firewall, web, database, and other log data to uncover evidence of malicious activity and system compromise.
• Utilize advanced forensic tools (e.g., EnCase, FTK, Splunk) to investigate data breaches, determining the root cause and scope of malicious activity.
• Collaborate with clients and internal stakeholders to communicate findings, provide status updates, and deliver comprehensive reports.
• Mentor and empower junior consultants, sharing expertise in incident response and digital forensics best practices.
• Travel as required (approximately 20%) to meet client and business needs for on-site engagement.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees