Early Career Cybersecurity - Cyber Specialist, Onsite

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation's premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation, with teams of specialists focused on cutting-edge work in a broad array of areas. Some of the main reasons we love our jobs:

• Challenging work with amazing impact that contributes to security, peace, and freedom worldwide
• Extraordinary co-workers
• Some of the best tools, equipment, and research facilities in the world
• Career advancement and enrichment opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements for many positions include 9/80 (work 80 hours every two weeks, with every other Friday off) and 4/10 (work 4 ten-hour days each week) compressed workweeks, part-time work, and telecommuting (a mix of onsite work and working from home)
• Generous vacation, strong medical and other benefits, competitive 401k, learning opportunities, relocation assistance and amenities aimed at creating a solid work/life balance*

World-changing technologies. Life-changing careers. Learn more about Sandia at: http://www.sandia.gov

*These benefits vary by job classification.

Are you passionate about research that keeps critical infrastructure safe and resilient in the face of cyber threats? Do you want to develop new defensive technologies, perform rigorous threat-informed analysis, and quantify how cyber events can translate into real-world physical consequences? If so, this is an opportunity to join Sandia's multidisciplinary research community focused on securing the nation's most vital cyber-physical systems.

We are looking for early-career cybersecurity scientists and engineers with strong engineering fundamentals to join Sandia's national security missions. In this role, you will have the opportunity to engage in research areas such as cyber-physical system modeling and simulation, control-theoretic and system-level analysis under fault/adversarial conditions, physics-informed and data-driven anomaly detection using multi-modal time-series data, and testbed-driven validation using digital twins and hardware-in-the-loop environments.

On any given day, you may be called on to:

• Develop, adapt, and apply physics-based models and simulators for electrical and/or mechanical systems to evaluate system performance, resilience, and cyber-physical risk.
• Conduct system-level analyses (e.g., controls, power system dynamics, fluid/thermo-mechanical behavior) to understand operational impacts of disturbances and adversarial events.
• Build analytic workflows for multi-modal, time-series datasets using numerical methods, statistics, and/or AI/ML approaches.
• Design and evaluate monitoring, detection, and anomaly-identification approaches for cyber-physical systems and critical infrastructure.
• Implement and maintain analysis code and prototypes (e.g., in Python and/or MATLAB), including verification, documentation, and reproducible workflows.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams; communicate results through briefings, reports, and technical discussions with stakeholders.

Applicants on this requisition may be interviewed by multiple organizations at Sandia National Laboratories.

Due to the nature of the work, the selected applicant must be able to work onsite.

$102,400 - $199,700

*Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate's experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.

• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline, or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and engineering or scientific experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform independent research and development.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q and SCI clearance which may require a polygraph test.

The ideal R&D S&E, Computer Engineering candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Graduate degree in Computer Science/Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Computer Forensics, Mathematics or a directly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience in one or more of the following: reverse engineering, software vulnerability assessment, web application assessment, computer networking, computer architecture, compilers, or similar computer security topics.
• Proficiency in scripting or high-level programming.
• Familiarity with secure-system design principles and information assurance principles.
• Excellent communication skills and a demonstrated ability to develop technical ideas and results and present them in oral and written form in a concise manner.

Also, for this posting we are seeking individuals with the following experience:

• Modeling & Simulation: Experience with physics-based simulators for electrical and/or mechanical systems, such as MATLAB/Simulink, Ansys, PSCAD, Power World, OPAL-RT, OpenDSS (or similar).
• System-Level Analysis: Experience applying system-level analysis techniques (e.g., control theory, power system analysis, fluid dynamics or comparable methods).
• Multi-Modal Time-Series Analysis: Multi-modal analysis experience with time-series data leveraging numerical analyses, statistical methods, and/or AI/ML approaches.
• Communication: Strong interpersonal communication abilities, including verbal and written communication skills.
• Hands-on technical cybersecurity experience/internships.
• Experience with cybersecurity research and/or publications of research papers.
• Power Systems Expertise: Power system steady-state and dynamic analysis and simulation experience.
• Cyber-Physical Security: Cyber-physical analysis and security experience for critical infrastructure systems, including cyber-physical system modeling, monitoring, and anomaly detection.
• AI/ML Applications: Experience applying AI/ML to critical infrastructure applications and datasets.
• Research Impact: At least one academic publication (conference or journal) and experience presenting technical findings at conferences/meetings.

As a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), Sandia National Laboratories is continually asked to help address the countrys most pressing national security needs. In the Threat Intelligence Center, the mission of the Information Operations Program is to assess, design, implement and influence the development of national security-related information systems and technologies in support of Defense and Intelligence customers and their national security missions.

When applying to this requisition, you may be interviewed and/or hired into one of several groups contributing to the Information Operations mission in the Threat Intelligence Center:

Cyber-Physical Mission R&D

The Cyber-Physical Mission R&D Group performs research and development to assess and protect Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). We maintain a wide variety of skillsets and capabilities, which enables us to analyze CPS from a system view down to individual components. We provide innovative research and development in the cyber-physical domain for national security missions.

• Cyber Resilience R&D is a capability organization tasked with establishing a methodology for designing resilient cyber systems based on rigorous analysis and measurement of system parameters. The end goal is to create resilient cyber systems that can execute required missions in a hostile cyber environment.
• Strategic Cyber Development is dedicated to conducting critical vulnerability research on industrial control systems, SCADA devices, and software to bolster our national security. We harness extensive expertise in embedded systems, computer science, data analytics, emulytics, and electrical engineering to provide exceptional support to our U.S. government partners. By fostering collaboration across various organizations, we form dynamic, interdisciplinary teams that are mission-focused and committed to delivering innovative, high-impact solutions.
• Systems Security Research stewards novel and rigorous approaches for the design, analysis and emulation of federated hardware and embedded software systems for the security of the U.S. government and partners. Our R&D protects existing and emergent technologies that enable national security and informs high-consequence decisions through applied research in the areas of trust, assurance, and modeling. We accomplish this by partnering across Sandia and with key government, academic and industrial collaborators.
• Critical Infrastructure Systems is dedicated to enhancing the security of critical infrastructure systems, particularly in the energy and communications sectors. By employing advanced modeling, simulation, and analysis techniques, the department assesses vulnerabilities within these systems and develops innovative solutions to mitigate risks associated with cyber threats. Through these efforts, the department plays a crucial role in safeguarding critical infrastructure, ensuring the reliability and security of essential services that support national security missions.

This posting will be open for application submissions for a minimum of three (3) calendar days, including the 'posting date'. Sandia reserves the right to extend the posting date at any time.

Sandia is required by DOE to conduct a pre-employment drug test and background review that includes checks of personal references, credit, law enforcement records, and employment/education verifications. Applicants for employment need to be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance and SCI access, both of which require US citizenship. SCI access may also require a polygraph examination. If you hold more than one citizenship (i.e., of the U.S. and another country), your ability to obtain these levels of access may be impacted.

Applicants offered employment with Sandia are subject to a federal background investigation to meet the requirements for access to classified information or matter if the duties of the position require a DOE security clearance. Substance abuse or illegal drug use, falsification of information, criminal activity, serious misconduct or other indicators of untrustworthiness can cause a clearance to be denied or terminated by the DOE, resulting in the inability to perform the duties assigned and subsequent termination of employment.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or veteran status and any other protected class under state or federal law.

If you have a Medical Portable Electronic Device (MedPED), such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, drug-releasing pump, hearing aids, or diagnostic equipment and other equipment for measuring, monitoring, and recording body functions such as heartbeat and brain waves, if employed by Sandia National Laboratories you may be required to comply with NNSA security requirements for MedPEDs.

If you have a MedPED and you are selected for an on-site interview at Sandia National Laboratories, there may be additional steps necessary to ensure compliance with NNSA security requirements prior to the interview date.