Early Career Cybersecurity - OT/ICS Cybersecurity Engineer, Onsite

Summary

Sandia National Laboratories is the nation’s premier science and engineering lab for national security and technology innovation. They are seeking early-career cybersecurity scientists and engineers to engage in research focused on securing critical infrastructure against cyber threats, developing new technologies, and conducting rigorous analyses.

Responsibilities

• 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

Skills

• 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
• 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
• Experience with physics-based simulators for electrical and/or mechanical systems, such as MATLAB/Simulink, Ansys, PSCAD, PowerWorld, OPAL-RT, OpenDSS (or similar)
• Experience applying system-level analysis techniques (e.g., control theory, power system analysis, fluid dynamics or comparable methods)
• Multi-modal analysis experience with time-series data leveraging numerical analyses, statistical methods, and/or AI/ML approaches
• Hands-on technical cybersecurity experience/internships
• Power system steady-state and dynamic analysis and simulation experience
• Cyber-physical analysis and security experience for critical infrastructure systems, including cyber-physical system modeling, monitoring, and anomaly detection
• At least one academic publication (conference or journal) and experience presenting technical findings at conferences/meetings
• Active DOE Q-level and SCI security clearance or equivalent (e.g., DOD Top Secret/SCI)

Qualifications

Must Haves

• 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

Nice to Haves

• 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
• Experience with physics-based simulators for electrical and/or mechanical systems, such as MATLAB/Simulink, Ansys, PSCAD, PowerWorld, OPAL-RT, OpenDSS (or similar)
• Experience applying system-level analysis techniques (e.g., control theory, power system analysis, fluid dynamics or comparable methods)
• Multi-modal analysis experience with time-series data leveraging numerical analyses, statistical methods, and/or AI/ML approaches
• Hands-on technical cybersecurity experience/internships
• Power system steady-state and dynamic analysis and simulation experience
• Cyber-physical analysis and security experience for critical infrastructure systems, including cyber-physical system modeling, monitoring, and anomaly detection
• At least one academic publication (conference or journal) and experience presenting technical findings at conferences/meetings
• Active DOE Q-level and SCI security clearance or equivalent (e.g., DOD Top Secret/SCI)

Benefits

• 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
• These benefits vary by job classification.