Summary
Our adversaries and cyber criminals continue to push limits in cyberspace, creating more national security threats than we have ever seen. In order to ensure the United States maintains its strategic edge in cyberspace, NSA is looking for Computer Network Defense Analysts who are highly skilled, want to stay on the leading edge of technology and are impassioned about ensuring the security of our nation.
Duties
Computer Network Defense Analysts work in multiple organizations at NSA and are primarily responsible for finding vulnerabilities, delivering analyses, crafting mitigations, developing cybersecurity products, and educating our customers to prevent and eradicate the cyber threats to the Defense Industrial Base, critical infrastructures and U.S. National Security Systems - to include NSA's own information systems and networks assets. They apply technical expertise to provide computer network defense capabilities, continuous monitoring, technical analysis, situational awareness, and incident response for highest classified capabilities systems, and data in our Nation.
Depending on their experience and preferences, Computer Network Defense Analysts are hired into position directly supporting a technical Cybersecurity mission office or into a development program like the Intrusion Analyst Skill Development Program (IASDP) or the Cybersecurity Operations Development Program (CSODP). These development programs are roughly 3 years in length and combine formal training and diverse work assignments.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- All applicants and employees are subject to random drug testing in accordance with Executive Order 12564. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a security background investigation and polygraph.
Qualifications
The qualifications listed are the minimum acceptable to be considered for the position.
Degree must be in Network Engineering, Systems Engineering, Information Technology or related field (e.g. General Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Forensics, Cyber Security, Software Engineering, Information Assurance, or Computer Security).
Relevant experience must be in one or more of the following: computer or information systems design/development, programming, information/cyber/network security, vulnerability analysis, penetration testing, computer forensics, information assurance, systems engineering, network administration. If not credited toward education requirement, completion of military training in a relevant area such as JCAC (Joint Cyber Analysis course), Undergraduate Cyber Training (UCT), Network Warfare Bridge Course (WNBC)/Intermediate Network Warfare Training (INWT), Cyber Defense Operations will be considered towards the relevant experience requirement (i.e., 20-24 weeks course will count as 6 months of experience, 10-14 weeks will count as 3 months of experience).
ENTRY/DEVELOPMENTAL
Entry is with a Bachelor's degree and no experience. The following may also be considered for individuals with in-depth experience that is clearly related to the position: an Associate's degree plus 2 years of relevant experience; or at least 18 semester hours of military coursework/training in networking, computer science, or cyber topics plus 2 years of relevant experience.
FULL PERFORMANCE
Entry is with a Bachelor's degree plus 3 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 1 year of relevant experience, or a Doctoral degree and no experience. The following may also be considered for individuals with in-depth experience that is clearly related to the position: an Associate's degree plus 5 years of relevant experience; or at least 18 semester hours of military coursework/training in networking, computer science, or cyber topics plus 5 years of relevant experience.
SENIOR
Entry is with a Bachelor's degree plus 6 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 4 year of relevant experience, or a Doctoral degree plus 2 years of relevant experience. The following may also be considered for individuals with in-depth experience that is clearly related to the position: an Associate's degree plus 8 years of relevant experience; or at least 18 semester hours of military coursework/training in networking, computer science, or cyber topics plus 8 years of relevant experience.
EXPERT
Entry is with a Bachelor's degree plus 9 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 7 year of relevant experience, or a Doctoral degree plus 5 years of relevant experience. The following may also be considered for individuals with in-depth experience that is clearly related to the position: an Associate's degree plus 11 years of relevant experience; or at least 18 semester hours of military coursework/training in networking, computer science, or cyber topics plus 11 years of relevant experience.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
As a Cybersecurity Computer Network Defense Analyst, you will hone your technical proficiencies in multiple areas, as noted below:
- Network analysis
- Network protocol analysis
- Network Signature development (Including Snort and Suricata signatures)
- Operating system administration (Windows and Unix/Linux)
- Network Security
-Incident response
- Computer and network forensics
- Network administration
- Vulnerability and malware analysis
- Software reverse engineering (including familiarly with tools like Ghidra, IDA Pro, etc.)
- Low level protocol and packet analysis
- Scripting and/or programming (examples include Python, C, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, SQL, Lua, etc.)
Ideal candidates for all positions are inquisitive and tenacious, with solid decision-making skills and the ability to react quickly, all while thriving in a team environment.
Required Documents
The National Security Agency (NSA) is part of the DoD Intelligence Community Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS). All positions in the NSA are in the Excepted Services under 10 United States Codes (USC) 1601 appointment authority. DoD Components with DCIPS positions apply Veterans' Preference to eligible candidates as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 USC, in accordance with the procedures provided in DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 2005, DCIPS Employment and Placement. If you are a veteran claiming veterans' preference, as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 U.S.C., you may be asked to submit documents verifying your eligibility.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
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