Senior Cybersecurity Full Stack Development Researcher

Posting TitleSenior Cybersecurity Full Stack Development Researcher

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LocationCO - Golden

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Position TypeRegular

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Hours Per Week40

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Working at NRELNREL is located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Golden, Colorado is the nation's primary laboratory for energy systems research and development.

Join NREL, where world-class scientists, engineers, and experts are accelerating energy innovation through breakthrough research and systems integration. From our mission to our collaborative culture, NREL stands out in the research community for its commitment to an affordable and secure energy future. Spanning foundational science to applied systems engineering and analysis, we focus on solving complex challenges to deliver advanced, secure, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions. Our work helps strengthen U.S. industries, support job creation, and promote national economic growth.

At NREL, you’ll find a mission-driven environment supported by state-of-the-art facilities, multidisciplinary research teams, and strong collaborations with industry, academia, and other national laboratories. We offer robust professional development opportunities, and a competitive benefits package designed to support your career and well-being.

Job Description

The Cybersecurity System Analysis Group (CSAG) within NREL’s Cybersecurity Research Center performs research cybersecurity research on integrated energy systems with the goal of building resiliency and reducing risk across the energy sector. This is primarily accomplished through engaging with various partners to model and simulate energy systems to conduct research. Research areas include threat to consequence risk analysis, hardware & software security, supply chain security, and testing and evaluation.

Researchers within CSAG have the opportunity to drive NREL research in energy system security and advance a rapidly growing cybersecurity portfolio. Team members work to utilize and build capability of the best-in-class ARIES Cyber Range to deploy applicable largescale test environments, perform hardware-in-the-loop technology experiments, and collaborate with other laboratory and government partners.

CSAG is seeking an experienced senior cybersecurity research and developer professional to lead various cybersecurity research portfolios relating to NREL’s ARIES Cyber Range. The successful candidate will demonstrate a deep knowledge of full stack software development, offensive and defensive cybersecurity principals, as well as an ability to accomplish strategic and technical research objectives, directly task and coordinate on-site resources and individual contributors, collaborate with partners from across national labs, the Department of Energy, industry, and national security partners.

Key Research Responsibilities:

Researcher VI

• Define and build the technical capabilities of the ARIES Cyber Range in order to advance modeling and simulation capabilities, reference architectures, threat-to-consequence analysis, and testing and evaluation.
• Defines and advances the laboratory’s strategic research vision for cybersecurity of critical infrastructure and energy systems.
• Leads the conception, design, and execution of complex, multi-organizational, or multi-disciplinary projects.
• Develops new research directions, scientific approaches, or technologies that shape the state of the art, to include software tool development and R&D.
• Represent NREL as the technical leader for the ARIES Cyber Range as well as the principal investigator for other large projects and programs
• Drives proposal strategy, identifies new sponsor opportunities, and secures external funding through established relationships with DOE program offices (e.g., DOE CESER) and energy-sector partners.
• Represents the organization in national-level forums, panels, and collaborations.
• Provides mentorship and technical leadership to senior staff and serves as an advisor on organizational priorities.
• Advance rigor, innovation, and impact of NREL’s cybersecurity research.
• Lead cyber business development efforts by aligning focus with the ARIES Cyber Range strategy.

Researcher V

• Contribute to and enhance the technical capabilities of the ARIES Cyber Range in order to advance modeling and simulation capabilities, reference architectures, threat-to-consequence analysis, and testing and evaluation.
• Leads significant projects or research tasks, ensuring technical excellence, timely delivery, and effective coordination among team members.
• Represent NREL by being the technical lead for large projects and programs which includes establishing research plans and processes, performing hands-on research, tasking other technical researchers, and presenting research results.
• Contributes to the development of new methods, tools, and approaches, and provides mentorship to less experienced staff.
• Collaborates with sponsors, DOE program offices, and energy-sector stakeholders to execute funded projects.
• Support cyber business development efforts by aligning focus with the ARIES Cyber Range strategy.
• Build research collaborations with the energy industry, other DOE labs and national security partners.

This position builds and develops novel cybersecurity research and research areas as it pertains to existing and emerging energy systems. Researchers are responsible for creating innovative solutions and applying technical expertise to deliver impactful research and development to aid the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure.

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Basic QualificationsResearcher VI
Relevant PhD and 15 or more years of experience . Or, relevant Master's Degree and 18 or more years of experience . Or, relevant Bachelor's Degree and 20 or more years of experience . Exhibits an exceptional degree of ingenuity, creativity, and resourcefulness. Apply and/or develop highly advanced technologies, scientific principles, theories and concepts. Viewed as an international expert within the field. Demonstrates leadership of complex technical projects. Project management competence. Demonstrated management of complex and/or high impact projects. Outstanding technical writing, interpersonal and communication skills.
Researcher V
Relevant PhD and 9 or more years of experience . Or, relevant Master's Degree and 12 or more years of experience . Or, relevant Bachelor's Degree and 14 or more years of experience . Applies advanced scientific technical principles, theories and concepts. Contributes to the development of new principles and concepts. Considered a national subject matter expert. Demonstrates leadership in a number of areas, including all team, task and/or project lead responsibilities. Demonstrated management of complex and/or impactful projects. Excellent technical writing, interpersonal and communication skills.

* Must meet educational requirements prior to employment start date.

Additional Required Qualifications

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a DOE security clearance at the Q/TS/SCI level. A polygraph may be required.  Eligibility requirements: To obtain a clearance, an individual must be at least 18 years of age; U.S. citizenship is required except in very limited circumstances. See DOE O 472.2A  for additional information
• Deep experience using relevant cybersecurity standards and tools included but not limited to MITRE ATT&CK Framework, NIST CSF, detection tools, penetration testing and red teaming tools, and encryption
• Expert knowledge of technical field and related disciplines
• Experience leading and mentoring technical teams
• Expert understanding and application of project management principles, concepts, practices, and standards
• Exhibits an exceptional degree of ingenuity, creativity, resourcefulness, and teamwork
• Ability to travel as needed up to 10%

Level VI also requires

• Existing relationships within DOE program offices (e.g., DOE CESER) and/or the energy sector space with a focus on electric utilities, and demonstrated ability to leverage those relationships to create new collaborations and opportunities.
• Experience working with Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC) with a preference in DOE National Laboratories

Preferred Qualifications

Researcher V

• The ideal candidate will have existing relationships within DOE program offices (e.g., DOE CESER) and/or within the energy sector, particularly with a focus on electric utilities.

• Experience working with Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), with a preference for DOE National Laboratories, is highly desirable.

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Job Application Submission Window

The anticipated closing window for application submission is up to 30 days and may be extended as needed.

Annual Salary Range (based on full-time 40 hours per week)Job Profile: Researcher VI / Annual Salary Range: $169,000 - $304,200

Job Profile: Researcher V / Annual Salary Range: $140,900 - $253,600

NREL takes into consideration a candidate’s education, training, and experience, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value, including seniority and merit systems, and internal pay alignment when determining the salary level for potential new employees. In compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, a potential new employee’s salary history will not be used in compensation decisions.

Benefits SummaryBenefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; short*- and long-term disability insurance; pension benefits*; 403(b) Employee Savings Plan with employer match*; life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance; personal time off (PTO) and sick leave; paid holidays; and tuition reimbursement*. NREL employees may be eligible for, but are not guaranteed, performance-, merit-, and achievement- based awards that include a monetary component. Some positions may be eligible for relocation expense reimbursement. Limited-term positions are not eligible for long-term disability or tuition reimbursement.

* Based on eligibility rules

Badging RequirementNREL is subject to Department of Energy (DOE) access restrictions. All employees must also be able to obtain and maintain a federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card as required by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which includes a favorable background investigation.

Drug Free Workplace

NREL is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace in accordance with the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act and complies with federal laws prohibiting the possession and use of illegal drugs. Under federal law, marijuana remains an illegal drug.

If you are offered employment at NREL, you must pass a pre-employment drug test prior to commencing employment. Unless prohibited by state or local law, the pre-employment drug test will include marijuana. If you test positive on the pre-employment drug test, your offer of employment may be withdrawn.

Submission Guidelines

Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any position at NREL you must submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified. Applications are not kept on file for future positions. Please include a cover letter and resume with each position application.

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Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard basis of age (40 and over), color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic partner status, military or veteran status, national origin/ancestry, race, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding), sexual orientation, and any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Reasonable Accommodations

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