CERT Lead

ABOUT THE ROLE The New York City Cyber Command, within the Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI), seeks a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Lead. This role serves as a cybersecurity Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) practitioner guiding the development, enhancement, and execution of the citywide incident response mandate. The CERT Lead acts as the top-level technical escalation point for high-profile cybersecurity incidents impacting City agencies, leading a team of DFIR specialists in malware analysis, digital forensics, campaign assessments, and threat hunts. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES - Assist NYC agencies in improving cyber incident response. - Serve as the escalation point for high-profile cybersecurity incidents, ensuring 24x7 operational readiness. - Prioritize incident response activities and coordinate efforts among City departments and external partners. - Lead, mentor, and manage the CERT team personnel, consisting of six DFIR specialists. - Act as lead subject matter expert in investigating incidents through log, file, and malware analysis. - Perform memory, network, and disk forensics. - Lead investigations and incident response activities across enterprise cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP). - Devise appropriate remediation strategies and assist affected agencies in containing, eradicating, and recovering from incidents. - Develop post-incident action plans to improve mean time to recover. - Maintain knowledge of current cyber threat campaigns and tradecraft. - Identify cyber-incident detection tools and capabilities, and work with intelligence teams to proactively deploy countermeasures. - Design and participate in cyber tabletop exercises with City departments to identify capability gaps and procedural weaknesses. - Continuously improve CERT capabilities and handle special projects as assigned. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and four years of satisfactory full-time experience related to projects and policies required by the particular position; or 2. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to the above. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS - Must be available to coordinate CERT incident response activities 24x7, which may require working various shifts, including weekends and/or nights/evenings. - Preferred: Strong communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills with the ability to make informed decisions and foster a collaborative environment. - Preferred: Possession of one or more relevant certifications (e.g., CISSP, GCFE, GCFA, GCIA, GCIH, GREM, GCFR). - Preferred: Deep technical expertise in incident response and threat detection in public cloud environments (Azure, AWS, GCP) and SaaS platforms (Office 365, Google Workspace). - Preferred: Experience in SOC, CSIRT, or CERT environments, including reviewing security events, network packet analysis, and IDS/IPS technologies. - Preferred: Experience in website and web application security assessment or penetration testing. - Preferred: Formal education or strong background in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or similar field. - Preferred: Active knowledge of current trends in computer security, software/hardware vulnerabilities, and security research. - Preferred: Experience conducting malware analysis, automation/scripting (Python, Bash, Powershell), intrusion analysis, and digital forensics across multiple operating systems (Windows, Linux, OS X). SELECTION PROCESS - No Exam Required. - Title classification: Non-Competitive-5. - Appointments are subject to oversight approval. - OTI participates in E-Verify. HOW TO APPLY - Apply through www.cityjobs.nyc.gov and search for Job ID 773685. - Applications are accepted until 11/01/2026. - Interested applicants with other civil service titles who meet the preferred requirements should also submit a resume for consideration. - Note: Submission of a resume is not a guarantee that you will receive an interview. EMPLOYMENT DETAILS - Department: Technology & Innovation, Threat Management - Location: Brooklyn, NY (2 Metro Tech) - Employment Type: Full-Time - Number of Positions: 1 - Experience Level: Experienced (Non-Manager), Job Level 00 - Residency Requirement: New York City Residency is not required for this position. - Benefits: May be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness and state repayment assistance programs. - The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce free from discrimination and harassment.