Emerging Leaders in Cybersecurity Fellowship

Emerging Leaders in Cybersecurity Fellowship

The Emerging Leaders in Cybersecurity Fellowship is designed to develop the next generation of cyber leaders within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Fellows are recruited from the nation's top graduate programs to put their academic achievements, intellect, and professional experience to use during a critical time in American history. Emerging Leaders in Cybersecurity Fellows will receive leadership training and work side by side with experts in cybersecurity focusing on mission areas such as identification and analysis of malicious code, forensics analysis, incident handling, intrusion detection and prevention, and software assurance. Fellows will have the opportunity, through rotational assignments, to see how each component collaborates on cyber-related issues and work first-hand on critical issues or incidents. Candidates are encouraged to participate in the Cybersecurity Internship Program prior to applying for the Leaders Program.

Participants spend two years in the program, and then have the opportunity to attain a permanent position at the Department.

The skills obtained through this program will vary based on the format of each cohort. The summer 2012 cohort will focus on malware and forensics analysis.
To be eligible you must:

• Understand and be able to apply the principles of malware and forensics analysis 
• Have a basic or intermediate working knowledge of industry standard malware reverse engineering and forensic tool suites

Additional eligibility requirements are listed below.

National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD)

Washington, D.C.

First year: GS-11 ($62,467)
Second year: GS-12 ($74,872), pending satisfactory performance

To be considered you must:

• Be a U.S. citizen
• Be able to obtain and hold a security clearance
• Have a master's degree from an accredited university in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, Network Engineering, Software Engineering, Supply Chain, Information Assurance, Information Technology, Systems Research, Systems Applications, Information Systems, Information Security, Software Assurance, or Business with a specific concentration in one of the above; or 30 semester hours in a combination of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science
• Demonstrate oral and written communication skills
• Demonstrate project leadership ability

Candidates will be required to travel for up to one month on a temporary duty assignment. Additional travel may be required.

The application period is currently closed and will resume in September 2012.

To request an application during the application period, please e-mail cybersecurityfellow@hq.dhs.gov:

Applicants must encrypt all required documents and create a zip file that is password protected. Once a zip file with the required documents (application form, resume, transcript, and proof of citizenship) has been created, applicants must send the password in a separate e-mail. Applicants will send a total of two e-mails to the cybersecurityfellow@hq.dhs.gov inbox. The first e-mail will include the zip file of the required documents and the second e-mail will include only the password to the zip file. For instructions on how to encrypt and password protect zip files, please e-mail cybersecurityfellow@hq.dhs.gov.

Only completed application packages containing the required documents listed above will be considered. When submitting your complete package, please type “[Your Name]-Application Package” in the subject line of your email.

Cyber Fellowship Coordinator:

If you have additional questions, please email the Student Entry Level Programs in Cyber Coordinator at cybersecurityfellow@hq.dhs.gov with "Emerging Leaders in Cybersecurity Fellowship" in the subject line.

If you work for a college or university and seek more information on how to participate during recruitment season, please email cybersecurityjobs@hq.dhs.gov with “Career Services” in the subject line.

Please visit Careers in Cybersecurity for more information on opportunities in Cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security.