This position is part of the National Institute of Standards (NIST) Professional Research Experience (PREP) program. NIST recognizes that its research staff may wish to collaborate with researchers at academic institutions on specific projects of mutual interest, thus requires that such institutions must be the recipient of a PREP award. The PREP program requires staff from a wide range of backgrounds to work on scientific research in many areas. Employees in this position will perform technical work that underpins the scientific research of the collaboration.
Research Title:
Reactor Operational Technology Cybersecurity
The work will entail:
The student will work with the NIST Center for Neutron Research’s (NCNR’s) Reactor Engineering staff to maintain and improve the cybersecurity framework of the NBS Reactor (NBSR).
Key responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Assessing and evaluating the cybersecurity posture of the NBSR Reactor Control Systems for vulnerabilities and risk.
- Configuring industrial firewalls to satisfy zero-trust cybersecurity models.
- Implementing procedures for cybersecurity vulnerability identification and testing for proposed digital systems to be integrated into the reactor.
- Interpret guidance from Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), with assistance from NCNR engineering, and incorporate those recommendations into the NBSR Reactor Control Systems cybersecurity framework to be developed.
- Assist in writing academic publications, technical reports or engineering documentation on the cybersecurity projects.
Qualifications
- Pursuing a degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. Graduate degree students are encouraged to apply.
- 1 year of relevant experience.
- Familiarity with cybersecurity penetration testing.
- Familiarity with multiple scripting languages.
- Ability to develop prototypes of cybersecurity tools and testing procedures.
Strong oral and written communication skills.
Privacy Act Statement
Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)
Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) which is designed to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduates, post-bachelor’s degree holders, graduate students, master’s degree holders, postdocs, and faculty.
PREP is a 5-year cooperative agreement between NIST laboratories and participating PREP Universities to establish a collaborative research relationship between NIST and U.S. institutions of higher education in the following disciplines including (but may not be limited to) biochemistry, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, engineering, electronics, materials science, mathematics, nanoscale science, neutron science, physical science, physics, and statistics. This collection of information is needed to facilitate the administrative functions of the PREP Program.
Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: NIST-1: NIST Associates.
Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary. When you submit the form, you are indicating your voluntary consent for NIST to use of the information you submit for the purpose stated.
SURA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that no one should be discriminated against because of their differences, such as age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, religion, or sexual orientation. All employment decisions shall be made without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status, or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law.
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