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About CSE

The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) is Canada’s agency responsible for foreign signals intelligence, cyber operations and cyber security. Learn more about our mission.

CSE is committed to fostering a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion. This isn’t just an ideal, it’s crucial to our mission. Find out about our workplace culture, including our diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Become part of our team and you’ll understand why CSE is the most important organization you’ve never heard of.

Job summary

CSE is currently looking to fulfill various roles within a Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT). As a CSIRT Analyst, you’ll work in partnership with the many cyber defender communities to defend and protect critical Government of Canada systems as well as provide advice, guidance, and services to organizations within Canada’s Critical Infrastructure sectors.

This selection process will be used to fill a variety of positions within the CSIRT. These positions include:

• Incident Handler: You’ll work with Government of Canada and partners in critical infrastructure to notify, investigate, analyze, and respond to cyber incidents within our constituencies.
• Digital Forensics and Incident Responder: You‘ll analyze digital evidence and investigate computer security incidents to derive useful information in support of system/network vulnerability mitigation.
• Vulnerability Analyst: You’ll synthesize data from technical scans and intelligence sources to prioritize vulnerabilities for public advisories and mitigation. You’ll create public alerts and advisories on critical vulnerabilities to notify the public and organizations of risks and patches, and become a subject matter expert on vulnerabilities and threat surface in Canada.
• Cyber Threat Analyst: You’ll collect and analyze multi-source intelligence to identify emerging cyber threats, produce actionable threat assessments, and develop automation to streamline responses such as victim notifications and URL takedowns. You’ll proactively discover threats, share intelligence with internal and external stakeholders, and continuously evaluate outcomes to enhance national cybersecurity.
• Cyber Defenders and Community Engagement Analyst: You’ll develop and evolve CSIRT engagements. You’ll also discuss cyber threat information with stakeholders and lead key engagements with industry and other departments on corrective measures and recommendations to ensure the partner’s cyber resilience.

When applying to this selection process, candidates will be asked to select which positions they would like to be considered for. Matching applicants to the best hiring groups will be based on a combination of the candidate’s interest and organizational needs.

Salary

To find out more about our salary scale, vacation allowances and benefits (health, dental & pension plans, etc.) visit the Compensation page on our website.

Area of selection

Open to Canadian citizens.

Location

The majority of our jobs are in Ottawa, Ontario. CSE has two accessible facilities. Flexible work arrangements, including telework for a portion of the work week, may be possible.

Conditions of employment

Enhanced Top Secret (ETS) security clearance is a condition of employment that must be met before an offer can be made.

More information about our hiring and security processes can be found on our website.

Essential qualifications

In order to be considered, your cover letter must clearly explain how you meet the following education and experience requirements.

Education

You must have either one of the following:

• A university degree in a field related to the position, such as (but not limited to) computer science, information technology; or
• An acceptable combination of experience and education (college diploma) in a field related to the position (as above).

Note: The educational program must be recognized in Canada, and you must be able to provide proof of education credentials. Students graduating within the next twelve months are eligible to apply.

Experience

Recent experience* in at least one of the following IT practices:

• IT security technology
• Application security
• Network security
• IT security architecture & design
• Cyber security analysis
• IT system development and/or maintenance
• IT Security incident handling
• IT system vulnerability assessment
• Digital Forensics and Incident Response
• Software development
• Data analysis

*Note: For the purposes of this hiring process, “recent” is defined as experience having normally been acquired within the last five years for a period of at least twelve months.

Official language requirements

English essential

Competencies

The following technical, behavioural and leadership competencies will be assessed at a later date. You do not need to include information about them in your application.

Technical competencies

• Knowledge of IT: Possesses a generalist’s knowledge of all areas in IT, including but not limited to: Software application development, data storage systems, IT security, IT architecture, system administration, networking, and telecommunications.
• Cyber Security: Knowledge of detection, exploitation, and mitigation techniques.
• Knowledge of Malicious Internet Activity: Understanding the inner workings of the internet and technology to defend/detect against malicious internet activity.

Behavioural competencies

• Cognitive Thinking Skills: Responding to challenges with innovative solutions, products, or services by questioning conventional means, using intuition, experimentation and fresh perspectives; understanding, analyzing, synthesizing and relating complex information and abstract variables.
• Interactive Communication: Communicating in a compelling, honest, persuasive, effective, and articulate manner, thinking about who you need to communicate with, ensuring the message is clear, understood and consistent with CSE objectives.

Leadership competencies

• Collaboration: Build relationships with traditional & non-traditional partners & stakeholders to develop solutions that reflect the interests of the organization.
• Change and Innovation: Create a culture where flexibility & openness to new ideas are encouraged. Lead transformation with courage & conviction.
• Achieving Results: Deliver on commitments through actions that reflect personal accountability, sound judgement, decisiveness and business acumen.

Assets

Assets are “nice-to-have” expertise and skills we’re interested in. They may be used to identify which team you could best complement, or they may be invoked as a volume management strategy.

Please demonstrate on your application if you meet or possess the asset experience listed below.

Asset experience

• Experience in Cloud Technologies
• Experience in scripting or automation.
• Experience in Python development.
• Experience in data processing and analysis.
• Experience in Malware Reverse Engineering
• Experience in detection engineering.
• Experience in a Government of Canada cyber security role
• Experience engaging with international partners in the realm of Cyber Security.

Asset competencies

The following asset technical, behavioural and leadership competencies will be assessed at a later date. You do not need to include information about them in your application.

Asset technical competencies

• Cyber Forensic Analysis: Collect, process, preserve, analyze, and present digital media evidence in support of network vulnerability mitigation and/or criminal, fraud, counterintelligence, foreign intelligence, or law enforcement investigations. The analysis of digital evidence and investigation of computer security incidents to derive useful information in support of system/network vulnerability mitigation and exploitation.
• Application Development: Knowledge and ability to design, define, construct, enhance, support and maintain application software on one or more platforms.
• Network Analysis: Understand networks to identify, develop and implement network exploitation solutions.

Operational requirements

Overtime, occasional travel and standby duty may be required.

How to apply

You may submit your candidacy online by selecting “Apply” at the top or bottom of this page.

If you cannot apply online or have a disability preventing you from applying online, please inform us by email at careers-carrieres@cse-cst.gc.ca prior to the closing date of this hiring process.

Important information

We ask you to not discuss your application with others (including on social media) besides your partner, or close family members - who should also be reminded about the need to be discreet.

Assessments of candidates are conducted in the official language of their choice.

To address CSE’s current representation gaps, priority may be given to persons who self-declare as belonging to one, or more, designated employment equity groups: women; Indigenous peoples, including First Nations who are status, or registered and non-status, or non-registered, Inuit and Métis; persons with disabilities, including people with a mental health condition and neurodivergent people; and persons from racial or ethnic groups.

Please note the Employment Equity Act, which is under review, uses the terminology Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities.

CSE offers an assessment process that will accommodate any reasonable measures you require to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner. Those measures are available to all candidates during our processes. Information you provide will be addressed confidentially.

The level of competence demonstrated in the various assessments will be used to determine your qualifications for the UNMA-07, UNMA-08, or UNMA-09 levels.

All communications with CSE relating to this process, including email messages and telephone conversations, may be used in the assessment of qualifications.

The intent of this process is to fill vacant positions at CSE. The process may also be used to establish a pool of qualified candidates which could be used to staff similar or identical positions with various tenures.

Due to the nature of CSE’s mandate certain roles may expose employees to content that is difficult to process. Mental health is a priority at CSE and if any personnel feel they require assistance to preserve their mental wellbeing, they have access to services, tools and other resources to help them in both their personal and professional lives.

Please note that in an effort to maintain balance between employee development and business needs, candidates who are hired at CSE must remain in their substantive position for a minimum of twelve (12) months subject to operational requirements.

We thank you for your interest in CSE. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.