Digital Forensic Specialist

These positions are located in Olympia, Washington, and are represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE).

About the role

Expert-level positions within the Medicaid Fraud & Abuse Division’s (MFAD) Digital Forensics Section, serving as forensic specialists in the Olympia Digital Forensics Laboratory and MFAD mobile labs. Responsibilities include applying research, method modification, or unique approaches to complex digital forensic casework, forensic acquisition, and advanced data analysis while ensuring legal defensibility, evidentiary integrity, and compliance with applicable forensic, data governance, and laboratory standards.

Responsibilities

• Respond to requests for digital forensics assistance at search warrant sites across Washington state and in the laboratory.
• Identify, preserve, acquire, validate, analyze, extract, and document electronically stored information (ESI) obtained through legal process, using multiple forensic acquisition methods to collect and preserve structured and unstructured data from diverse digital sources, including computers, mobile devices, IoT devices, and removable media.
• Perform highly complex analyses of digital evidence from computers, mobile devices, cloud services, IoT devices, network traffic, and other storage media. Interpret complex datasets, identify patterns and anomalies, and reconstruct events from multiple evidence sources.
• Document and protect evidence according to laboratory procedures, ensuring the chain of custody is maintained.
• Prepare forensic reports of digital evidence in written laboratory reports based on the interpretation of observations and analytical test results.
• Provide assistance with civil and criminal prosecutions and testify in court as a subject matter expert in digital forensics.
• Facilitate technical training on relevant digital forensics topics.
• Maintain quality processes and ensure operational compliance with all certifications, accreditation, legal standards, and requirements.
• Design, develop, and maintain digital forensic acquisition, analysis, and laboratory systems.

Forensic Scientist 3 (Digital Forensic Specialist)

Pay

Salary Range (66): $82,440 - $110,952 (Effective 7/1/26)

Requirements

• Five (5) years of experience in digital forensics or a related technical or quantitative field with at least two (2) years of technical experience working in a forensic lab.
• A Bachelor’s degree in forensic science or a closely related field may substitute for two (2) years of experience.

Forensic Scientist 4 (Digital Forensic Specialist)

This role serves as the forensic technical lead, directing operations in the Olympia Digital Forensics Lab and MFAD mobile labs.

Pay

Salary Range (68): $86,688 - $116,544 (Effective 7/1/26)

Additional Responsibilities

• Independently operate as the forensic technical lead at multiple search warrant sites, often occurring simultaneously across Washington state.
• Maintain and run a mobile laboratory during onsite search warrants, ensuring compliance with certification, accreditation, legal standards, and requirements.
• Assign, audit, and correct the casework of new digital forensics personnel in all laboratory and field settings.
• Authorized to direct and stop casework processes at any time if a problem occurs in the laboratory, mobile laboratory, or field.
• Use forensic techniques, programming languages, and develop queries to identify and recover hidden, encrypted, unparsed, or deleted information related to cases.

Requirements

• Six (6) years of experience in digital forensics or a closely related field with at least four (4) years of technical experience working in a lead role in a forensic lab and testifying in a court of law.
• A Bachelor’s degree in forensic science or a closely related field may substitute for two (2) years of experience in digital forensics.

Benefits

Washington State offers one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation, including:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents.
• Vacation, sick leave, and 11 paid holidays per year.
• Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) plans.
• Life insurance.
• Dependent Care Assistance and Flexible Spending Accounts.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Tuition Waiver.
• Deferred Compensation and Employee Recognition Leave.
• Flexible schedules and part-time/hybrid telework options.
• Wellness Program, Infants in the Workplace Program, and Employee Assistance Program (counseling, webinars, and cost-free support resources).
• Numerous employee-driven affinity groups (e.g., Bereavement, Elder Care, Parenting, POC, LGBTQ+, Veterans).

About the Medicaid Fraud & Abuse Division

The Medicaid Fraud & Abuse Division (MFAD) focuses on criminal and civil law enforcement, combating provider fraud, abuse, and neglect in residential facilities and involving Medicaid recipients in non-institutional settings. MFAD is 75% federally funded and protects the Medicaid program, which has an annual budget of roughly $22.9 billion, as well as its most vulnerable persons, including elderly individuals in residential facilities or those abused or neglected by a Medicaid provider.

MFAD’s cases often involve no precedent, placing the division at the cutting edge of legal theories and issues. Cases range from abuse and neglect in nursing homes to large-scale organized individual and corporate civil and criminal fraudulent activity, as well as national whistleblower actions.

The division is headquartered in Olympia, Washington, with additional team members in Spokane and Seattle offices. MFAD employs 84 FTEs, including attorneys, special agents, data scientists, clinical health investigators, and professional support staff. Digital Forensics Specialists provide specialized technical expertise on cases involving digital evidence, contributing to a highly professional, analytical, and collaborative team atmosphere.