Cybersecurity Fundamentals & Investigations Subject Matter Expert (SME)

Company: SMX Services & Consulting, Inc.
Engagement: Florida Executive Office of the Governor – Office of the Chief Inspector General
RFQ: EOG-RFQ-27-05 / RFQ1827890S
Position Type: Contract / Project-Based
Period of Performance: September 2026 – June 2027
Location: United States / Remote with support for Florida OIG stakeholders
Pay Range: $100.50–$104.50 per hour, based on qualifications and experience
Citizenship Requirement: Must be a U.S. Citizen

Position Overview

SMX Services & Consulting, Inc. is seeking an experienced Cybersecurity Fundamentals & Investigations Subject Matter Expert (SME) to support a potential engagement with the State of Florida Executive Office of the Governor, Office of the Chief Inspector General.

The SME will help develop and deliver a structured capability-building program to strengthen the cyber-investigation and digital forensics competencies of Florida's Inspector General community.

The successful candidate must bring substantial practical cybersecurity and investigative expertise and be capable of translating complex technical concepts into training, investigative procedures, practical exercises, playbooks, templates, mentoring, and actionable guidance for government Inspector General personnel.

Key Responsibilities

The Cybersecurity & Investigations SME will support activities that may include:

• Develop and deliver progressive cybersecurity and cyber-investigative training for Inspector General personnel.

• Develop practical training exercises and scenario-based investigative activities.

• Provide technical instruction covering cybersecurity fundamentals, digital evidence, digital forensics, cyber investigations, and technology-enabled misconduct.

• Develop cyber-investigative playbooks and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

• Develop investigative tools, templates, checklists, and reference materials.

• Support assessments of OIG cyber-investigative maturity and capabilities.

• Provide cyber and artificial intelligence investigative mentoring and coaching.

• Support a statewide OIG cyber-investigations Community of Practice.

• Provide technical guidance for administrative investigations involving insider threats, unauthorized system access, misuse of government resources, data-handling violations, fraud, waste, abuse, and other technology-enabled misconduct.

• Support investigative approaches involving system logs, digital artifacts, cloud environments, mobile technologies, email and electronic communications.

• Provide guidance related to Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT).

• Assist investigators with appropriate evidence identification, preservation, documentation, and chain-of-custody practices.

• Support development of investigative interview techniques involving technology-enabled misconduct.

• Assist with preparation of clear, defensible investigative findings and reports.

• Address appropriate and ethical uses of artificial intelligence and automation in investigative activities.

• Participate in simulated administrative investigative scenarios used to test and validate developed playbooks and procedures.

• Assist with measurement of participant proficiency and identification of future workforce-development priorities.

Required Qualifications

Candidates should be able to demonstrate substantial experience in cybersecurity, digital forensics, cyber investigations, technology-enabled investigations, or closely related disciplines.

Of particular importance, candidates must be able to document:

• At least five years of experience conducting or supporting audits, inspections, investigations, or compliance reviews within federal, state, or local government environments.

• Experience supporting cybersecurity, digital-forensics, or cyber-investigative activities.

• Ability to develop and deliver cybersecurity or investigative training to professional audiences.

• Experience translating technical cybersecurity concepts into practical investigative procedures and guidance.

• Knowledge of digital evidence identification, handling, preservation, and investigative use.

• Understanding of insider-threat and unauthorized-access investigations.

• Knowledge of investigative uses of system logs and other digital artifacts.

• Familiarity with cloud, mobile, email, communications, and OSINT-related investigative considerations.

• Strong written communication and technical-documentation skills.

• Ability to develop professional playbooks, SOPs, templates, reference guides, training materials, and investigative exercises.

• Ability to mentor and coach government investigative personnel.

• Ability to communicate technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Government / Inspector General Experience

Strong preference will be given to candidates with direct experience supporting one or more of the following:

• Federal, state, or local Offices of Inspector General

• Government internal investigations

• Government internal audit or compliance organizations

• Administrative investigations

• Public-sector cybersecurity investigations

• Law-enforcement or investigative organizations

• Fraud, waste, and abuse investigations

• Insider-threat investigations

• Digital-forensics investigations

• Cybersecurity training for government investigators or oversight personnel

Candidates should clearly identify applicable government agencies, OIG organizations, investigative organizations, dates of service, responsibilities, and years of relevant experience in their résumé.

Desired Technical Knowledge

Relevant knowledge may include:

• Cybersecurity fundamentals

• Digital forensics

• Digital evidence and chain of custody

• Insider-threat investigations

• Unauthorized-access investigations

• Log and digital-artifact analysis

• Cloud investigations

• Mobile-device investigative concepts

• Email and electronic communications investigations

• Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT)

• Data-handling and information-security violations

• Fraud, waste, and abuse investigations

• Artificial intelligence and automation in investigations

• NIST cybersecurity concepts and frameworks

• Investigative documentation and report writing

Security and Eligibility Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.

• Must perform work from within the United States.

• Must be willing and able to satisfy applicable State of Florida background-screening requirements.

• The engagement may require FDLE Level II background screening depending on assigned duties.

• Candidate must comply with all applicable confidentiality, information security, privacy, and data-handling requirements.

• Additional security or privacy training may be required depending on access to protected government information.

Education and Certifications

Relevant education, cybersecurity certifications, digital-forensics certifications, investigative credentials, or comparable professional qualifications are desirable.

Candidates should identify all relevant credentials in their résumé, including cybersecurity, digital-forensics, fraud/investigation, audit, information-security, or related certifications.

Compensation

Target Pay Range: $100.50–$104.50 per hour.

Final compensation within this range will depend on demonstrated qualifications, government investigative experience, cybersecurity/digital-forensics expertise, training experience, certifications, and alignment with the engagement requirements.

This position is contingent upon contract award and final customer approval, as applicable.

How to Apply

Please submit a résumé that clearly demonstrates:

1. Total years of cybersecurity and cyber-investigative experience.

2. At least five years of applicable federal, state, or local government audit, inspection, investigation, or compliance experience.

3. Government agencies or public-sector organizations supported.

4. Cybersecurity/digital-forensics training experience.

5. Experience developing investigative playbooks, SOPs, templates, or similar materials.

6. Relevant cybersecurity, investigative, audit, fraud, or digital-forensics certifications.

7. Availability during the anticipated September 2026 through June 2027 period of performance.

SMX Services & Consulting, Inc. – GSA MAS Contract 47QTCA19D000F