Electronic Forensic Analyst

Salary: See Position Description
Location : Hastings, MN
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number: 51023.26.001
Department: County Sheriff
Opening Date: 10/09/2026
Closing Date: 10/22/2026 4:30 PM Central

General Description

POSTING TYPE: Open Competitive
DEPARTMENT: Sheriff's Office
HOURS: Full-time
SALARY RANGE: $73,515-$114,868 /year (Grade Level 108)
LOCATION: Hastings Law Enforcement Center
UNION: None
CLOSE DATE: 4:30 p.m. on 10/22/2026

Do you possess the skills to analyze advanced and specialized forensic evidence related to potential criminal activities? Are you capable of conducting searches on various equipment, including computer hard drives, cell phones, and other digital media? Can you perform forensic examinations on seized digital storage media systems and provide investigative and technical guidance regarding related digital evidence? Can you continuously analyze technology trends and integrate proven forensic investigation techniques and supporting technologies into your work? In this position, you will join the Dakota County Sheriff's Office as a key member of the Dakota County Electronic Crimes Task Force, collaborating closely with colleagues on a wide range of complex criminal investigations.
Minimum Qualifications
• Bachelor's Degree. Preferred in Digital Forensics, Computer Science, Computer Engineering or related field.
AND
• 2 years of experience working in forensic technology involving computer forensics, electronic discovery and technical investigations.
OR
• An equivalent combination of education and experience to equal 6 years.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS BEYOND MINIMUM REQUIRED:
• Certified Forensic Computer Examiner certifications.
• Understanding / experience in criminal law.
• Experience with digital forensic software such as Cellebrite products, Magnet Forensic products, X-Ways Forensics, etc.

*Pursuant to Dakota County Policy, this position is designated as Safety Sensitive. "Safety-sensitive position" means a position, including any supervisory or management position, in which impairment caused by drug, alcohol, or cannabis use would threaten the health and safety of any person as defined in Minnesota Statutes Section 181.950, subdivision 13.
Duties & Responsibilities
These examples do not include all possible tasks in this work and do not limit the assignment of related tasks in any position of this classification. Regular attendance according to the position's management approved work schedule is required for all positions.
1. Performs a variety of specialized computer forensics and electronic discovery services from digital media including evidence preservation, forensic analysis, data recovery, tape recovery, electronic mail extraction, and database examination. Digital media includes a wide variety of electronic data storage and transfer devices including computers, laptops, cellular phones, PDA's and the images, spreadsheets and other types of files stored on these devices.
2. Maintains strict protocol guidelines for chain of custody and all the evidence to ensure integrity of each item of evidence is handled and analyzed according to meet legal practice requirements that includes: collecting, transporting, receiving, storing, labeling and preserving data collected for digital evidence on submittal for examination and analysis.
3. Determines the most appropriate method of protecting original evidence and recovering deleted, erased, hidden and encrypted digital evidence.
4. Evaluates scientific results of analysis to determine the validity and whether the information has forensic significance.
5. Provides technical guidance in evaluating and investigating cases where computer of related computer media has potential evidence.
6. Provides progress reports regarding investigations as well as detailed and technical report summaries of findings in written and verbal formats.
7. Interacts with investigators from law enforcement and IT department personnel to acquire information necessary to perform forensic examinations. Demonstrates the ability to communicate, coordinate and cooperate with these agencies and in a task force environment.
8. Provides expert testimony in the field of computer forensics; prepares evidence and presents expert testimony in court on results of seizure and handling of evidence, and results of analysis conducted.
9. Continually updates and develops skills regarding new computer technology and use of new software and hardware tools to extract information from computer and digital media systems.
10. Attends training, workshops and seminars to maintain current methodologies and knowledge of trends and developments in the field of computer forensics.
11. Reviews various court decisions relating to the field of computer forensics.
12. Travels to a variety of locations throughout the county to provide technical assistance to investigators and to collect evidence.
13. Other duties as assigned.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS: 1-12

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities and Work Environment
• Strong knowledge of data retrieval procedures and forensic practices.
• Knowledge of evidentiary procedures, electronic criminal situations, fraud analysis and forensics fundamentals.
• Knowledge of specialized research, intelligence, collection and dissemination techniques related to forensic investigation.
• Familiar with various operating and network systems and database structure.
• Ability to translate technical computer analytics to quantifiable evidence for court hearings.
• Ability to engage with electronic forensics counterparts and law enforcement agencies to build cases.
• Knowledge of productivity application software (Microsoft Office, etc.).
• Ability to organize work efficiently and effectively.
• Ability to work independently and as a team member.
• Ability to demonstrate good detail orientation, analytical problem solving, logical thinking, and organizational skills.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The work is performed at the Dakota County SMART Center and in the field collecting forensic evidence. Some of the work is sedentary and may have extensive periods of time on PC, laptop or network equipment. Travel is required to off-site locations and work in all types of weather conditions due to situations such as search warrants and evidence collection.

SELECTION PROCESS:
The examination/selection process for this classification will consist of a rating of your training and experience from the application materials submitted. The top scoring candidates will be forwarded to the hiring department for further consideration.
Qualified candidates must pass a criminal history background check and may be required to pass a pre-employment drug test.

Benefits

• Comprehensive and affordable medical, dental, vision, and other benefits
• Flexible spending accounts
• Excellent work-life balance
• Generous paid time off (accrual rate starts at four weeks per year)
  • Carry over unused flex year to year
• Eleven paid holidays each year and one floating holiday
• Pension with a generous employer contribution-PERA Pension
• Telework may occasionally be available
• Three weeks paid parental leave
• Comprehensive wellness program - peer support team, on-site fitness center, annual wellness check-in, and employee assistance program

Dakota County Human Resources
www.co.dakota.mn.us
Main Number 651.438.4435 (contact 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday)
Fax 651.438.8178
Visit our Benefits site for more information.
01

*******Applicants for this recruitment will be rated based on their answers to the supplemental questions listed below and application materials. It is IMPERATIVE that information provided on the application and resume are detailed and clearly outline your work experience & skills. They must also support and/or match answers to the supplemental questions.Please initial the box below to CONFIRM that the information provided is accurate and true to the best of your knowledge. Falsification may result in disqualification from consideration for this and subsequent recruitments with Dakota County for up to three years.
02

Please select the highest level of education completed or Degree held. (Degree must be held by the closing date of this recruitment)

• High School Diploma or G.E.D equivalent
• Associate's Degree
• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree
• None of the above

03

If you have a degree, what is the field of study?

• Digital Forensics
• Computer Science
• Computer Engineering
• Other Related Field
• Other Unrelated Field
• No Degree

04

If you selected other related field, what is the field of study? If not applicable, please indicate 'N/A'.
05

How many years of experience do you have working in forensic technology involving computer forensics, electronic discovery and technical investigations? Convert any part-time experience to full years (i.e. 20 hours week for 2 years equals 1 year full-time). Do not round up years of experience (i.e. 2.5 years would equal 2 years). This experience must be clearly listed on your application to receive credit.

• No experience
• Less than 1 year
• 1 year
• 2 years
• 3 years
• 4 years
• 5 years
• 6 years
• 7 years
• 8 or more years

06

Do you have a valid driver's license?

• Yes
• No

07

How many years of experience in criminal law do you have?

• No experience
• Less than 1 year
• 1 year
• 2 years
• 3 years
• 4 years
• 5 or more years

08

Do you have Computer Forensic Technician certifications?

• Yes
• No

09

If you have any Computer Forensic Technician certifications, please list them below. Otherwise, indicate 'N/A'.
10

Do you have experience with any of the following computer forensic software programs? Select all that apply.

• Magnet Forensic Products
• X-Ways Forensics
• Cellebrite
• Other
• None

11

If you selected other to the previous question, please list the other software programs. Otherwise, indicate 'N/A'.
12

The full salary range for this position is $73,515- $114,868 annually and the preferred hiring range is $73,515- $91,894 annually. The amount that is offered is dependent on the candidate's overall skills, education, experience and internal equity. The offer would also include the County's benefits package.Taking that information into consideration, what would be the minimum salary you'd accept if selected for the position?
13

Your response to this question will help Dakota County evaluate the effectiveness of recruitment sources for this specific position. Please select the one source that most closely describes how you first learned about this opportunity.

• Friend, Family or Colleague
• InDeed
• Job Fair or Dakota County Event
• Job Interest e-mails from Dakota County
• JobsInMinneapolis/StPaul
• League of Minnesota Cities
• LinkedIn
• Minneapolis Diversity.com
• Minnesota Diversity.com
• Minnesota Works Website
• Minnesota Jobs Network.com
• Minnesota Association of Counties
• Monster
• Professional Association Website
• Referred by a Dakota County Employee
• St Paul Diversity.com
• College Website, Instructor, Career Services
• Dakota County Website
• Other

14

If you selected Other, please indicate where you heard about this opportunity with Dakota County.
Required Question