Open to opportunities

Carolyn Hughes

@carolynhughes

Message

Cyber-physical systems engineer focused on preventing unsafe actions in safety-critical and ICS/OT environments.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I seek roles where I can analyze and prevent unsafe system behavior in safety-critical or ICS/OT environments, lead technical projects, and translate complex system behavior into actionable interfaces and visualizations.

I am a cyber-physical systems engineer with a focus on safety-critical and ICS/OT-adjacent systems, specializing in failure-mode and second-order effects analysis. I translate complex system behavior into actionable visualizations and interfaces, lead technical projects, and stabilize program scope and communication when teams need rapid coverage.

My work includes identifying system-level failure modes that prompted major redesigns, implementing hardware solutions to mitigate operational risks, evaluating OT network sensing under adversarial conditions, and developing threat models for cyber-to-physical compromises. I combine hands-on analysis (hardware, firmware, control logic) with data-driven tools (Python, SQL, Spotfire) to reduce risk and make system behavior legible to engineers, operators, and stakeholders.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Cyber-Physical System Engineer

Current

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Jun 2022 - Present (3 years 8 months)

Developed data visualizations, HMI interfaces, and interactive testbeds to clarify CPS behavior; identified a system-level failure mode that drove a major redesign and led implementation of a hardware mitigation. Stabilized technical direction and project coordination for an OUSD CWD-sponsored Integrated Sensing and Monitoring Experiment and evaluated OT network sensing effectiveness under adversa

Data Visualization Fault Degradation Analysis Threat Modeling Python SQL

Digital Forensics Intern

National Computer Forensics Institute

Jun 2021 - Aug 2021 (2 months)

Conducted hardware, firmware, and network analysis to extract digital artifacts from cryptocurrency hardware wallets for the United States Secret Service lab, improving artifact recovery techniques.

Firmware Analysis Network Analysis Digital Forensics Reverse Engineering Python data recovery

Cyber-Physical Systems Intern

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Jun 2020 - Aug 2020 (2 months)

Developed and evaluated cyber-attack-based threat models for DNA synthesis machines and analyzed vulnerabilities in additive manufacturing to identify second-order risks that could lead to unsafe physical behavior.

Threat Modeling Cyber Physical Systems Risk Analysis Additive Manufacturing Python Data Analysis

Production Engineering Intern

Occidental Petroleum

Jun 2019 - Aug 2019 (2 months)

Analyzed failure behavior of electric submersible pumps across a global portfolio and built data-driven visualization tools to reveal degradation patterns and second-order effects contributing to premature equipment failure.

Data Visualization SQL Spotfire Root Cause Analysis Python