Penn State is hiring a Cyber Research and Development Engineer

The Penn State Applied Research Laboratory is searching for a Cyber Research and Development Engineer to join our Cyberspace Operations Research Department. We provide technical expertise in adversarial tactics, techniques, and procedures to support system evaluation and security hardening for various sponsors.

What You'll Do

• Research cutting edge techniques and technologies for cyberspace operations.
• Leverage expertise in reverse engineering, vulnerability research, and software development to address established needs and investigate emerging solutions.
• Apply software engineering best practices to create proof-of-concept tools and configure test environments for demonstrations.
• Assist in maintaining sponsor relationships through on-site technical discussions, presentations, and project correspondence.
• Provide process enhancement for technical functionality evaluation, vulnerability analyses, and penetration testing projects.
• Apply project management principles to lead tasks or projects.
• Provide guidance to lower level engineers to foster professional growth.
• Understand broad strategic objectives and contribute to them.
• Nurture relationships with major customers/grantors of external research and development funding.
• Identify grant/project follow-on work and persuade customers/grantors to fund it.
• Impact customer decisions and strategies.
• Initiate new project concepts and seek funding.
• Develop technical proposals and make presentations to customers/grant sponsors.
• Mentor department staff in technical, project, and business development skills.
• Periodically travel to remote locations in support of testing as part of a small team.

What We're Looking For

• Documented application of reverse engineering and vulnerability testing tools (e.g., Ghidra/IDA, Kali Linux, Angr/AFL++, QEMU/Unicorn).
• Experience in Reverse Engineering, Vulnerability Research, Malware Analysis, or CNO Tool Development.
• Knowledge of Computer Networking Fundamentals, Windows and *NIX Operating Systems, and X86(64), ARM, or MIPS architectures.
• Understanding of Cyber Operations Architecture and Software Engineering Practices.
• Software programming skills and experience with development environments, including at a minimum C, Java, or Python.
• Ability to express technical information clearly and concisely in documents and presentations for senior leaders.
• Active government security clearance at the TS/SCI level with eligibility for special accesses.
• U.S. citizenship.
• For a Research and Development Engineer - Senior Professional: Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or Science and 14+ years of relevant experience.
• For a Research and Development Engineer - Advanced Professional: Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or Science and 5+ years of relevant experience.

Nice to Have

• Experience in cybersecurity exploit development and test environment configuration.
• Cybersecurity threat modeling, threat emulation, and penetration testing.
• Experience with military cyberspace operations or computer network operations.
• Demonstrated history of successful project initiation efforts.
• Application of automation and autonomy (i.e., AI/ML) for cybersecurity testing workflows.
• Use of Agile software development methodology and tools.
• Experience working with Atlassian products (e.g., JIRA, Confluence).
• Master's degree.

Technical Stack

• Tools: Ghidra/IDA, Kali Linux, Angr/AFL++, QEMU/Unicorn
• Languages: C, Java, Python
• Systems: Windows, *NIX, X86(64), ARM, MIPS
• Methodologies/Tools: Agile, JIRA, Confluence

Team & Environment

You will be part of a small team of researchers, engineers, and technologists within the Cyberspace Operations Research Department, reporting to the Department Head.

Benefits & Compensation

• Compensation range: $109,300.00 - $191,000.00
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Robust retirement plans.
• Substantial paid time off including holidays, vacation and sick time.
• Generous 75% tuition discount for employees and eligible spouses and children.

Work Mode

This is a hybrid position. Preferred location is Reston, VA, with additional locations in Annapolis Junction, MD, and State College, PA.

Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.