Senior Vulnerability Researcher — Careers
Now hiring · {{ companyName }}

Senior Vulnerability
Researcher

Department
Vulnerability Research
Location
St. Petersburg, FL · Melbourne, FL · San Antonio, TX
Salary
$156K–$234K
Clearance
Top Secret
Position
Senior Vulnerability Researcher
Employment
Full-time · On-site
Experience
6+ years
01 — Overview

About the Role

We need a senior security researcher with 5+ years of hands-on vulnerability research and exploit development experience who can independently explore and exploit complex systems — from kernels to embedded platforms. You should be comfortable scoping ambiguous attack surfaces with minimal guidance and have a track record of producing high-impact findings that influence security decisions. An active US Top Secret clearance (upgradeable to TS/SCI SAP) is required.

02 — Responsibilities

What will you be doing?

  • Lead advanced vulnerability research efforts across operating systems, kernels, firmware, hypervisors, embedded platforms, and complex application stacks
  • Independently scope ambiguous or underexplored attack surfaces and drive research from initial hypothesis through validated findings
  • Perform deep reverse engineering and in-memory analysis of compiled binaries across multiple architectures (x86/x64, ARM, PowerPC)
  • Design and execute novel exploitation techniques and mitigation evaluations, identifying real-world weaknesses in modern defense mechanisms
  • Analyze undocumented or partially documented system behavior and extend internal interfaces or tooling to support research goals
  • Collaborate with other senior researchers to shape technical direction, review complex work, and raise the overall quality of research output
  • Translate low-level technical findings into clear, actionable insights for internal stakeholders and customers
  • Contribute to research culture through mentorship, knowledge sharing, and improvements to tools, methodologies, and workflows
03 — The Details

Role Details

Experience6+ years in vulnerability research or exploit development
Salary$156K - $234K
EquityNo
Work policyOn-site at St. Petersburg, FL; Melbourne, FL; or San Antonio, TX. St. Petersburg is the priority location. Relocation support available (~$5K sign-on bonus).
VisaVisa sponsorship is not available. This role requires an active US Top Secret security clearance, which necessitates US citizenship.
Position typeFull-time position
Hiring countLooking to hire 1 - 8 candidates for this role
Tech stack
Python C/C++ IDA Pro Ghidra x86/x64 ARM PowerPC Windows Internals Linux Internals macOS Internals Reverse Engineering Fuzzing Frameworks Symbolic Execution Binary Analysis Exploit Development
Why this role

Highlights

01

Real mission impact + technical depth: Independently exploit complex systems (kernels, firmware, hypervisors, embedded) that directly affect national security. No theoretical research — real-world attack surfaces with full autonomy to drive your own work.

02

Technical career path, not management: Our client explicitly supports staying as a technical authority. Shape research direction and mentor others without being pushed into management. “Let your geek flag fly” is a literal core value.

03

Fastest-growing division: Cyber LOB is hiring 26 this year (half the company’s planned hires). You’re joining a scaling team with more programs, resources, and room to shape direction — not a stagnant org.

04

Supportive but not hovering: Dedicated senior engineer coach + access to VR lead and engineering director. Tight-knit 80-person cyber team across three offices.

05

Fast process: Two interview rounds total, offers within two business days. No months-long hiring gauntlet.
What we need

Key Requirements

  • Seniority: 6+ years of experience in vulnerability research or exploit development
  • Work experience: Offensive cyber engineering experience — vulnerability research, exploitation development, or CNO development; hands-on building, not operating or defending. Independently led research with minimal guidance. CNO development or military cyber operations background. Community contributions or malware analysis experience (CVEs, publications, talks, CTF wins).
  • Education: BS in Computer Science or Computer Engineering preferred
  • Hard skills: Reverse engineering + low-level systems mastery (OS kernel internals, assembly, static/dynamic analysis). Exploitation development (zero-day research, PoC exploits, mitigation bypasses like ASLR, DEP/NX, CFI). C/C++ and Python for exploit dev. Specialized target experience (hypervisors, embedded/RTOS, mobile, networking). Advanced analysis techniques (symbolic execution, fuzzing, constraint solving).
  • Miscellaneous: Active US Top Secret clearance + ability to upgrade to TS/SCI SAP
  • Traits to avoid: Defensive-only background (SOC, compliance, scanning, policy work). Pure reverse engineer without exploitation development capability.