Senior/Principal R&D Cybersecurity - Artificial Intelligence, Onsite

About the role

Are you a AI cybersecurity researcher who enjoys a challenge? Are you passionate about understanding AI/ML and whether it is securely deployed? Research dedicated to keeping AI systems safe and thwarting cyber intrusions? Are you dreaming of a chance to develop protective technologies, conduct threat assessments, and analyze government, military, and civilian systems that make use of AI? If so, this is the opportunity for you to join Sandia's unique multidisciplinary team committed to solving the Artificial Intelligence security challenges facing our nation.

On any given day, you may be called on to:

• Develop state of the art approaches for analyzing the security and robustness of AI systems.
• Apply these approaches to understand vulnerabilities in AI systems and how attackers adapt their tradecraft to exploit those vulnerabilities.
• Reverse engineer malicious code in support of high-impact customers.
• Low-level research in multiple levels of firmware.
• Analyze device software, hardware, and communications protocols.
• Design and develop new analysis methods and tools.
• Work to identify and address emerging and complex threats to AI systems and effectively participate in the broader security community.
• Influence the AI security and vulnerability disclosure ecosystems.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of tools, techniques and processes developed by the AI security research government community.
• Uncover and shape some of the fundamental assumptions underlying current best practice in AI security.
• Develop thought models, tools and data sets that can be used to characterize the threats to, and vulnerabilities in, AI systems.
• Identify opportunities to apply AI to improve existing cybersecurity research.

Responsibilities

Research dedicated to keeping AI systems safe and thwarting cyber intrusions.

Engage in work across the technology spectrum including embedded, mobile, desktop, enterprise, and cloud systems, as well as globally connected networks of networks that make use of AI at the edge with a focus on how to protect these technologies from cyber-attack.

Requirements

We Require:

• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline and five (5) years of directly relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and engineering or scientific experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform independent research and development.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q and SCI clearance which may require a polygraph test.

Qualifications

We Require:

• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline and five (5) years of directly relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of directly relevant education and engineering or scientific experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform independent research and development.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DOE Q and SCI clearance which may require a polygraph test.

We Desire:

• A Graduate degree in Computer Science/Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Information Systems, Computer Forensics, Mathematics or a directly related field where an independent research project was a graduation requirement (e.g., independent project, thesis, or dissertation).
• Experience in one or more of the following: reverse engineering, software vulnerability assessment, web application assessment, computer networking, computer architecture, compilers, or similar computer security topics.
• Proficiency in scripting or high-level programming.
• Familiarity with secure-system design principles and information assurance principles.
• Excellent communication skills and a demonstrated ability to develop technical ideas and results and present them in oral and written form in a concise manner.

The ideal R&D Cybersecurity candidate for Sandia National Laboratories will in addition possess the following:

• Five or more years of experience in AI/ML and cybersecurity.
• A deep interest in AI/ML and cybersecurity with natural intellectual curiosity and a desire to make broad impact throughout the United States Government.
• Experience with adversarial machine learning, ML vulnerabilities, and attack vectors.
• Practical experience with applying cybersecurity knowledge toward vulnerability research, analysis, and mitigation.
• Familiarity with common AI/ML software packages and tools (e.g., Numpy, Pytorch, Tensorflow, etc.).
• Using LLM's and agentic models.
• Implementing and engineering AI systems.
• Knowledge of the AI state of the art and proven desire to keep that knowledge up to date.
• Proficiency in scripting, Python, C/C++, high and/or low-level programming.
• Familiarity with reverse engineering tools such as Ghidra or IDA Pro.
• Experience developing frameworks, methodologies, or assessments to evaluate effectiveness and robustness of technologies.
• Active DOE Q or DOD TS security clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain an SCI.
• Excellent communication skills and a demonstrated ability to develop technical ideas and results and present them in oral and written form in a concise manner.

Benefits

What Your Job Will Be Like

Are you a AI cybersecurity researcher who enjoys a challenge? Are you passionate about understanding AI/ML and whether it is securely deployed? Research dedicated to keeping AI systems safe and thwarting cyber intrusions? Are you dreaming of a chance to develop protective technologies, conduct threat assessments, and analyze government, military, and civilian systems that make use of AI? If so, this is the opportunity for you to join Sandia's unique multidisciplinary team committed to solving the Artificial Intelligence security challenges facing our nation.

As part of our team, you will engage in work across the technology spectrum including embedded, mobile, desktop, enterprise, and cloud systems, as well as globally connected networks of networks that make use of AI at the edge with a focus on how to protect these technologies from cyber-attack.

On any given day, you may be called on to:

• Develop state of the art approaches for analyzing the security and robustness of AI systems.
• Apply these approaches to understand vulnerabilities in AI systems and how attackers adapt their tradecraft to exploit those vulnerabilities.
• Reverse engineer malicious code in support of high-impact customers.
• Low-level research in multiple levels of firmware.
• Analyze device software, hardware, and communications protocols.
• Design and develop new analysis methods and tools.
• Work to identify and address emerging and complex threats to AI systems and effectively participate in the broader security community.
• Influence the AI security and vulnerability disclosure ecosystems.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of tools, techniques and processes developed by the AI security research government community.
• Uncover and shape some of the fundamental assumptions underlying current best practice in AI security.
• Develop thought models, tools and data sets that can be used to characterize the threats to, and vulnerabilities in, AI systems.
• Identify opportunities to apply AI to improve existing cybersecurity research.

Pay

Salary Range $117,500 - $235,700 Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate's experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.

Schedule

Salary range is estimated, and actual salary will be determined after consideration of the selected candidate's experience and qualifications, and application of any approved geographic salary differential.