Vulnerability Research Engineer

We are searching for a self-motivated Vulnerability Researcher to join our Cyberspace Operations Research Department of the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State University. The Cyberspace Operations Research Department provides technical expertise in adversarial tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to support system evaluation and provide security hardening support to various sponsors. ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.

About the role

Your working location will be fully on-site in State College, PA. Options exist for occasional hybrid of on-site/work from home based on project-dependent ability. This position will require periodic travel to remote locations in support of testing as part of a small team of researchers, engineers, and technologists.

Responsibilities

• Research cutting edge techniques and technologies for system exploitation
• Leverage expertise in reverse engineering, vulnerability research, and software development to address established needs and investigate solutions to emerging requirements
• Apply software engineering best practices to create proof-of-concept tools and configure test environments to perform demonstrations to sponsors and partners
• Assist the Cyberspace Operations Research Department Head in maintaining relationships with sponsors through on-site technical discussions, preparation and presentation of technical materials, and project-related correspondence
• Provide process enhancement for technical functionality evaluation, vulnerability analyses, cyberspace operations engineering, and penetration testing projects
• Apply project management principles and methods to the leadership of tasks or projects
• Provide guidance to lower-level engineers to foster professional growth

Additional responsibilities for higher level position includes:

• Understand broad strategic objectives and contribute to them; nurture and maintain relationships with major customers/grantors of external research and development grant funding
• Initiate new project concepts and seek funding; develop technical proposals and make presentations to customers/grant sponsors
• Mentor department staff in the development technical, project, and business development skills

Requirements

• Documented application of reverse engineering and vulnerability testing tools (e.g. Ghidra/IDA, Kali Linux, Angr/AFL++, QEMU/Unicorn, etc)
• Reverse engineering, vulnerability research, malware analysis, and/or CNO tool development
• Computer networking fundamentals, Windows and *NIX operating systems, X86(64) and ARM or MIPS architectures
• Cyber operations architecture and software engineering practices
• Ability to express technical information clearly and concisely in documents and presentations for senior leaders to successfully comprehend and leverage for decision making
• Active government security clearance at TS/SCI level with eligibility for special accesses
• U.S. citizenship

Qualifications

Minimum education and experience requirements vary by position level:

• Cyber Security Engineer (ARL) - Senior Professional: Bachelor's Degree and 6+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted
• Cyber Security Engineer (ARL) - Advanced Professional: Bachelor's Degree and 3+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted

Preferred Skills

• Cybersecurity exploit development and test environment configuration
• Cybersecurity penetration testing / cybersecurity Red Team testing / white hat hacking
• Military cyberspace operations or computer network operations
• Demonstrated history of successful project initiation efforts
• Agile software development methodology and tools
• Atlassian products (e.g., JIRA, Confluence)

Pay

The salary range for this position, including all possible grades, is $127,080.00 - $277,200.00. This salary range includes an adjustment based on required geographic work location.

Benefits

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. Benefits include:

• 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, eligible spouses, and children

For more detailed information, visit the Benefits Page.