Android Security Engineer APPLIED AI VR ANDROID New York, NY / On Site →

Zealot Labs, Inc.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 100,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

On-site work in New York

Job summary

Zealot Labs, Inc. is seeking an experienced Android security researcher to uncover vulnerabilities and develop exploit chains across devices and firmware. You will build automation tools and leverage Frida, Magisk, and custom kernels to advance security research.

Join a small, ownership-driven startup backed by premier investors and operate on-site in New York. Strong preference for candidates with publications or conference talks in mobile security.

Qualifications

• Android vulnerability research is the core requirement.
• Exploit development and kernel experience are strong pluses.
• Security research capability on mobile platforms is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Discover and exploit Android vulnerabilities across devices and firmware.
• Develop exploit chains for multiple OEMs and chipsets.
• Build tooling to automate vulnerability discovery and triage.
• Research attack surfaces from Android updates and patches.
• Demonstrate strong ARM/AArch64 reverse engineering skills.
• Apply Frida, Magisk, and custom kernels for analysis.
• Contribute to AI-assisted security tooling and automation.
• Proactively push mobile security beyond manual research.
• Collaborate with a small, ownership-driven startup team.

Skills

Android security research

Exploit development

Reverse engineering

C/C++

Java/Kotlin

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/NE or equivalent

Tools

Frida

Magisk

custom kernels

Android debug tooling

Ghidra/IDA

Job description

Zealot is deploying AI systems at the center of western cyber operations , backed by tier-1 US VCs and industry leaders. Our team includes alumni of Anthropic, xAI, and Anduril. Soon live with close U.S. allies abroad.

APPLIED AI VR ANDROID

Compensation 100K-195K + skin in the game equity

Location New York, NY On Site

Stage Early-stage startup backed by tier 1 investors. Small, growing team with exceptionally high ownership.

• + Discover and exploit vulnerabilities in Android operating systems, applications, and firmware.
• + Develop exploit chains targeting Android devices across multiple OEMs and chipset vendors.
• + Build tooling to automate vulnerability discovery and triage across the Android ecosystem.
• + Research new attack surfaces introduced by Android platform updates and security patches.
• + Deep experience with Android internals: kernel, HAL, Binder IPC, SELinux policies.
• + Proven track record of finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in Android (CVEs, bug bounties, or security research).
• + Strong ARM/AArch64 reverse engineering and exploit development skills.
• + Proficiency with Frida, Magisk, custom kernels, and Android debug tooling.
• + Strong C/C++ and Java/Kotlin skills for systems and application-level analysis.

Nice to Have

• + Experience with Qualcomm, MediaTek, or Samsung Exynos chipset-specific attack surfaces.
• + Familiarity with TrustZone / TEE internals.
• + Experience with Android kernel fuzzing (syzkaller, custom harnesses).
• + Proficiency with Ghidra, IDA, or Binary Ninja.
• + Experience building with LLMs and AI agents.
• + Published research or conference talks in mobile security.
• + Driven to push the boundaries of what's possible in mobile security.
• + Clearly interested in stepping away from purely manual research and moving toward the development of AI systems.
• + Building something massive matters more to you than comfort, titles, or predictability.
• + You want to be early at a company that will change an industry, and you're ready to do what that actually takes.

Note to recruiting firms: Android vulnerability research is the core requirement. Exploit development and kernel experience are strong pluses. Strong preference for candidates with demonstrated security research capability against mobile platforms.

Ready?