Associate AI Red Team Engineer

Carnegie-Mellon-University; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Carnegie Mellon University's Software Engineering Institute (SEI) is seeking an AI Red Team Engineer for the AI Security team. You will emulate adversaries against AI-enabled platforms used in national security contexts and develop offensive cyber capabilities.

The role requires expertise across offensive cyber, AI security, and strong programming in Python/C/BASH with tools like Ghidra/IDA Pro. Frequent collaboration with CERT teams and travel is expected.

Qualifications

• BS in CS or higher with relevant work exp; security focus preferred.
• Proven penetration testing, red team, or exploit development experience.
• Hands-on with frameworks like Cobalt Strike or Sliver.

Responsibilities

• Red team real-world AI-enabled systems for national security goals.
• Develop new tactics and procedures for attacking AI systems.
• Write tools in Python, PowerShell, C, and BASH for operations.
• Represent CERT portfolio and coordinate with partners and teams.

Skills

Penetration testing

Red teaming

Exploit development

Python

C

BASH

PowerShell

Ghidra

IDA Pro

Cobalt Strike

Sliver

TCP/IP

Wireshark

Linux

Windows

OSCP

CPTS

FORGE/RIOT

eJPT

PNPT

GPEN

Education

Bachelor's in CS

MS in CS

PhD in CS

Tools

Ghidra

IDA Pro

Cobalt Strike

Sliver

Wireshark

PowerShell

Python

C

BASH

Job description

Who We Are

SEI conducts research and development in software engineering, systems engineering, cybersecurity, and many other areas of computing, working to introduce private-sector innovations into government. The SEI works closely with defense and government organizations, industry, and academia to continually improve software-intensive systems. Its core purposes are to help organizations improve software engineering capabilities, advance cybersecurity methods and technologies, and bring the discipline of software engineering to AI systems.

What We Do

The CERT Threat Analysis (TA) Directorate conducts research and development activities to identify, analyze, coordinate disclosure, and mitigate threats and vulnerabilities in systems and software. The TA Directorate is currently comprised of three teams: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Security, Malware and Vulnerability Exploitation, and Platform and Mission Engineering. The AI Security team works on advancing the state of the art in AI security at a national and global scale. The Malware and Vulnerability Exploitation (MVE) team works to improve cyber-tradecraft analysis within strategic target communities to counter adversarial use of the Internet and related technologies. The vulnerability side of MVE (home of the CERT Coordination Center) works with an expansive network of vendors, partners, and collaborators to reduce the societal harm of vulnerable software and systems. The Platform and Mission Engineering team develops and maintains tools, environments, and operational support for the malware analysis, reverse engineering, vulnerability analysis, and AI security domains.

Position Summary

As an AI Red Team Engineer on the AI Security team, you will play a central role in adversary emulation exercises and capability development for our mission partners. Due to our unique position within the TA Directorate, the systems we red-team fall outside the realm of 'traditional' enterprise red teaming. Our targets are commonly AI-enabled platforms used within national security contexts. But this isn't a \"make the LLM say the bad thing\" type of AI red team. We operate across multiple domains, meaning that our red teamers are expected to be experts in offensive cyber in addition to AI security. If you are experienced with offensive cyber tradecraft and have an interest in breaking into AI, this could be a good fit. Most of our red teamers are actively taking graduate-level technical courses at CMU and/or pursuing technical certifications. Perpetual learning is a core part of what we do.

What you’ll do

• Red team real-world AI-enabled systems (both the model and the hardware/software/network that it runs on) in support of national security objectives.


• Develop new tactics, techniques, and procedures for attacking AI-enabled systems and related software in order to better prepare defenders for real-world threats.


• Write tools in Python, PowerShell, C, and BASH to enable red team operations.


• Represent the CERT technical portfolio of work and operations; communicate with external mission partners and internal collaborators in concert with CERT directorates and teams.

Who you are

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or a relevant technical discipline with three (3) years of relevant work experience; or a MS in Computer Science or a relevant technical discipline with one (1) year of relevant work experience; or a PhD in Computer Science or other relevant technical discipline.


• You have previous penetration testing, red teaming, or exploit development experience.


• You have previous hands-on experience with at least one command and control framework (e.g., Cobalt Strike, Sliver).


• You have experience programming/scripting in Python, C, and BASH (without the assistance of AI) and are willing to learn PowerShell.


• You have experience with reverse engineering tools (e.g. NSA Ghidra, IDA Pro).


• You are able to read code and quickly spot basic vulnerabilities without the assistance of AI or fuzzing.


• You are very familiar with TCP/IP and all layers of the OSI model.


• You have experience using Wireshark and can explain how common network protocols work.


• You have experience in assessing the security of both Linux and Windows systems.


• Experience with mobile (e.g., Android) and other operations systems is also appreciated.


• You have at least one of the following relevant certifications: OSCP, CPTS, FORGE/RIOT, eJPT, CBBH, BSCP, PNPT, GRTP, GPEN.


• Applicants without these certifications will still be considered if equivalent experience is clearly demonstrated during technical interviews.


• You have excellent communication skills (oral and written), particularly regarding technical communications with non-experts.


• You enjoy mentoring and cross-training others and sharing knowledge within the broader community.


• You have a willingness to travel (25%) outside of your office location to other SEI offices, sponsor sites, conferences, and offsite meetings.


• You will be subject to a background investigation, and you must have the ability to obtain and maintain a Department of War security clearance.

Location

Pittsburgh, PA

Job Function

Software/Applications Development/Engineering

Position Type

Staff – Regular Full time/Part time Full time

Pay Basis

Salary

Equal Opportunity

Carnegie Mellon University is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran. Statement of Assurance Always focused on the future, the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) advances software as a strategic advantage for national security. We lead research and direct transition of software engineering, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence technologies at the intersection of academia, industry, and government. We serve the nation as a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and are based at Carnegie Mellon University, a global research university annually rated among the best for its programs in computer science and engineering. Our people apply special knowledge and skills and are part of an elite research university. We perform research and apply our expertise every day to foresee problems and exploit opportunities in software engineering, AI engineering, and cybersecurity. Quality software that is secure will control the future. At CMU SEI, we are engineering that ever-greater software-fueled future.

Contact

Need Help? For technical assistance, email [e-mail] or call 412-268-5072. We are committed to providing an accessible experience throughout our recruitment process. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation at any stage of the application, interview, or hiring process, please contact Equal Opportunity Services by email at [e-mail] or by phone at 412-268-3930.