Associate Embedded Security Engineer

The MITRE Corporation; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 89,000 - 134,000; Full time

Job summary

MITRE Corporation in McLean, VA, seeks talented software vulnerability researchers and reverse engineers focused on embedded systems, to tackle complex security challenges on national significance projects.

Join a multi-disciplinary team applying hardware/software analysis, developing PoCs, and collaborating with government, academia, and industry to defend sponsors' missions while advancing embedded security research.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a related Bachelor's degree with minimal experience.
• Experience with developing and analyzing hardware, embedded, and/or IoT systems.
• Experience with programming in languages such as Python, Rust, Java, C++, or C.
• Effective oral and written communication skills.
• This position requires a minimum of 4 days a week on-site.

Responsibilities

• Develop new approaches and countermeasures for emerging threats to embedded systems
• Help develop prototypes (hardware and software) to demonstrate advanced capabilities
• Perform hands‑on security assessments of embedded systems
• Develop software for interfacing with and controlling lab equipment for data collection, measurement, and analysis
• Contribute creative and innovative ideas to help shape internal research
• Track, adapt, and apply academic and industry advances in embedded security analysis and protection techniques to secure our sponsors’ systems
• Collaborate with academic partners to improve embedded security education at our nation’s universities and high schools

Skills

Python

Rust

Java

C/C++

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or similar field

Job description

At MITRE, your passion fuels work that impacts our nation and improves lives. This is where your skills strengthen national security, cybersecurity, health, transportation, and citizen services. We’re a nonprofit engineering, applied research, and advanced technology organization working in the public interest. With objectivity and integrity at our core, we lead federally funded research and development centers for U.S. government agencies – collaborating with industry and academia to deliver integrated, high-impact solutions that advance our nation’s health, security, and prosperity. Our people tackle the toughest technical challenges, supported by competitive benefits, meaningful career development, and a culture of innovation, collaboration, and technical excellence. Choose MITRE for a career with purpose — and help shape the future.

Department Summary:

MITRE’s Electronic Systems Security department is seeking to hire talented and creative software vulnerability researchers and reverse engineers with a focus on embedded systems. Our researchers tackle the most complex, challenging, and impactful embedded security problems of our customers on projects of national significance. We conduct in-depth technical assessments on embedded software operation, research security vulnerabilities, develop exploit proofs-of-concept, and deliver technical capabilities to defend and enable our customers’ missions. Through our diverse customers and missions, our teams tackle a rich variety of embedded software types including bare metal firmware, real-time operating system firmware, the Linux kernel, and user-space binaries to name a few. Our successes have driven and continue to drive us to develop advanced tools that enable, accelerate, and scale our embedded software vulnerability research and reverse engineering analyses as well as bring differentiated value to our customers.

Qualified candidates will join a department with deep technical expertise across many embedded security disciplines including software vulnerability research and reverse engineering, hardware reverse engineering, secure computing, and implementation security. Together, this multi-disciplinary group performs hands‑on research and analysis and develops proof-of-concept prototypes to demonstrate and advance the state-of-the-art in embedded security.

Roles & Responsibilities:

• Develop new approaches and countermeasures for emerging threats to embedded systems

• Help develop prototypes (hardware and software) to demonstrate advanced capabilities

• Perform hands‑on security assessments of embedded systems

• Develop software for interfacing with and controlling lab equipment for data collection, measurement, and analysis

• Contribute creative and innovative ideas to help shape internal research

• Track, adapt, and apply academic and industry advances in embedded security analysis and protection techniques to secure our sponsors’ systems

• Collaborate with academic partners to improve embedded security education at our nation’s universities and high schools

Basic Qualifications:

• Typically requires less than 1 year of related experience with a related Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.

• BS degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or similar field

• Must be US citizen capable of obtaining and maintaining a DoD Secret security clearance

• Experience with developing and analyzing hardware, embedded, and/or IoT systems

• Experience with programming in languages such as Python, Rust, Java, C++, or C

• Effective oral and written communication skills

• This position requires a minimum of 4 days a week on‑site.

Preferred Qualifications:

• BS, MS, or PhD degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or similar field and/or 2+ years of related experience

• Experience with one or more of the following technical areas:

• Signal and/or image processing; machine learning

• Experience with board- and component-level instrumentation and measurement (e.g., capturing digital and analog signals via mixed-domain oscilloscopes)

• Software‑defined radio usage; wireless and/or network communications

• Basic knowledge of common hardware components, packaging, and board‑level integration

• Basic technical understanding of circuits and PCB layout designs

• Strong interest in and/or experience with one or more embedded security topics including but not limited to:

• Tear down, reverse engineering, and exploitation techniques for embedded systems (hardware interface capture and probing, RF and protocol analysis, board‑level RE and modifications, and IoT penetration testing)

• Hardware security implementation analysis and exploitation (cryptography, side‑channel analysis, and/or fault injection)

• Invasive and semi‑invasive attacks (and protection techniques) on integrated circuits (IC decapsulation, laser fault injection, photo emission analysis, thermal laser stimulation)

This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s):

None

This requisition requires the hired candidate to have or obtain, within one year from the date of hire, the following clearance(s):

None

Salary compensation range and midpoint:

$89,200 - $111,500 - $133,800 Annual

Work Location Type:

Onsite

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local or international law.

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