Capabilities Development Engineer (CDS)

CNSS • National Security Systems; Rockville (MD); On-site; USD 105,000 - 197,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

CNSS • National Security Systems is seeking a Capabilities Development Specialist (CDS) to join a world-class team focused on cutting-edge defeat and defense technologies. You will apply advanced software and hardware skills to create new capabilities for national security, working on high-priority projects with real impact.

The role emphasizes strong foundations in C/C++, reverse engineering, hardware design, and system analysis, with opportunities to influence mission-ready solutions.

Qualifications

• Degree in CS/Engineering; 3+ years of relevant experience for entry.
• Experience in hardware or software lifecycle (requirements, design, development, testing, maintenance).
• Experience in vulnerability analysis, penetration testing, or reverse engineering.

Responsibilities

• Developing exploitation capabilities and analytics to enable foreign target network collection.
• Designing hardware components and systems to further signals intelligence missions.
• Analyzing sophisticated malware.

Skills

C

C++

Assembly

ARM

Kernel development

Device driver development

Embedded systems development

Software reverse engineering

Ghidra

Vulnerability analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Master's degree or Doctoral degree

Tools

JTAG

Oscilloscopes

FPGA

VHDL

Verilog

PCB

Ghidra

Job description

CNSS • National Security Systems is seeking a Capabilities Development Specialist (CDS) to join a world-class team focused on cutting-edge defeat and defense technologies. You will apply advanced software and hardware skills to create new capabilities for national security, working on high-priority projects with real impact.

The role emphasizes strong foundations in C/C++, reverse engineering, hardware design, and system analysis, with opportunities to influence mission-ready solutions.