CNO Programmer-Principal

NetSage; Maryland; On-site; USD 190,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

NetSage seeks a Principal CNO Programmer to lead a team in designing, developing, and maintaining CNO capabilities. The role provides technical leadership across engineering teams, guiding implementation from design through testing and deployment in mission-focused environments.

The ideal candidate has extensive CNO software experience, strong leadership, and a deep understanding of operating system internals and low-level programming for Unix and Windows.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Computer Science or related field with 12+ years of relevant experience.
• Doctoral degree with 8 years, or M.S. with 10 years, or no degree with 16 years of relevant experience.
• Twelve (12) years of professional experience programming in one or more of the following languages: Assembly, C, C++, C#, Perl, or Python.
• Ten (10) years of experience programming CNO tools.
• Five (5) years of experience leading, managing, and/or supervising teams in support of CNO capability development.
• Extensive knowledge of operating system internals, low-level software development, and kernel-level programming.
• Demonstrated experience developing software that interfaces with low-level Unix and/or Windows operating system internals, including runtime linkers/loaders, object file formats (e.g., PE, COFF, ELF), file system architectures (e.g., NTFS, ext2, btrfs), operating system security models, and process/thread APIs and data structures.
• Proficiency using reverse engineering and debugging tools such as IDA Pro, Ghidra, OllyDbg, or similar platforms.
• Experience directing the development of new CNO solutions that meet mission demands.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of developers to design, develop, and maintain CNO capabilities.
• Provide technical leadership, guiding engineering teams in the creation, testing, integration, and deployment of mission-focused capabilities while ensuring solutions align with evolving operational requirements.
• Direct the development of new CNO solutions that meet mission demands.

Skills

Assembly

C

C++

C#

Perl

Python

Education

B.S. in Computer Science

Ph.D. in related field

M.S. in CS

No degree, 16 years experience

Tools

IDA Pro

Ghidra

OllyDbg

Job description

At NetSage, we are more than a government contractor - we are a mission-focused partner dedicated to advancing national security through exceptional cyber expertise. We believe our success begins with our people, which is why we invest in and care for our employees. We know that employee retention is mission continuity, and we are committed to building long-term careers where our people can grow alongside our customers' evolving missions. Our employees enjoy meaningful work, competitive compensation, outstanding benefits, and opportunities to expand their skills across multiple mission areas. To learn more about our comprehensive benefits and what it's like to build your career at NetSage, visit our Careers page.

Due to the sensitive nature of the work we support, some job descriptions intentionally provide a high-level overview of the role.

Job Description

We are seeking a Principal CNO Programmer to support mission-critical cybersecurity efforts by leading a team of developers in the design, development, and maintenance of CNO capabilities. In this role, you will provide technical leadership, guiding engineering teams in the creation, testing, integration, and deployment of mission-focused capabilities while ensuring solutions align with evolving operational requirements. The ideal candidate for this position will have extensive experience developing CNO capabilities, leading highly technical engineering teams, and delivering innovative software solutions that operate within complex and evolving mission environments.

Required Qualifications

• TS/SCI with polygraph security clearance.
• A Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Computer Science or a related field and twelve (12) years of relevant experience. Also acceptable are a Doctoral degree (PH.D.) and eight (8) years, a Master of Science (M.S.) degree and ten (10) years, or no degree and sixteen (16) years of relevant experience.
• Twelve (12) years of professional experience programming in one or more of the following languages: Assembly, C, C++, C#, Perl, or Python.
• Ten (10) years of experience programming CNO tools.
• Five (5) years of experience leading, managing, and/or supervising teams in support of CNO capability development.
• Extensive knowledge of operating system internals, low-level software development, and kernel-level programming.
• Demonstrated experience developing software that interfaces with low-level Unix and/or Windows operating system internals, including runtime linkers/loaders, object file formats (e.g., PE, COFF, ELF), file system architectures (e.g., NTFS, ext2, btrfs), operating system security models, and process/thread application programming interfaces (APIs) and data structures.
• Proficiency using reverse engineering and debugging tools such as IDA Pro, Ghidra, OllyDbg, or similar platforms.
• Experience directing the development of new CNO solutions that meet mission demands.