Director, Research Science

Peraton; Basking Ridge (NJ); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Peraton is seeking a highly experienced software and cybersecurity researcher in New Jersey to advance DoD/IC programs. The role emphasizes program analysis, malware reverse engineering, and resilient networking, with opportunities for leadership on research teams.

You will work on cutting-edge techniques in vulnerability analysis, software-defined networking, and AI reasoning for cyber defense, collaborating across multidisciplinary teams in a government-focused environment.

Qualifications

• MS degree and 16+ years of experience in related fields.
• Ability and desire to rapidly learn new subject areas.
• US citizenship and active Top Secret clearance eligibility.

Responsibilities

• Perform program analysis, malware analysis, and reverse engineering.
• Lead software development efforts within DoD/IC research contexts.
• Coordinate with DoD/IC teams on cyber mission projects.
• Contribute to whitepapers, proposals, and business development activities.
• Utilize modern toolchains and virtualization for testing and emulation.

Skills

C/C++/Java/Python

Linux/macOS/Windows

Networking knowledge

DevOps/AGILE

US citizenship

Top Secret clearance eligibility

Education

MS in CS/CE/EE/Applied Math/Physics

Tools

GHIDRA

IDA/Binary Ninja

Metasploit/Cobalt Strike

Docker/Kubernetes

CORE/EMANE/MiniNet

Job description

• MS and 16+ years of experience
• Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or related scientific/engineering discipline.
• Ability and desire to quickly acquire knowledge of new subject matter areas
• Expertise in one or more of: C, C++, Java, Python, Go, or similar languages
• Working knowledge of Linux, MacOS, Windows, and mobile operating systems, platforms and internals
• Working knowledge of modern computer networking technologies
• Working knowledge of modern development practices and toolsets (Git, subversion, CI/CD toolchains)
• US citizenship
• Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility

Other Relevant Skills (not required, but any are a plus):

• Experience as a technical lead on software development projects or research teams
• Experience as a Principal Investigator on DoD/IC research projects
• Experience in business development, including technical marketing, idea generation, and authoring whitepapers and proposals for new work.
• Experience in one or more of the following areas:
  • Program Analysis
  • Computer networking protocol design and/or analysis
  • Compute and network emulation, containerization, and virtualization
  • Reverse Engineering
  • Real-Time Operation Systems (RTOS)
  • Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)

• Experience with one or more of the following classes of tools and frameworks:
  • Binary Analysis Tools, such as GHIDRA, Hex-Rays IDA, Binary Ninja, Angr,
  • Debugging and Sandboxing tools, such as Cuckoo sandbox, OllyDBG, WinDbg
  • CNO toolsets, including Metasploit, Cobalt Strike
  • Network emulation frameworks including CORE, EMANE, MiniNet
  • Container and Orchestration solutions, including: Docker, Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, Terraform
  • Cloud services experience (AWS, Azure, OpenStack)

• Experience with DevOps and Agile development methodologies
• Experience in the U.S. DoD/IC research community
• CNO operational experience

PeratonLabsdelivers innovative solutions and revolutionary new capabilities to solve the most difficult and complex challenges for government agencies, utilities, and commercial customers. With a distinguished heritage tracing back to Bell Labs,Bellcore, and Telcordia, our experts pave the way.PeratonLab’s cybersecurity research protects mission-critical systems and national cyber infrastructure through a broad range of initiatives in computer network defense, secure-by-design techniques and cyber operations and experimentation platforms.

Our projects span several areas of interest. Our core competencies include (but are not limited to):

• Program analysis, including program understanding, vulnerability identification, and remediation
• Malware analysis and reverse engineering
• Resilient networking in support of cyber mission goals
• Software-defined networking for cyber defense and deception
• Artificial intelligence (reasoning, probabilistic inference, machine learning)