Principal Firmware Reverse Engineer III AI-Assisted with Security Clearance

Black Eagle Defense; Fort Meade (MD); On-site; USD 209,000 - 266,000; Full time

Job summary

Black Eagle Defense in Fort Meade, MD seeks a Principal Firmware Reverse Engineer III to lead tooling design for firmware, embedded systems, and software analysis. You will drive automation frameworks, AI-assisted workflows, and scalable RE tooling to accelerate mission outcomes while collaborating with customers and developers.

Responsibilities include building and extending reverse engineering tools, evaluating new technologies, and translating complex requirements into practical analysis

Qualifications

• 12+ years SWE experience in programs/contracts of similar scope and complexity.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related discipline is required.
• 4 additional years of SWE experience may substitute for a degree.
• Hands-on experience with reverse engineering platforms such as Ghidra, IDA Pro, or similar analysis tools.
• Strong understanding of low-level software concepts including assembly language, binary analysis, memory structures, and calling conventions.
• Experience developing software tools, scripts, plugins, or extensions that support reverse engineering workflows.
• Proficiency in at least one scripting or programming language used in reverse engineering environments.
• Experience prototyping, evaluating, and refining experimental tools and technical solutions.
• Ability to analyze complex software systems and develop tooling to improve analysis efficiency.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Familiarity with AI and LLM technologies with interest in expanding AI capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement tooling enhancements to improve reverse engineering workflows for firmware, embedded systems, and applications.
• Develop, extend, and integrate RE tools to enhance analysis capabilities and efficiency.
• Experiment with autonomous and semi-autonomous agents to support software development and RE workflows.
• Build automation solutions for common RE tasks: analysis, annotation, documentation, and workflow management.
• Apply AI-assisted techniques to binary analysis, pattern identification, code annotation, and RE processes.
• Enhance tooling to improve speed, accuracy, and effectiveness of RE efforts.
• Collaborate with customers, REs, and software developers to gather feedback and refine tooling solutions.
• Translate user needs and operational requirements into scalable tooling and automation capabilities.
• Measure, evaluate, and document the effectiveness of tooling enhancements.
• Support continuous improvement of RE platforms, processes, and automation frameworks.
• Analyze complex challenges and develop innovative solutions to improve operations.

Skills

Tooling design

Reverse engineering tools

Autonomous agents

Automation scripting

AI techniques

Tooling workflows

Stakeholder collaboration

Requirements translation

Metrics documentation

Continuous improvement

Problem solving

AI-enabled analysis

RE technologies

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related discipline

Tools

Ghidra/IDA Pro

Job description

Job Description SALARY RANGE $209,000 - $266,000/year. DUTIES As a successful candidate for the Principal Firmware Reverse Engineer III role, you will focus on developing and enhancing the tools, automation, and workflows that enable reverse engineers to operate more effectively and efficiently. You will design and implement solutions that support binary analysis, disassembly, firmware analysis, and reverse engineering activities across complex software, embedded systems, and device platforms. In this role, you will leverage automation, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies to streamline reverse engineering processes, improve analytical workflows, and accelerate mission outcomes. You will work closely with customers, reverse engineers, and software developers to identify workflow challenges, gather requirements, and develop innovative tooling solutions that enhance analysis capabilities. Through the development of automation frameworks, AI-assisted workflows, and reverse engineering tooling integrations, you will help advance the next generation of analysis platforms while improving the effectiveness, scalability, and usability of reverse engineering operations. Required Skills SKILLS * Design and implement tooling enhancements that improve reverse engineering workflows for firmware, embedded systems, and application software

• Develop, extend, and integrate reverse engineering tools to enhance analysis capabilities and operational efficiency
• Experiment with autonomous and semi-autonomous agents to support software development and reverse engineering workflows
• Build automation solutions for common reverse engineering tasks, including analysis, annotation, documentation, and workflow management
• Apply AI-assisted techniques to binary analysis, pattern identification, code annotation, and reverse engineering processes
• Enhance tooling and workflows to improve the speed, accuracy, and effectiveness of reverse engineering efforts
• Collaborate with customers, reverse engineers, and software developers to gather feedback and refine tooling solutions
• Translate user needs and operational requirements into scalable tooling and automation capabilities
• Measure, evaluate, and document the effectiveness of tooling enhancements and workflow improvements
• Support the continuous improvement of reverse engineering platforms, processes, and automation frameworks
• Analyze complex technical challenges and develop innovative solutions to improve reverse engineering operations
• Contribute to the advancement of AI-assisted analysis capabilities and next-generation reverse engineering technologies

QUALIFICATIONS Twelve (12) years' experience as a SWE in programs and contracts of similar scope, type, and complexity is required. A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related discipline from an accredited college or university is required. Four (4) years of additional SWE experience on projects with similar software processes may be substituted for a bachelor's degree. Additional requirements:

• * Hands-on experience with reverse engineering platforms such as Ghidra, IDA Pro, or similar analysis tools
• Strong understanding of low-level software concepts, including assembly language, binary analysis, memory structures, and calling conventions
• Experience developing software tools, scripts, plugins, or extensions that support reverse engineering and analysis workflows
• Proficiency in at least one scripting or programming language commonly used in reverse engineering environments
• Experience prototyping, evaluating, and refining experimental tools and technical solutions
• Ability to analyze complex software systems and develop tooling to improve analysis efficiency and effectiveness
• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting skills within reverse engineering and software analysis environments
• Familiarity with artificial intelligence and large language model technologies, with an interest in expanding AI/LLM capabilities and applications
• Ability to learn and apply emerging technologies to solve complex technical challenges
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to collaborate effectively with customers, reverse engineers, and software developers
• Experience supporting the development and continuous improvement of technical workflows, automation solutions, and analysis platforms

Desired Skills NICE-TO-HAVES * Experience reverse engineering Linux-based network devices, embedded systems, or firmware-driven platforms

• Experience analyzing and reverse-engineering network traffic, communication protocols, and web applications
• Familiarity with firmware analysis, bootloaders, operating system startup processes, and embedded device architectures
• Knowledge of networking protocols and their implementation within software and device platforms
• Experience applying automation, machine learning, or AI-assisted techniques to reverse engineering workflows and analysis tasks
• Knowledge of Python or similar scripting languages commonly used for reverse engineering tooling and automation
• Familiarity with agentic AI frameworks, orchestration platforms, or autonomous workflow technologies
• Experience developing custom tooling to support binary analysis, firmware analysis, or reverse engineering operations
• Understanding of software behavior analysis, pattern identification, and automated code annotation techniques
• Experience integrating AI capabilities into technical analysis, research, or software engineering workflows