Senior Research Scientist - Cyber Network Security

Peraton Labs, Inc.; College Park (MD); On-site; USD 176,000 - 282,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Sign‑on bonus eligibility

Job summary

Peraton Labs in Maryland seeks a Senior Research Scientist to support cleared R&D for government customers. You will design, develop, and demonstrate advanced network security prototypes in classified and unclassified settings, combining software, networking, and cyber systems expertise.

The role emphasizes hands-on prototyping, collaboration with government leadership, and rapid iteration in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• 12+ years with Bachelor's, 10+ with Master's, or 8+ with PhD in a technical field.
• Strong hands-on software development and network prototyping experience.
• Experience with Linux-based development and network protocols.
• Familiarity with virtualization and cloud-native infrastructure.
• Automation/config management tools experience required.
• Ability to learn quickly and document complex concepts for government customers.
• US Citizenship and TS/SCI w/ Polygraph are required.

Responsibilities

• Research, design, develop, and demonstrate network security prototypes for government customers.
• Develop software, scripts, and test environments to showcase capabilities.
• Build prototypes using high-speed networks, cloud, containers, and VMs.
• Design and integrate large‑scale experiment environments with Docker, Kubernetes, OpenStack, etc.
• Document designs, test results, and findings for briefings and reports.

Skills

Hands-on software development

Network security research

Cyber systems engineering

Network prototyping

Python, Go, Java, C/C++

Linux-based development

Networking protocols & troubleshooting

Virtualization & cloud-native infra

Docker, Kubernetes, OpenStack

Automation/config management tools

Ansible, Helm, Terraform

Documentation & communication

Independent & collaborative work

US Citizenship

TS/SCI w/ Polygraph

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/CE/EE/Cybersecurity or related

Master's degree in CS/CE/EE/Cybersecurity or related

PhD in CS/Engineering or related

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenStack

Vagrant

Ansible

Helm

Puppet

Terraform

Git

Job description

About Peraton

Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world's leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace. The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and supports every branch of the U.S. armed forces. Each day, our employees solve the most daunting challenges that our customers face. Visit peraton.com to learn how we're keeping people around the world safe and secure.

About Peraton

Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world's leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace. The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and supports every branch of the U.S. armed forces. Each day, our employees solve the most daunting challenges that our customers face. Visit peraton.com to learn how we're keeping people around the world safe and secure.

About The Role

Peraton Labs is seeking a poly cleared Senior Research Scientist to support cleared research and development efforts for a Maryland-based customer. This role will focus on the research, design, development, and demonstration of advanced network security prototypes across classified and unclassified environments. This position is ideal for a hands‑on researcher or senior engineer who can combine software development, networking, automation, virtualization, and cyber systems knowledge to rapidly build mission‑focused prototypes. Within this role you will work in a dynamic R&D environment, collaborate directly with government leadership and technical stakeholders, and help shape next‑generation research efforts in cyber network defense, secure networking, experimentation platforms, and emerging network technologies.

This position requires full‑time on‑site work at a customer site near College Park, MD.

Key Responsibilities May Include

• Research, design, develop, and demonstrate network security prototypes for government research customers
• Develop software, scripts, tools, documentation, and test environments to demonstrate new cyber and networking capabilities
• Build prototypes involving high‑speed networks, wireless networks, cloud infrastructure, containers, virtualized environments, and network function virtualization
• Design and integrate large‑scale experimentation environments using technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, Helm, Ansible, OpenStack, Vagrant, or similar tools
• Support research involving network protocols, traffic analysis, network monitoring, data collection, cyber defense, secure‑by‑design networking, and cyber operations
• Apply software development skills in languages such as Python, Go, Java, C/C++, or similar
• Work with government leadership and technical stakeholders to shape research direction, explain technical approaches, and identify new prototype opportunities
• Collaborate with government, Peraton Labs, and contractor teams to integrate research prototypes into larger experimentation platforms
• Analyze, troubleshoot, and refine prototypes in fast‑moving R&D environments
• Document technical designs, prototype capabilities, test results, and research findings for customer briefings and technical reports

*This position may be eligible for an increased sign‑on bonus. Eligibility, bonus amount, and applicable terms and conditions will be discussed during the recruiting process

#MDFSP #PLABS26

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 12+ years of experience with a Bachelor's degree, 10+ years of experience with a Master's degree, or 8+ years of experience with a PhD in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Cybersecurity, or a related technical field. In lieu of a Bachelors, an additional 4 years of experience is required for a total of 16+ years relevant experience.
• Strong hands‑on experience in software development, network security research, cyber systems engineering, or advanced network prototyping
• Programming experience in one or more languages such as Python, Go, Java, C/C++, or similar
• Experience with Linux‑based development
• Understanding of network protocols, network devices, routing, switching, firewalls, packet analysis, and network troubleshooting
• Experience with virtualization, containers, or cloud‑native infrastructure such as Docker, Kubernetes, Vagrant, OpenStack or similar tools
• Experience with automation or configuration management tools such as Ansible, Helm, Puppet, Terraform, or similar
• Ability to rapidly learn new technologies, prototype solutions, redirect research as needed, and apply new technical concepts to mission problems
• Ability to clearly document and communicate technical concepts, research outcomes, and prototype demonstrations to government customers and stakeholders
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast‑paced classified R&D environment
• US Citizenship is a requirement for this position
• This position requires an active/current TS/SCI w/ Polygraph

Desired Additional Qualifications

• Experience working directly with IC or DoD research customers, government PMs, and multi‑contractor technical teams
• Experience serving as a technical lead, task lead, principal investigator, or senior technical contributor on government R&D programs
• Experience with cyber network defense, secure networking, network security research, cyber operations, or cyber experimentation platforms
• Experience with high‑speed networking, wireless networking, software‑defined networking, network function virtualization, or cloud‑native network functions
• Experience building large‑scale testbeds, cyber ranges, experimentation environments, or prototype evaluation platforms
• Experience with CI/CD and team development workflows using tools such as GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Git, Jira, or similar tools
• Experience with network/system monitoring and data collections tools such as Zeek, Suricata, Wireshark, tcpdump, Prometheus, Grafana, ELK/OpenSearch, or similar tools
• Experience with reverse engineering or malware analysis tools such as Ghidra, IDA Pro, Binary Ninja, Redare2, or similar
• Experience with embedded systems development, Linux kernal development, device driver development, or low‑level systems programming
• Familiarity with RF, wireless security, SDR, 5G/LTE, tactical networks, or constrained/edge environments
• Familiarity with AI/ML, neural networks, anomaly detection, traffic classification, or applying machine learning to cyber/network security problems
• Experience contributing to proposals, whitepapers, technical reports, customer briefings, or publications
• Strong curiosity, adaptability, and desire to acquire new technical skills in support of emerging mission needs

Details

Target Salary Range: $176,000 - $282,000. This represents the typical salary range for this position. Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the individual's experience, education, knowledge, skills, and competencies, as well as geographic location and business and contract considerations. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay.

Benefits Statement: Peraton offers eligible employees a variety of benefits including medical, dental, vision, life, health savings account, short/long term disability, EAP, parental leave, 401(k), paid time off (PTO) for vacation, and company paid holidays. A full listing of available benefits can be viewed at https://www.careers.peraton.com/benefits.

Application Statements: The application period for the job is estimated to be 30 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates. By applying to this job, you are expressing interest in the role and the Company. During the review of your application, you may be required to participate in an on‑camera interview, as well as participate in a process to verify your identity. Use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools of any kind during Peraton interviews is strictly prohibited unless the candidate has obtained prior written authorization. All interview responses must be the candidate's own.

EEO:Equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veterans, or other characteristics protected by law.