Senior Reverse Engineer / Vulnerability Researcher

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL); Laurel (NE); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) seeks a senior reverse engineering engineer to join our mission-focused team working on embedded systems and national security problems.

You will reverse engineer mission-relevant systems, uncover vulnerabilities, and develop inventive exploits, collaborating with government sponsors and lab colleagues. A strong background in security research, leadership, and mentoring is preferred; TS/SCI clearance is highly valued.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or master's degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related discipline aligned to the role.
• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience.
• Strong proficiency with debuggers and static analysis tools such as Ghidra, IDA, and Binary Ninja.
• Fluency in one or more programming languages.
• Hands-on experience reading and writing assembly code.
• Solid understanding of Unix/Linux operating systems and embedded systems development toolchains.
• Active TS/SCI clearance and ability to obtain TS/SCI with polygraph clearance; U.S. citizenship required.

Responsibilities

• Reverse engineer mission-relevant systems, uncover vulnerabilities, and develop inventive exploits.
• Collaborate with teammates in custom laboratories built for foreign materiel, telecommunications infrastructure, and other embedded platforms.
• Work with APL specialists in missile defense, space, and maritime systems to understand operational impact of findings.
• Partner with government sponsors across multiple agencies to develop mission-aligned offensive cyber capabilities.
• Investigate new methods to automate reverse engineering and exploit development.
• Propose innovative technical approaches and new research paths to shape work direction.
• Mentor early-career team members in reverse engineering craft and discipline.

Skills

Debugger & static analysis tools

Programming languages

Reading/writing assembly

Unix/Linux & embedded toolchains

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's/Master's degree in CS/EE/CE

Tools

Ghidra

IDA

Binary Ninja

Job description

Requirements

Must have

• We require a bachelors or masters degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline aligned to the role.
• We need at least 5 years of relevant professional experience.
• We expect strong proficiency with debuggers and static analysis tools such as Ghidra, IDA, and Binary Ninja.
• We require fluency in one or more programming languages.
• We need hands‑on experience reading and writing assembly code.
• We expect a solid understanding of Unix/Linux operating systems and embedded systems development toolchains.
• We value persistence, curiosity, and a strong aptitude for solving complex technical problems.
• We require an active TS/SCI clearance and the ability to ultimately obtain TS/SCI with polygraph clearance; U.S. citizenship is required for eligibility.
• Preferred qualifications include prior technical leadership and mentoring experience.
• Preferred experience includes applying AI to reverse engineering, vulnerability research, or exploit development.
• Preferred background includes familiarity with advanced vulnerability discovery tools.
• Preferred expertise includes hardware debugging interfaces, code security mechanisms and weaknesses, diagnostic hardware tools, and signal/protocol analysis.
• An active TS/SCI clearance with full‑scope polygraph is considered a plus.

Responsibilities

• We reverse engineer mission‑relevant systems, uncover vulnerabilities, and develop inventive exploits.
• We collaborate with teammates in custom laboratories built for foreign materiel, telecommunications infrastructure, and other embedded platforms.
• We work with APL specialists in areas such as missile defense, space, and maritime systems to understand the operational impact of our findings.
• We partner directly with government sponsors across multiple agencies to develop mission‑aligned offensive cyber capabilities.
• We investigate new methods to automate reverse engineering and exploit development.
• We help shape the direction of our work by proposing innovative technical approaches and new research paths.
• We mentor early‑career team members in the craft and discipline of reverse engineering.

Company

We are the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), a world‑class organization tackling critical defense, security, space, and science challenges. Our reverse engineering team is growing, and we offer an innovative, highly collaborative environment where engineers work on complex embedded systems and real‑world national security problems.

We value creativity, bold ideas, and diverse perspectives, and we support our people with generous benefits including education assistance, strong retirement contributions, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability coverage, paid time off, flexible spending accounts, training and development, and a healthy work/life balance. Our campus is located in the Baltimore‑Washington metro area, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.