Senior Vulnerability Researcher (Cloud & Containers)

SwiftCruit; Florham Park (NJ); On-site; USD 113,200 - 237,800; Full time

Job summary

Dormont Manufacturing Co in Florham Park, NJ, seeks a Senior Vulnerability Researcher with Top Secret clearance to hunt for weaknesses in cloud-native systems, Kubernetes, and container runtimes. You will perform static/dynamic binary analysis with IDA Pro, Ghidra, and Binary Ninja; develop fuzzing harnesses; and translate complex findings into actionable reports for security and engineering teams.

This full-time role requires 7+ years of experience and deep knowledge of Go, Rust, C/C++, Python,

Qualifications

• Active Top Secret clearance.
• 7+ years vulnerability research or low-level engineering.
• Expert Go, Rust, and C/C++ proficiency.
• Strong Python3 scripting.
• Deep knowledge of x86/ARM assembly and memory corruption.
• Proven vulnerabilities in distributed systems or container runtimes.
• Experience with disassembly/decompilation tools and debuggers.

Responsibilities

• Deep-dive OCI runtimes (runc, crun) and Linux namespaces, cgroups, eBPF to find breakouts and privilege escalations.
• Static/dynamic analysis of binaries with IDA Pro, Ghidra, or Binary Ninja to map logic and issues.
• Develop fuzzing harnesses (AFL++, libFuzzer) to stress-test gRPC interfaces and microservices.
• Use concolic execution tools (Angr, Manticore) to automate complex path discovery.
• Investigate edge-case behaviors in containerized environments to reveal attack surfaces.
• Build Python3 tools to automate research workflows, protocol decoding, and memory analysis.
• Document findings clearly for security and engineering teams.

Skills

Go

Rust

C/C++

Python3

Assembly

Fuzzing

Concolic execution

Tools

IDA Pro

Ghidra

Binary Ninja

GDB

AFL++

libFuzzer

Angr

Manticore

Job description

Job Title: Senior Vulnerability Researcher (Cloud & Containers)

Job Category: Engineering

Time Type: Full time

Minimum Clearance Required to Start: Top Secret

Employee Type: Regular

Percentage of Travel Required: Up to 10%

Type of Travel: Continental US

The Opportunity

We are seeking a Senior Vulnerability Researcher with deep expertise in cloud-native architecture, container runtimes, and advanced binary analysis. This role is ideal for a low-level expert who thrives on technical ambiguity and enjoys hunting for vulnerabilities within the “DNA of the cloud.” You will use automated reasoning and manual deep-dives to uncover escapes and logic flaws in Kubernetes infrastructure, playing a key role in evaluating the security of critical distributed systems and contributing directly to national cybersecurity efforts.

Responsibilities

• Conduct deep-dive research into OCI runtimes (runc, crun) and Linux kernel primitives (namespaces, cgroups, eBPF) to identify breakout and privilege escalation paths.
• Perform static and dynamic analysis on compiled binaries (Go, Rust, C++) using IDA Pro, Ghidra, or Binary Ninja to map undocumented logic and potential security issues.
• Build and maintain custom fuzzing harnesses (e.g., AFL++, libFuzzer) to stress-test gRPC interfaces, service mesh components, and microservices.
• Utilize concolic execution tools (e.g., Angr, Manticore) to automate the discovery of complex execution paths and bypass security checks.
• Investigate edge-case behaviors in containerized environments and low-level system initialization logic to reveal hidden attack surfaces.
• Develop custom tools and scripts (primarily in Python3) to automate research workflows, protocol decoding, and memory analysis.
• Document findings clearly and translate technical complexity into actionable reports for security and engineering teams.

Required Qualifications

• An active Top Secret clearance.
• 7+ years of professional experience in vulnerability research, software exploitation, or low-level engineering.
• Expert-level proficiency in Go, Rust, and C/C++.
• Strong command of Python3 for scripting and automation of research tasks.
• Deep understanding of x86/ARM assembly and memory corruption primitives.
• Proven track record of finding vulnerabilities in distributed systems, virtualization layers, or container runtimes.
• Hands-on experience with disassembly and decompilation tools (e.g., IDA Pro, Ghidra, Binary Ninja) and debugging tools (GDB).
• Detailed understanding of Linux kernel internals, specifically namespaces, cgroups, and the container execution model.
• Experience with automated bug-hunting techniques, including fuzzing and symbolic/concolic execution.

Desired Qualifications

• An active SCI clearance is highly desired.
• Experience with Kubernetes security architecture and service mesh implementations (Istio, Linkerd).
• Familiarity with hardware-assisted isolation technologies and TEEs (Trusted Execution Environments).
• Ability to build scalable security tooling and infrastructure to support analysis workflows in a team setting.
• Background in cloud provider security (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and underlying hypervisor technology.

Benefits & Pay

Pay Range: $113,200 - $237,800

Our employees value the flexibility at CACI that allows them to balance quality work and their personal lives. We offer competitive compensation, benefits and learning and development opportunities. Our broad and competitive mix of benefits options is designed to support and protect employees and their families. At CACI, you will receive comprehensive benefits such as healthcare, wellness, financial, retirement, family support, continuing education, and time off benefits.

CACI is anEqualOpportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected characteristic.