Senior Wireless Reverse Engineer: Lead RF & Protocol Analysis

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab; Laurel (MD); On-site; USD 105,000 - 290,000; Full time

Job summary

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) seeks a Senior Wireless Reverse Engineer to join a multidisciplinary team focused on signals intelligence, wireless cyber access, and defensive capabilities. You will reverse engineer wireless protocols, devices, and systems from over-the-air behavior to underlying implementations.

You will lead efforts, perform static/dynamic analysis, and develop tools to accelerate work while mentoring staff.

Qualifications

• Have at least a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or another related technical field.
• Have at least ten years of relevant experience in reverse engineering, embedded systems, cyber operations, wireless systems, SIGINT, or a related field.
• Have demonstrated expertise reverse engineering software, firmware, embedded systems, communications protocols, or some combination thereof, including experience analyzing complex or undocumented systems.
• Have hands-on experience with reverse-engineering techniques such as disassembly/decompilation, debugging, static and dynamic analysis, binary analysis, instrumentation, or protocol analysis.
• Have experience developing technical software using Python, C/C++, or similar languages and have familiarity with wireless communications, RF systems, or software-defined radios.
• Have demonstrated technical leadership, strong oral and written communication skills, and the ability to independently solve complex and open-ended technical problems.
• Are able to obtain an Interim Top Secret level security clearance by your start date and can ultimately obtain a TS/SCI level clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead reverse engineering efforts against unknown, undocumented, or partially documented wireless systems to understand their operation, capabilities, and vulnerabilities.
• Reverse engineer software, firmware, embedded implementations, and communications protocols to understand how wireless devices and systems operate.
• Use static and dynamic analysis, debugging, instrumentation, binary analysis, and other reverse-engineering techniques to uncover system functionality and implementation details.
• Analyze and correlate software, firmware, protocol, and over-the-air behavior to develop a comprehensive understanding of complex wireless systems.
• Use software-defined radios, laboratory instrumentation, target devices, and experimental techniques to test hypotheses, reproduce behavior, and validate reverse-engineering results.
• Develop software tools and automated analysis workflows to accelerate wireless, software, firmware, and protocol reverse engineering.
• Provide technical leadership to multidisciplinary teams, mentor less-experienced staff, identify new technical approaches and opportunities, and communicate findings and results to sponsors and the technical community.

Skills

Reverse engineering

Software/Firmware analysis

Python

C/C++

Disassembly/Decompilation

Debugging

Technical leadership

Communication

Wireless protocols

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science/related

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Ghidra

IDA Pro

Binary Ninja

Job description

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) seeks a Senior Wireless Reverse Engineer to join a multidisciplinary team focused on signals intelligence, wireless cyber access, and defensive capabilities. You will reverse engineer wireless protocols, devices, and systems from over-the-air behavior to underlying implementations.

You will lead efforts, perform static/dynamic analysis, and develop tools to accelerate work while mentoring staff.