Staff Security Engineer

Alarm.com; Tysons (VA); On-site; USD 168,000 - 181,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) with employer match

Paid vacation

Office 4 days a week

Job summary

Alarm.com is seeking a Staff Security Engineer to identify security risks in our IoT device ecosystem, communicate findings to management, and assist with mitigation. The role requires hands-on reverse engineering, networking, OS, and programming experience, with duties spanning testing, threat modeling, and policy documentation.

The position involves collaboration with infrastructure, product, and other teams to minimize security and privacy risks, and includes a robust rewards package.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of information security experience with a focus on offensive security or vulnerability research.
• Experience security testing in IoT, embedded, or firmware environments.
• Working knowledge of embedded Linux systems and firmware analysis.
• Experience with hardware debugging tools such as oscilloscopes and logic analyzers.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Perform IoT penetration testing, including firmware extraction, reverse engineering, and vulnerability discovery.
• Conduct security research, threat modeling, vulnerability assessments, penetration testing across applications and systems.
• Use manual and automated techniques to assess risks and bypass security mechanisms.
• Oversee deployment and modernization of security solutions in IoT infrastructure and documents.
• Select and enhance security solutions to improve overall IoT security.
• Document risk impacts clearly in reports and remediation plans.
• Triage and remediate issues reported by external parties; collaborate with stakeholders.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

IoT security

Reverse engineering

Penetration testing

Vulnerability research

Networking

Embedded systems

Programming

Communication

Education

B.A. or B.S. in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering

Tools

IDA Pro

Ghidra

Binary Ninja

Oscilloscope

Logic analyzer

UART/I2C/SPI/JTAG tooling

Job description

The Staff Security Engineer will identify security risks within our IoT device ecosystem, communicate those risks to management, and assist with the mitigation efforts. This role requires hands‑on experience with reverse engineering, networking, operating systems, and programming. The ideal engineer will bring these skills to bear on complex IoT security challenges. The Senior Security Engineer will also document security policies and procedures and ensure they remain up to date with applicable industry standards and compliance requirements.

Responsibilities:

The Staff Security Engineer primary job responsibilities include:

• Perform IoT penetration testing, including firmware extraction, reverse engineering, and vulnerability discovery
• Perform security research, analysis, and testing via threat modeling, vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, and/or social engineering across a wide variety of applications, platforms and systems
• Use a combination of manual and automated techniques to assess risks and circumvent security mechanisms of devices and application
• Oversee and manage the deployment, integration, and configuration of security solutions and enhancements to existing IoT infrastructure and the enterprise’s security documents
• Select and acquire additional security solutions or enhancements to existing security solutions to improve overall IoT enterprise security
• Clearly outline and document risk impacts of test findings in reports
• Test, triage, and drive remediation of security issues reported by external parties
• Actively partner with infrastructure, application, product, and other stakeholders to ensure deployed solutions minimize security and privacy risks
• Other duties as assigned

REQUIREMENTS

• B.A. or B.S. (or higher) in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering program withstrong academic performance preferred
• 10+ years of information security experience, with a strong focus on offensive security, penetration testing, or vulnerability research
• Prior experience performing security testing and assessment in IoT, embedded, or firmware based environments
• Working knowledge of embedded system design and constraints (development experience a plus, but not required)
• Familiarity with using hardware debugging equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzer and other tools
• Familiarity with interface protocols such as UART, I 2 C, SPI, JTAG, and related tooling.
• Experience analyzing embedded Linux systems and firmware images.
• Familiarity with ARM CPU architectures with exposure to x86, RISC-V, or others as a plus
• Experience with reverse-engineering tools such as IDA Pro, Ghidra, and/or Binary Ninja
• Certification in one or more Information Security disciplines is preferred or ability to obtain certifications.
• Self-starter, analytical, tenacious problem solver
• Strong verbal and written communication skills for a highly collaborative environment
• Rigorous attention to detail and focus on quality of deliverables
• Proven team experience and comfort in a team-oriented environment
• Passion for working with technology and excitement for creating high quality consumertechnology product

If you feel like you don’t meet all the requirements for this role, we encourage you to apply. We don’t want a few of them to get in the way of meeting a great candidate like you!

Please note that sponsorship of new applicants for employment authorization, or any other immigration-related support, is not available for this position at this time.

• Collaborate with outstanding people: We hire only the best. Our standards are high and our employees enjoy working alongside other high achievers.
• Make an immediate impact: New employees can expect to be given real responsibility for bringing new technologies to the marketplace. You are empowered to perform as soon as you join the Alarm.com team!
• Gain well rounded experience: Alarm.com offers a diverse and dynamic environment where you will get the chance to work directly with executives and develop expertise across multiple areas of the business.
• Community and Camaraderie: One of our core values is to 'Keep It Fun,' which to us means fostering a strong sense of community. Our culture is built on collaboration and connection, where we celebrate our successes and believe that a positive, engaging environment is key to doing our best work.
• Alarm.com values working together and collaborating in person. Our employees work from the office 4 days a week.

Alarm.com is the leading platform for intelligently connected properties. Millions of homeowners and businesses rely on Alarm.com 's technology to secure, monitor, and manage their environments from anywhere. Our comprehensive suite of solutions—including security, video surveillance, access control, active shooter detection, intelligent automation, energy management, and wellness—is delivered exclusively through a trusted network of thousands of professional service providers and commercial integrators across North America and worldwide. Alarm.com 's common stock is traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ALRM. Alarm.com delivers serious security for serious people.

Our total rewards package is designed to support you holistically—in your health, your finances, and your life outside of work. The package includes medical plans with company subsidies, a Health Savings Account (HSA) with a company contribution, and a 401(k) with an employer match. We encourage a healthy work-life balance with paid vacation that increases with tenure, paid holidays, wellness time, and paid maternity and bonding leave. To complete the package, we also provide company-paid disability and life insurance, all within a collaborative and casual work environment.

Notice To Third Party Agencies:
Alarm.com understands the value of professional recruiting services. However, we are not accepting resumes from recruiters or employment agencies for this position. In the event we receive a resume or candidate referral for this position from a third-party recruiter or agency without a previously signed agreement, we reserve the right to pursue and hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to you. If you are interested in working with Alarm.com , please email your company information and standard agreement to [e-mail].

Base Salary Range

$167,500 - $180,500 USD