Telecom / ISP Exploitation Engineer

Zealot Labs, Inc.; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 195,000; Full time

Job summary

Zealot Labs, Inc. is at the forefront of deploying AI systems within Western cyber operations. The team includes alumni from Anthropic, xAI, and Anduril, with live operations planned alongside close U.S. allies.

We seek engineers to build AI-driven tooling, reverse engineer carrier-grade equipment, and harden telecom infrastructure against advanced threats. Candidates should have deep telecom security experience and strong C/C++ or Python skills, with a willingness to work on-site in New York.

Qualifications

• Strong C/C++ or Python skills for tooling and exploit development.
• Experience reverse engineering network equipment firmware or proprietary OS.
• Telecom or ISP infrastructure security experience is essential.
• Familiarity with carrier-grade platforms and telecom protocols (SS7/SIGTRAN, GTP, DIAMETER, RADIUS, MPLS, BGP).
• Comfort with building AI-driven tooling to audit and attack carrier networks.

Responsibilities

• Build AI systems to identify vulnerabilities in carrier-grade telecom/ISP infrastructure.
• Reverse engineer firmware and management planes on equipment from major vendors to train generalized models.
• Target subscriber-edge infrastructure where authentication, session control, and policy enforcement converge.
• Develop AI tooling that discovers attack paths through SS7, GTP, DIAMETER, and carrier routing at scale.
• Turn telecom domain knowledge into data and systems enabling machines to operate at backbone scale.
• Highlight security of core networks and access networks within telecom environments.
• Familiarity with carrier-grade platforms and telecom protocols to guide tooling and tests.
• Understand and leverage RADIUS, DIAMETER, and related AAA protocols.

Skills

C/C++

Python

Telecom security

Network protocols

Reverse engineering

Carrier routing

Security testing

LLMs/AI agents

CNO Gov telecom

Mobile core

BRAS/BNG/CMTS

CVEs published

TR-069/CWMP

AI systems focus

Massive scale

Job description

Zealot is deploying AI systems at the center of western cyber operations , backed by tier-1 US VCs and industry leaders. Our team includes alumni of Anthropic, xAI, and Anduril. Soon live with close U.S. allies abroad.

APPLIED AI RE VR ERICSSON HUAWEI NOKIA ZTE

Compensation 100K-195K + skin in the game equity

Location New York, NY On Site

Stage Early-stage startup backed by tier 1 investors. Small, growing team with exceptionally high ownership.

• + Build AI systems that find and exploit vulnerabilities in carrier-grade telecom and ISP infrastructure: core routers, BRAS/BNG, GPON/EPON, DSLAM, CMTS, and mobile packet core.
• + Reverse engineer firmware and management planes on equipment from Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, ZTE, Calix, and similar vendors to train models that generalize across platforms.
• + Target subscriber-edge infrastructure (BRAS, BNG, AAA systems, and RADIUS/DIAMETER stacks) where authentication, session control, and policy enforcement converge.
• + Develop AI-driven tooling that discovers attack paths through SS7, GTP, DIAMETER, and carrier routing infrastructure at scale.
• + Turn deep telecom domain knowledge into the systems and data that let machines operate at the backbone level.
• + Strong experience with telecom or ISP infrastructure security: core networks, access networks, or carrier routing.
• + Familiarity with carrier-grade platforms: Cisco IOS-XR, Juniper Junos, Nokia SR OS, Huawei VRP, or similar.
• + Understanding of telecom protocols: SS7/SIGTRAN, GTP, DIAMETER, RADIUS, MPLS, BGP at carrier scale, GPON/EPON.
• + Experience reverse engineering network equipment firmware or proprietary network operating systems.
• + Strong C/C++ or Python skills for tooling and exploit development.

Nice to Have

• + Experience with mobile core network elements (MME, SGW, PGW, HSS, or 5G equivalents).
• + Familiarity with BRAS/BNG, DSLAM, CMTS, OLT, or other access and subscriber-edge network equipment.
• + Published CVEs or advisories against telecom or ISP equipment vendors.
• + Experience with TR-069/CWMP, NETCONF/YANG, RADIUS/DIAMETER AAA, or carrier management protocols.
• + Experience building with LLMs and AI agents.
• + Background in CNO, SIGINT, or government telecom operations.
• + Clearly interested in stepping away from purely manual research and moving toward the development of AI systems.
• + Building something massive matters more to you than comfort, titles, or predictability.
• + You want to be early at a company that will change an industry, and you're ready to do what that actually takes.

Note to recruiting firms: Telecom or ISP infrastructure security experience is the core requirement. Carrier-grade routing, mobile core, or access network experience is essential. Candidates from telco vendor security teams, CNO backgrounds, or ISP engineering are ideal.

Ready?