Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) seeks a Reverse Engineer and Offensive Cyber Developer to design and prototype advanced cyber capabilities for national security missions. In this role, you will reverse engineer complex binaries, firmware, and protocols; discover vulnerabilities; and develop offensive tools and exploits that inform resilient system designs. Collaborating within APL's mission-driven, research-focused culture, you'll work alongside experts in cyber, systems, and operations, with strong support for innovation, publication, and advanced degrees as you tackle critical real-world challenges.
Responsibilities
- Reverse engineer complex binaries, firmware, and protocols to discover vulnerabilities and system behavior.
- Design and develop offensive cyber tools, exploits, and proof-of-concept capabilities for research and mission prototypes.
- Analyze malware, adversary tradecraft, and TTPs to inform resilient system designs and defenses.
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams across cyber, systems, and mission experts to translate operational needs into technical solutions.
- Document methods, results, and prototypes in clear technical reports and briefings for sponsors and internal stakeholders.
- Contribute to research proposals, experiments, and publications advancing the state of the art in offensive and resilient cyber operations.
Required Skills
- Reverse engineering (IDA Pro, Ghidra, Radare2)
- Exploit development
- Binary analysis
- Malware analysis
- C/C++ programming
- Python scripting
- Assembly (x86/x64/ARM)
- Secure software engineering
- Linux and Windows internals
- Offensive security tooling and frameworks