Hardware Security and Vulnerability Analyst (Reverse Engineer)

The EndoSec Hardware Security and Vulnerability Analyst is responsible for extracting and analyzing firmware and data at rest, identifying vulnerabilities in software, firmware, and hardware, as well as developing proof of concept exploits. The candidate will collaborate with other engineers and security experts to find and exploit security flaws and vulnerabilities within devices and designs as well as to build secure and efficient systems, contributing to our products and services ongoing security and privacy. 

Key Responsibilities

1. System Analysis: Analyze systems to understand functionality, failure points, and consequences of failure.
2. Security Measure Circumvention: Bypass implemented security measures to gain access to sensitive data, including enabling debugging, forging or bypassing signatures, gaining elevated privileges, and simulating environmental and working conditions.
3. Binary Code Extraction and Analysis: Extract firmware, executables, and other sensitive data from embedded systems and analyze the extracted code for possible vulnerabilities and sensitive data, e.g. passwords, cryptographic keys, etc.
4. Side-Channel Analysis and Fault Injection: Setup and perform side-channel analysis to recover sensitive data, e.g. cryptographic keys, sensitive plaintext, etc. Setup and perform fault injection attacks to bypass security measures and/or recover sensitive data.
5. Exploit Development: Develop custom and novel exploits to bypass security measures, recover sensitive data, or gain elevated privileges in embedded systems.
6. Documentation: Prepare detailed documentation, including physical setups, testing procedures, and user guides, for reproducibility of found results and maintenance.
7. Continuous Learning: Stay current with the latest advancements in reverse engineering and hardware security to continually refine and enhance skills.

Position Requirements

1. Ability to obtain and maintain a US government security clearance.
2. Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
3. Experience reverse engineering embedded systems including using standard tools such as IDA Pro, Ghidra, etc.
4. Experience working with FPGAs, hardware description languages (VHDL, Verilog), microcontrollers, SoCs, and related hardware (Flash, SRAM, DRAM, etc.).
5. Strong programming skills in scripting languages (Python, JavaScript, bash) and C/C++ for hardware/software integration.
6. Experience standard interfaces (AXI, SPI, UART, JTAG).
7. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to understand complex software and hardware designs.
8. Strong documentation skills and the ability to convey complex information clearly and effectively.
9. Collaborative mindset and excellent communication skills to work effectively with cross-functional teams.
10. Experience in hardware security and reverse engineering techniques.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Knowledge of cryptographic algorithms and experience implementing mathematical algorithms in hardware or software.
• Experience in tamper detection and anti-reverse engineering techniques.