Vulnerability Research Engineer with Security Clearance

Shadowgate Partners is seeking a Vulnerability Research Engineer for a Client.

Salary: $190,000 per year, plus an additional 25% ($47,560) of your salary in fully and immediately vested employer 401(k) contributions. This is an entry point into a vulnerability research team that studies hardware, software applications, and operating systems to understand how they actually work. You will build the reverse engineering and analysis fundamentals that underpin access research, working alongside senior researchers on a mission with real operational consequence. Expect to spend your time in a disassembler and a debugger, and to be taught by people who have been doing this for a long time.

Key Responsibilities • Reverse engineer software binaries and hardware components to determine structure, functionality, and design.

• Analyze source code and compiled code to identify flaws and unexpected behavior.
• Write tooling and automation in Python or C to accelerate analysis.
• Document findings clearly enough that another engineer can reproduce them.
• Support senior researchers on larger research efforts and contribute to internal technical discussions. Required Qualifications • Two or more years of programming experience in Assembly, C, C#, C++, Perl, or Python.
• Two or more years of hands-on hardware or software reverse engineering.
• Working familiarity with disassemblers and debuggers (IDA Pro, Ghidra, OllyDbg, or equivalent).
• Understanding of operating system internals and how compiled code executes.

Preferred Qualifications • Exposure to fuzzing, crash triage, or root-cause analysis of memory corruption.

• Familiarity with exploit mitigations such as DEP and ASLR.
• CTF participation, published research, or other demonstrable personal research work.
• Scripting for binary analysis automation (Ghidra/IDA plugins, angr, Binary Ninja API).

Experience & Education Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field plus a minimum of two years of experience in computer science, information systems, or network engineering. Clearance Level This position requires an active Top Secret/SCI clearance with a Full Scope Polygraph. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and must hold, or be able to reinstate, the required clearance and polygraph prior to start. Clearance eligibility must be maintained throughout the duration of employment. Benefits In addition to the base salary and 401(k) contributions listed above, our Client offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision coverage.