Blockchain Vulnerability Researcher

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory•Laurel, MD

11h

About The Position

Are you a reverse engineer who is passionate about applying innovative approaches to automate vulnerability analysis? Are you a creative researcher who loves to imagine new solutions to complex problems? If so, we want you to join our elite team of reverse engineers at APL! Our team is growing and we need more blockchain experts. We strive to foster an innovative and collaborative team environment where engineers can hack the latest technologies to find and exploit vulnerabilities to solve the hardest national security challenges and have real-world impact. Our team specializes in software and hardware reverse engineering, vulnerability research, and developing proof-of-concept offensive cyber capabilities. As a member of our group, you will... Reverse engineer mission-relevant systems and develop innovative exploits Work with government sponsors and operators to build mission-aligned capabilities Explore novel techniques for automating reverse engineering and exploit development Propose groundbreaking ideas for internal and external funding opportunities Mentor early-career teammates in the art and science of reverse engineering Share knowledge by clearly articulating ideas through papers and presentations to team members, APL management, and government decision makers

Requirements

Have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or another field relevant to the duties as described above
A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience
Have knowledge and interest in blockchain, smart contracts, and crypto currency
Are skilled with software debuggers and static analysis tools such as Ghidra
Are proficient with one or more programming languages
Understand Unix/Linux operating systems
Love solving puzzles and have experience persevering through technical challenges
Hold an active TS/SCI clearance and can ultimately obtain a TS/SCI+Polygraph clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information; eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

Previously held dynamic technical leadership roles and have demonstrated mentoring experience
Have experience with smart contract debugging and vulnerability detection to ensure code security before deployment
Have experience writing Solidity smart contracts and deploying to Ethereum and other EVM-compatible blockchains
Have expertise in agentic AI
Have knowledge of advanced vulnerability discovery tools
Possess an active TS/SCI clearance with full scope polygraph

Responsibilities

Reverse engineer mission-relevant systems and develop innovative exploits
Work with government sponsors and operators to build mission-aligned capabilities
Explore novel techniques for automating reverse engineering and exploit development
Propose groundbreaking ideas for internal and external funding opportunities
Mentor early-career teammates in the art and science of reverse engineering
Share knowledge by clearly articulating ideas through papers and presentations to team members, APL management, and government decision makers