Security Engineer 1, Application Security

Trail of Bits

3d•$100,000 - $160,000•Remote

About The Position

Trail of Bits seeks a Security Engineer 1 for our growing Software Assurance practice. You'll contribute to security assessments of client software, partnering with senior engineers, identifying vulnerabilities across the application and system level. You'll own pieces of client engagements, drive your own vulnerability analysis, and develop tools alongside the team. This role bridges vulnerability research and applied security, where you'll find real issues in real code and help clients understand and fix them. Your work will be hands-on and autonomous: analyzing complex code, building custom tooling, conducting threat modeling, and owning your findings through to client delivery.

Requirements

Demonstrable vulnerability research capability - Proven ability to find and validate real vulnerabilities. This means: CTF wins, published CVEs, bug bounty finds, or security research that shows you can actually discover exploitable issues.
Strong code analysis skills - You can read complex code, trace execution, identify logic flaws, and explain why something is exploitable. You understand the difference between a tool flagging something and it actually being a vulnerability.
Hands-on coding proficiency - Fluent in at least two of: Rust, Go, C, C++, Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, or similar. You write code for security analysis and tool development, not just consume it.
Memory safety understanding - You understand memory corruption vulnerabilities (buffer overflows, use-after-free, etc.) and modern mitigations (ASLR, DEP, CFI). You can reason about exploit primitives.
Systems knowledge - Deep familiarity with operating systems, IPC, privilege boundaries, and how applications interact with system internals. This isn't theoretical, you've worked with this stuff.
Autonomous problem-solving - You drive your own work. You own pieces of engagements. You ask good questions, debug issues, and reach conclusions without hand-holding.
Clear technical communication - You can explain complex security findings to engineers. Your reports get read because they're clear and actionable. You can defend your analysis.
0–2 years into your security career, or you're coming from software engineering with a strong security foundation.
Proven ability to find vulnerabilities and understand how systems break.
You should be capable of owning a piece of a security engagement and driving it to completion.

Nice To Haves

Active CTF participation - Current or recent CTF team participation, CTF wins, or rankings.
Published vulnerability research - CVEs, bug bounties, responsible disclosures, or security writeups.
Open source security contributions - Tools, libraries, or research contributions to open source projects.
Mobile security experience - Android, iOS, or macOS internals. Binary analysis on mobile platforms.
Published technical writing - Blog posts, security research writeups, conference talks, or technical documentation.
Cloud security experience - AWS, GCP, or Azure security assessment and architecture review.
Kernel or low-level development - Experience with kernel code, drivers, or system-level programming.

Responsibilities

Lead security assessments for specific components, modules, or systems within larger client engagements.
Identify vulnerabilities, trace root causes, and own your analysis from discovery through client delivery.
Find and validate real vulnerabilities in application code and systems.
Explain exploitation paths, assess impact, and develop proof-of-concept code when needed.
Design and build security testing tools and automation for vulnerability detection.
Own tool development from concept through deployment on client projects.
Conduct threat modeling and architecture reviews of software systems.
Identify attack surfaces, data flows, and security boundaries.
Propose concrete mitigations.
Translate technical findings into clear, actionable recommendations for engineering teams.
Own client relationships for your component of the work.
Contribute to security research initiatives.
Build tools, document findings, and stay on the cutting edge of vulnerability research and application security.

Benefits

Competitive salary complemented by performance-based bonuses.
Fully company-paid insurance packages, including health, dental, vision, disability, and life.
A solid 401(k) plan with a 5% match of your base salary.
20 days of paid vacation with flexibility for more, adhering to jurisdictional regulations.
4 months of parental leave to cherish the arrival of new family members.
$10,000 in relocation assistance to support your transition to NYC.
$1,000 Working-from-Home stipend to create a comfortable and productive home office.
Annual $750 Learning & Development stipend for continuous personal and professional growth.
Company-sponsored all-team celebrations, including travel and accommodation, to foster community and recognize achievements.
Philanthropic contribution matching up to $2,000 annually.