Senior Embedded Security Engineer – Digital Systems Security
About The Position
MITRE’s Electronic Systems Security department is seeking an engineer focused on hardware security for embedded systems to support advanced research and development projects of national significance. The role joins a multidisciplinary team of technical experts conducting hands-on research and analysis and developing proof-of-concept prototypes to advance embedded security. Sponsors and research objectives span a wide variety of work. The engineer researches secure design approaches and countermeasures, designs and builds hardware and software prototypes, analyzes secure implementations and architectures, and performs embedded-system security assessments. The role also develops software for lab equipment, tracks advances in embedded security, contributes ideas to internal research programs, leads tasks or engineering teams, and collaborates with academic partners on embedded-security education.
Requirements
- Typically, at least 5 years of related experience with a bachelor’s degree, or 3 years with a master’s degree, or a Ph.D. with relevant experience and the ability to contribute immediately at this job step, or an equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
- Experience with secure system modeling, design, implementation, and testing.
- Experience with hardware description languages such as Verilog, SystemVerilog, or VHDL.
- Experience with FPGA prototype development.
- Experience programming in languages such as Python, C/C++, or Rust for PCs and embedded systems.
- Experience analyzing microelectronics and hardware systems for susceptibility to implementation attacks, such as side-channel analysis, fault injection, laser voltage probing, photon emission microscopy, laser stimulation techniques, microprobing, and/or circuit edits.
- Familiarity with cryptographic protocols and algorithms.
- Familiarity with secure boot and root-of-trust architectures.
- Effective oral and written communication skills.
- Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Secret U.S. Government security clearance; U.S. citizenship is required for security-clearance eligibility.
- Must work on-site at least 3 days per week.
Nice To Haves
- MS or Ph.D. in Electrical or Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a similar field, and/or 8 or more years of related experience.
- Experience leading teams that develop or evaluate secure embedded systems.
- Strong problem-framing skills in ambiguous research environments.
- Experience developing and analyzing implementation-attack countermeasures.
- Experience analyzing cryptographic algorithms, protocols, and systems for implementation-attack threats.
- Experience executing invasive and semi-invasive attacks and applying associated protection techniques on integrated circuits, including side-channel analysis, fault injection, laser voltage probing, and photon emission microscopy.
- Experience with ASIC design, implementation, and testing.
- Experience with board- and component-level instrumentation and measurement, such as capturing digital and analog signals using mixed-domain oscilloscopes.
Responsibilities
- Research and develop secure design approaches and countermeasures for emerging threats to embedded systems.
- Design and build hardware and software prototypes to demonstrate advanced capabilities.
- Analyze secure implementations, designs, and architectures to identify weaknesses for further analysis or hardening.
- Perform hands-on and whitepaper-level security assessments of embedded systems.
- Develop software to interface with and control lab equipment for data collection, measurement, and analysis.
- Shape innovative ideas through internal research programs to advance embedded security.
- Track, adapt, and apply academic and industry advances in embedded security analysis and protection techniques to secure sponsors’ systems.
- Work on a multidisciplinary team while leading tasks and/or teams of engineers.
- Collaborate with academic partners to improve embedded security education at universities and high schools.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
