Senior Vulnerability Researcher – Exploit Development | TS/SCI-Eligible

Great Bay Staffing Group•St. Petersburg, FL

7d•Onsite

About The Position

This is a research role, not a security operations job. You'll spend your time hunting for previously unknown vulnerabilities across operating systems, kernels, firmware, hypervisors, and embedded platforms — reverse engineering compiled binaries, developing proof-of-concept exploits, and defeating modern mitigations like ASLR, DEP/NX, and CFI. You'll scope your own attack surfaces, drive research from hypothesis to validated finding with minimal direction, and work alongside senior researchers who care about technical depth over titles. If you've spent your career building offensive capability rather than defending against it, this team was built for people like you. You'll work across a genuinely wide target set: x86, x64, ARM, and PowerPC architectures, spanning kernels, firmware, hypervisors, mobile platforms, RTOS, and networking protocols. That breadth means you won't get boxed into a single stack. The team culture is explicit about valuing technical curiosity over hierarchy — you're encouraged to go deep on the problems that interest you. You'll have access to industry-standard tooling (IDA Pro, Ghidra, fuzzing frameworks, symbolic execution tools) and you'll also help build and improve internal research tooling and automation.

Requirements

6+ years of hands-on vulnerability research or exploit development — building, not operating or defending
A track record of independently leading research through to validated results
Background in offensive security, cyber operations, or government research programs is valued
Expert-level reverse engineering of OS internals, kernels, firmware, and compiled binaries
Strong assembly-level fluency across x86/x64, ARM, and PowerPC
Experience developing proof-of-concept exploits and mitigation bypass techniques
Strong C/C++ and Python
Exposure to embedded systems, hypervisors, mobile platforms, RTOS, or networking protocols
Comfort with IDA Pro, Ghidra, fuzzing frameworks, and symbolic execution tools
Active US Top Secret clearance, with eligibility for TS/SCI with Special Access Program
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field preferred
U.S. citizenship required; visa sponsorship is not available for this role

Nice To Haves

CVEs, publications, conference talks, CTF results, or malware analysis/deobfuscation work are a plus, not a requirement

Responsibilities

Lead vulnerability research across OS, kernel, firmware, hypervisor, embedded, and application targets
Identify and evaluate new attack surfaces, carrying research from initial hypothesis to validated finding
Reverse engineer and perform in-memory analysis of compiled binaries across x86, x64, ARM, and PowerPC
Develop and validate novel exploitation techniques against modern mitigations
Analyze undocumented system behavior and build out internal research tooling
Communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
Mentor other researchers and contribute to team methodology and tooling