Senior Wireless Reverse Engineer

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory•Laurel, MD

21h•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a Senior Wireless Reverse Engineer to help us give our nation a significant advantage in the electromagnetic spectrum. You will join a multidisciplinary team that reverse engineers wireless communications protocols, devices, and systems to enable signals intelligence, wireless cyber access, and defensive capabilities. You will combine wireless, software, firmware, embedded-system, and protocol reverse engineering to understand complex systems from their over-the-air behavior through their underlying implementations.

Requirements

At least a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or another related technical field.
At least ten years of relevant experience in reverse engineering, embedded systems, cyber operations, wireless systems, SIGINT, or a related field.
Demonstrated expertise reverse engineering software, firmware, embedded systems, communications protocols, or some combination thereof, including experience analyzing complex or undocumented systems.
Hands-on experience with reverse-engineering techniques such as disassembly/decompilation, debugging, static and dynamic analysis, binary analysis, instrumentation, or protocol analysis.
Experience developing technical software using Python, C/C++, or similar languages and have familiarity with wireless communications, RF systems, or software-defined radios.
Demonstrated technical leadership, strong oral and written communication skills, and the ability to independently solve complex and open-ended technical problems.
Able to obtain an Interim Top Secret level security clearance by your start date and can ultimately obtain a TS/SCI level clearance. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

At least a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or another related technical field.
At least fifteen years of relevant experience in wireless reverse engineering, software or firmware reverse engineering, cyber operations, SIGINT, or related research and development.
Extensive experience with reverse-engineering platforms such as Ghidra, IDA Pro, Binary Ninja, or similar tools and with reverse engineering embedded devices, communications firmware, or wireless protocols.
Experience with wireless waveform reverse engineering, modulation recognition, channel-code identification or reverse engineering, or SIGINT analysis.
Deep knowledge of digital communications, signal processing, software-defined radio receiver design, modulation/demodulation, synchronization, channel coding, statistical signal processing, or detection theory.
Experience applying AI/ML, LLM-assisted analysis, or agentic workflows to software, firmware, protocol, or wireless reverse engineering.
A working history supporting Department of Defense and/or Intelligence Community organizations, sponsors, missions, or programs.
Hold an active TS/SCI clearance or higher.

Responsibilities

Lead reverse engineering efforts against unknown, undocumented, or partially documented wireless systems to understand their operation, capabilities, and vulnerabilities.
Reverse engineer software, firmware, embedded implementations, and communications protocols to understand how wireless devices and systems operate.
Use static and dynamic analysis, debugging, instrumentation, binary analysis, and other reverse-engineering techniques to uncover system functionality and implementation details.
Analyze and correlate software, firmware, protocol, and over-the-air behavior to develop a comprehensive understanding of complex wireless systems.
Use software-defined radios, laboratory instrumentation, target devices, and experimental techniques to test hypotheses, reproduce behavior, and validate reverse-engineering results.
Develop software tools and automated analysis workflows to accelerate wireless, software, firmware, and protocol reverse engineering.
Provide technical leadership to multidisciplinary teams, mentor less-experienced staff, identify new technical approaches and opportunities, and communicate findings and results to sponsors and the technical community.