Description

At Cryptic Vector, we are dedicated to mission success. We take the time to understand our customers' needs, delivering products that perform when our nation needs them most. We understand that properly supporting the most unique missions of the United States government requires the nation’s best. Our focus is on creating a culture where the best and brightest want to grow, learn, and stay. If coming up with out-of-the-box solutions is your specialty, then you’ll feel right at home at Cryptic Vector. We are solving the country’s most unique problems in an environment where problem solvers and hard workers thrive. We've replaced corporate red tape with transparency and servant leadership. Honestly, it’s hard not to love this culture!

We’re always looking for qualified candidates with experience or interest in vulnerability research and reverse engineering. Contact us to express interest in current and future opportunities. We value the individual experiences that our team members add to our culture and capabilities. Please don't hesitate to apply even if you don't meet the exact qualifications! We are interested in varying levels of experience.

The responsibilities of the Vulnerability Researcher position may include the following:

• Reverse Engineering (RE) of software/firmware/hardware (both user and kernel modes)
• Exploit proof of concept development and productization
• Setup and Configuration of fuzzing frameworks (AFL , WinAFL, etc.)
• Defining input fuzzing corpus and triaging results/findings
• Critically analyzing device memory, execution flow, and communication protocols
• Designing/developing stealth solutions 

Programming languages:

• Direct and recent experience coding in C and/or C
• Direct and recent experience with one or more machine/assembly languages (x64, x86, MIPS, PowerPC, ARM, etc.)
• Proficiency in modern scripting languages (like Python) 

An ideal candidate for these positions will have:

• Experience with one or more disassemblers (Ghidra, IDA, Radare, Binary Ninja, etc.)
• Experience with exploitation techniques and mitigations (ROP, buffer overflow, ASLR, DEP, etc.)
• A hacker mindset, demonstrating out-of-box ideas to solve difficult problems
• Experience with one or more debuggers (gdb, WinDbg, OllyDbg, etc.)
• Experience with modern fuzzing frameworks
• Experience manipulating shellcode to subvert environmental constraints
• A firm understanding of networking protocols throughout all layers of the stack
• Experience performing vulnerability research for traditional platforms (Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS) or user/kernel-mode capabilities for non-traditional platforms (embedded/proprietary/custom firmware or operating systems)
• Interest analyzing software/firmware for weaknesses 
• Participation or interest in Capture the Flag (CTF)/hacking competitions
• Interest in the architecture/internals of proprietary operating systems
• Comfort working with assembly, machine code, hexadecimal, and binary
• Experience using, analyzing, and manipulating old/new network protocols. Interest in network/socket programming using TCP/UDP
• Working knowledge of basic cryptography functions and programming
• Humble confidence, with a desire to work in a team setting (perhaps using an agile methodology)

Requirements

• Preference for B.S. degree in Computer Science, Cyber Operations, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field
• Ability to obtain/maintain a US security clearance
• Willing to work in the greater Cincinnati area