Cyber Software Engineer

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. They are seeking a motivated Cyber Software Engineer to contribute to the design, development, and prototyping of advanced cyber research capabilities spanning modern computing environments and hardware-adjacent systems.

Responsibilities:

• Contribute to cyber research initiatives involving distributed systems, embedded platforms, and hardware‑adjacent workloads
• Develop and maintain software components, automation frameworks, and communication mechanisms for research prototypes
• Support analysis of binaries, firmware, and embedded systems to understand behavior, performance characteristics, and potential weaknesses
• Assist in designing and evaluating resilient communication channels, lightweight networking protocols, and covert or constrained‑environment data exchange mechanisms
• Prototype automation and AI‑assisted approaches for reconnaissance, decision‑making, and workflow acceleration
• Analyze adversarial behaviors, system bottlenecks, and protocol‑level vulnerabilities to inform capability design
• Collaborate with other engineers, hardware researchers, and mission teams to integrate software, embedded, and AI‑driven components into cohesive prototypes
• Document research findings, prototype behavior, and architectural concepts for technical and operational audiences
• Participate in iterative testing cycles, system evaluations, and internal experimentation to refine tools and methodologies
• Stay current with emerging trends in embedded security, distributed networking, side‑channel research, and AI‑enabled cyber capabilities

Requirements:

• Masters degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field. (in progress or completed). Degree must be completed by start date
• Strong programming experience in Python, C/C++, and Bash, with demonstrated ability to build system‑level or automation tooling
• Experience with embedded systems, microcontrollers, and IoT platforms
• Familiarity with networking fundamentals, distributed algorithms, and communication protocol design
• Exposure to security‑relevant engineering, including side‑channel power analysis, hardware‑level workload profiling, penetration‑testing‑adjacent tooling
• Hands‑on experience with Linux environments, scripting, and infrastructure maintenance
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly in both written and verbal formats
• Demonstrated initiative through research projects, lab leadership, or open‑source contributions
• US citizenship is required
• Ability to obtain and maintain Top Secret/SCI with Polygraph security clearance
• Active TS/SCI security clearance with Polygraph
• Experience with side‑channel analysis, hardware‑level measurement, or embedded security research
• Familiarity with distributed sensor networks, concurrency optimization, or low‑bandwidth communication systems
• Experience developing or modifying security‑relevant tools, automation scripts, or data‑collection frameworks
• Exposure to reverse engineering fundamentals or firmware‑level inspection
• Background in AI/ML applied to systems analysis, communication optimization, or security workflows
• Experience with web scraping, headless browser automation, or data‑acquisition pipelines
• Familiarity with microcontroller debugging interfaces (UART, SPI, JTAG) or firmware modification workflows