Secure Systems Research and Development Engineer

Benefits

Additional Information

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process . Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday. CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday. If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click "Apply" and complete the application process for external applicants . Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants . POSITION SPECIFICS We are searching for a self-motivated Secure Systems Research and Development Engineer to join our Cyberspace Operations Research Department at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State. The Cyberspace Operations Research Department provides technical expertise in adversarial tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to support system evaluation and provide security hardening support to various sponsors. ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply. You will: Research cutting edge techniques and technologies for secure system design, implementation, and hardening Leverage expertise in software engineering, system administration, and cybersecurity to address established needs and investigate solutions to emerging requirements Assist the Cyberspace Operations Research Department Head in maintaining relationships with sponsors through on-site technical discussions, preparation and presentation of technical materials, and project-related correspondence Provide process enhancement for technical controls implementation, architectural enhancements, and security test and evaluation projects Apply project management principles and methods to the leadership of tasks or projects Provide guidance to lower-level R&D Engineers to foster professional growth Additional responsibilities for higher level position includes: Understand broad strategic objectives and contribute to them; nurture and maintain relationships with major customers/grantors of external research and development grant funding Identify grant/project follow-on work and persuade customers / grantors to fund; impact customer decisions and strategies Initiate new project concepts and seek funding; develop technical proposals, and make presentations to customers/grant sponsors Mentor department staff in the development technical, project, and business development skills Required skills/experience areas include: Documented application of software engineering or system engineering principles Embedded or cloud system development and secure configuration Computer networking fundamentals, Windows and *NIX operating system administration Software programming, programming languages, and development environments (to include at a minimum C, Java, and Python) Knowledge of cybersecurity testing / penetration testing tools and methodologies Ability to express technical information clearly and concisely in documents and presentations for senior leaders to successfully comprehend and leverage for decision making Active government security clearance at SECRET level Preferred skills/experience areas include: AI to security testing, evaluation, and issue mitigation / remediation Microcontroller or single board computer design/implementation (i.e. Arduino, STM32, Raspberry Pi, etc), radio frequency signal analysis (i.e. oscilloscopes, SpecAns, SDRs, etc), or industrial control system communication protocol security Demonstrated history of successful project initiation efforts Automation of cybersecurity testing workflows (e.g. using Ansible playbooks) Agile software development methodology and tools Atlassian products (e.g., JIRA, Confluence) Your work location will be project-dependent ability for on-site/work from home, based out of Reston, VA (preferred), Annapolis Junction, MD, or State College, PA. This position will require periodic travel to remote locations in support of testing as part of a small team of researchers, engineers, and technologists. MINIMUM EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS If filled as Research and Development Engineer - Advanced Professional, this position requires: Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science 5+ years of relevant experience Required Certifications: None If filled as Research and Development Engineer - Intermediate Professional, this position requires: Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science 2+ years of relevant experience Required Certifications: None If filled as Research and Development Engineer - Professional, this position requires: Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science No prior relevant work experience required Required