Cyber Software Engineer

We are seeking a motivated Cyber Software Engineer with strong foundations in distributed systems, embedded networking, and hands‑on security‑focused engineering. In this role, you will contribute to the design, development, and prototyping of advanced cyber research capabilities spanning modern computing environments, IoT platforms, and hardware‑adjacent systems.

This position is ideal for an engineer who has demonstrated initiative through research, system‑level experimentation, and security‑relevant tooling, and who is ready to grow into a full‑spectrum cyber researcher under the guidance of other engineers.

The ideal candidate brings experience in embedded systems, lightweight communication protocols, distributed sensor networks, side‑channel or hardware‑level analysis, and automation frameworks, with a strong desire to expand into vulnerability research, adversary simulation, and mission‑aligned capability engineering.

Primary 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.

Basic Qualifications

• 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• 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.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

Pay Range:

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.