Principal Investigator - Systems Software Security

The Secure and Resilient Systems group seeks a principal investigator (PI) to execute research programs in the area of low-level systems software security.

PIs in the Secure and Resilient Systems group manage research programs from ideation and problem definition (e.g., in a proposal) to prototyping and evaluation (e.g., with customer funding) and towards transition (e.g., mapping to a real platform). Our PIs take complex interdisciplinary problems, design new methods and approaches, and lead a technical team to execute the work. In doing so, they interface with customers to understand requirements and report results, mentor and guide individual contributors working on subproblems, and interface with business leaders and program managers to get the resources they need.

The problems tackled in this position may involve systems software (e.g., real time operating systems (RTOS), secure hypervisors), computer architecture (e.g., tagged architectures), peripheral hardware (e.g., custom device drivers, FPGA hardware, bus protocols), and/or program analysis (e.g., fuzzer implementation, compiler design). Awareness of peripheral domains such as cryptography, formal methods and reverse engineering will enable better collaboration across the Secure and Resilient Systems group.

Successful candidates for this role will have the deep technical and people skills necessary to both decompose big problems and communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders and contributors. If you can see a forest made of weeds, if you know how to eat an elephant (hint: one bite at a time), or if you can explain virtual memory to your grandmother... you may have the right skills to be a PI in Riverside Research's Secure and Resilient Systems group.

Keywords: Operating systems, RTOS, hypervisors, fuzzing, static analysis, dynamic analysis, FPGA, device drivers, architecture, instruction set architecture

Job Responsibilities:

Help design and implement innovative solutions to customer problems related to systems software
• Prototype and evaluate features within large system software projects like Linux, Xen, LLVM, or APL++
• Build new tools features, and/or capabilities in languages like C/C++, Python, Rust, Assembly, etc.
• Write whitepapers and/or published papers that document innovative work performed.
• Document and communicate design decisions, technical challenges, and progress to technical and non-technical internal and external stakeholders
• Collaborate with team members on debugging programs, pair programming, reviewing papers/proposals, etc.
• Participate in relevant internal and customer meetings
• Influence technical direction of internal and/or on-contract research and development efforts

Required Qualifications:

• MS degree with 6+ years' experience preferred in related technical field, such as computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or cybersecurity
• Strong software development fundamentals for working inside a large project (e.g., submitting PRs, interacting with open-source communities and mailing lists, git branches/merges/rebasing, build systems, etc)
• Leadership & research aptitude to (possibly with mentorship) develop, organize and execute significant research activities, including problem definition, innovative approach generation, team building, prototyping and evaluation, and reporting results
• Must be eligible to obtain a Top Secret security clearance.
• Proficiency in programming languages C/C++, Python, and Assembly (e.g., x86-64, ARM)
• Superior written and verbal communications skills

Desired Qualifications:

• PhD degree in Computer Science or related field
• Strong grasp on the research process (e.g., reading & writing academic papers, ideation for inventing solutions to hard problems)
• Healthy balance between technical orientation and business acumen
• Ability to operate independently with limited supervision and feedback, and establish a solid working relationship with technical staff and business leaders in the group and across Riverside Research
• Existing/prior security clearance
• Experience with both defensive and offensive cyber tools
• Familiarity with Rust, LLVM, AFL++, or other cutting-edge system software languages and tools