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Job Description:
Parsons is seeking a Vulnerability Research Engineer to join our team in support of advanced research and development contracts for the U.S. Government. You'll work alongside experienced vulnerability researchers on a small, highly technical team performing vulnerability research and reverse engineering against complex embedded and cyber-physical systems. This position provides an opportunity to develop hands-on expertise across the vulnerability research lifecycle, from initial target analysis and reverse engineering through vulnerability discovery, exploit development, and integration into operational cyber capabilities.
This is an onsite position based at the Cromulence - Parsons office in the historic downtown of Melbourne, Florida, on Florida's Space Coast. Work will be performed in both classified and unclassified environments.
What You'll Be Doing:
- Perform vulnerability research / reverse engineering (VR/RE) against embedded systems, including both hardware and software targets, under the guidance of senior researchers
- Analyze software, firmware, binaries, protocols, and system behavior to identify potential vulnerabilities
- Develop, test, debug, and document cyber tools, proof-of-concept exploits, and supporting research software
- Use debuggers, decompilers, disassemblers, emulators, and other low-level analysis tools to understand target behavior
- Collaborate with senior researchers to develop new vulnerability research techniques and solve challenging technical problems
- Build expertise in reverse engineering, exploit development, operating system internals, embedded systems, and computer architecture
What Qualifications You'll Bring:
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Cybersecurity, or a related technical field
- 5+ years of related professional experience
- Programming experience in languages such as C, C++, and Python through academic projects, internships, research, or professional experience
- Familiarity with low-level software concepts including memory management, processes, threads, and operating system fundamentals
- Familiarity with a decompiler/disassembler such as Ghidra, IDA Pro, or Binary Ninja
- Familiarity with at least one instruction set architecture, such as x86/x86-64, ARM/AArch64, or MIPS
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and an interest in understanding how complex systems work at a low level
- Demonstrated interest in vulnerability research, reverse engineering, exploit development, embedded systems, or related technical security disciplines
- Familiarity with common exploitation concepts and mitigations such as memory corruption, DEP/NX, ASLR, and stack protections
What Desired Skills You'll Bring:
- Internship, academic research, independent research, Capture the Flag (CTF), or other hands-on experience involving reverse engineering, vulnerability research, or exploit development
- Experience reverse engineering embedded and Internet of Things (IoT) systems
- Experience with Ghidra, IDA Pro, Binary Ninja, or similar reverse engineering tools
- Experience using debuggers such as GDB, WinDbg, or LLDB
- Experience with emulation or virtualization technologies such as QEMU
- Knowledge of networking protocols and network protocol analysis
- Experience with embedded software development, firmware analysis, microcontrollers, or hardware debugging
- Participation in cybersecurity competitions, vulnerability research projects, open-source projects, or publication of independent technical research
Security Clearance Requirement:
- Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret clearance
- Must be able to obtain and maintain SCI and/or SAP accesses
- U.S. Citizenship is required
Security Clearance Requirement:
NoneThis position is part of our Federal Solutions team.The Federal Solutions segment delivers resources to our US government customers that ensure the success of missions around the globe. Our intelligent employees drive the state of the art as they provide services and solutions in the areas of defense, security, intelligence, infrastructure, and environmental. We promote a culture of excellence and close-knit teams that take pride in delivering, protecting, and sustaining our nation's most critical assets, from Earth to cyberspace. Throughout the company, our people are anticipating what’s next to deliver the solutions our customers need now.Salary Range: $103,500.00 - $181,100.00Parsons is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other protected status.We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!Parsons is aware of fraudulent recruitment practices. To learn more about recruitment fraud and how to report it, please refer to https://www.parsons.com/fraudulent-recruitment/.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Cybersecurity, or a related technical field
- 5+ years of related professional experience
- Programming experience in C, C++, and Python through academic, internship, research, or professional experience
- Familiarity with memory management, processes, threads, and operating system fundamentals
- Familiarity with a decompiler or disassembler such as Ghidra, IDA Pro, or Binary Ninja
- Familiarity with at least one instruction set architecture, such as x86/x86-64, ARM/AArch64, or MIPS
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and interest in low-level systems
- Demonstrated interest in vulnerability research, reverse engineering, exploit development, embedded systems, or related technical security disciplines
- Familiarity with exploitation concepts and mitigations such as memory corruption, DEP/NX, ASLR, and stack protections
- Hands-on experience through internships, academic research, independent research, Capture the Flag competitions, or similar activities involving reverse engineering, vulnerability research, or exploit development
- Experience reverse engineering embedded and IoT systems
- Experience with Ghidra, IDA Pro, Binary Ninja, or similar reverse engineering tools
- Experience using GDB, WinDbg, or LLDB
- Experience with emulation or virtualization technologies such as QEMU
- Knowledge of networking protocols and network protocol analysis
- Experience with embedded software development, firmware analysis, microcontrollers, or hardware debugging
- Participation in cybersecurity competitions, vulnerability research projects, open-source projects, or publication of independent technical research
- Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret clearance
- Ability to obtain and maintain SCI and/or SAP accesses
- U.S. citizenship
Parsons Corporation Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Parsons Corporation and has not been reviewed or approved by Parsons Corporation.
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Retirement Support — Retirement programs are framed as a major value driver, with an ESOP alongside a 401(k) match and additional stock-purchase options contributing meaningfully to total rewards. This structure is positioned as especially attractive for employees who value long-term wealth-building over immediate cash.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as broad and choice-rich, with multiple plan types (PPO, HDHP, and some HMO networks) plus dental, vision, EAP, and wellness resources. The availability of different plan designs and national-carrier coverage supports varied employee needs.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off offerings are portrayed as competitive, including PTO, holidays, flexible schedules such as a 9/80 option for eligible roles, and floating holidays in the U.S. Paid parental leave of 160 hours is also highlighted as a meaningful component of the overall package.
Parsons Corporation Insights
What We Do
Parsons is a digitally enabled solutions provider with a focus on making the world safer, smarter, healthier, more sustainable, and more connected. Founded in 1944, Parsons primarily serves the defense, security, and infrastructure markets. Uniquely qualified to deliver cyber/converged security, technology-based intellectual property, and other innovative services, the corporation delivers state-of-the-art solutions to federal, regional, and local government agencies as well as to private industrial customers worldwide. Parsons has a reputation for inclusion and diversity and has been named to the Ethisphere Institute’s list of World’s Most Ethical Companies for 10 consecutive years. Parsons facilitates a culture of innovation by encouraging collaboration among its employees and providing opportunities for career growth. With offices around the globe, people of varied talents and backgrounds, and a wide range of exciting projects, the possibilities at Parsons are endless. For more about Parsons, visit www.parsons.com. Mission: Delivering innovative infrastructure, defense, and security solutions to enable a more sustainable, safer, smarter, and more connected world.
