Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Secure Systems and AI Security Researcher / Engineer (Early Career)

Information Technology
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or related technical field.
  • Proficiency in Rust, C/C++, or another systems programming language.
  • Hands-on technical experience in cybersecurity or secure software development, equivalent to at least six months.
  • Strong problem-solving and technical communication skills.
  • Ability to work effectively in team settings.

Responsibilities

  • Research, design, prototype, and evaluate new cybersecurity methodologies.
  • Develop software and experimental systems using languages like Rust and C/C++.
  • Explore AI applications in cybersecurity and evaluate AI-enabled systems.
  • Collaborate across disciplines including cybersecurity, AI, and cryptography.
  • Present findings to stakeholders and contribute to reports and publications.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans
  • MIT-funded pension
  • Matching 401K
  • Paid leave for various instances including vacation and parental leave
  • Tuition reimbursement and continuing education programs
  • Mentorship programs
  • Work-life balance options
Full Job Description
Job Description

As an Assistant Technical Staff member, you will:
  • Research, design, prototype, and evaluate new approaches to securing software, embedded, and communication systems against sophisticated cyber threats.
  • Develop high-quality software and experimental systems using Rust, C/C++, and other languages appropriate to the research.
  • Explore problems at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, including applications of AI to cyber analysis and defense, as well as the security and evaluation of AI-enabled systems.
  • Collaborate with researchers and engineers across cybersecurity, cryptography, formal methods, AI, communications, autonomy, space, and other disciplines.
  • Present results to Laboratory and government stakeholders and contribute to reports, publications, prototypes, reusable software, and the transition of successful technologies to operational use.


Required Qualifications

To thrive in this role, you should have:
  • A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Cybersecurity, Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical field.
  • Demonstrated proficiency in at least one of the following:
    • Software design, development, and testing in Rust (preferred), C/C++, or another systems programming language.
    • Secure software or systems security.
    • Systems integration, testing, and evaluation of secure systems.
    • Embedded systems analysis, design, and implementation.
  • Substantial hands-on technical experience beyond academic coursework, typically equivalent to at least six months of full-time technical experience, gained through internships, co-ops, research appointments, employment, or comparable experience. A significant portion must be directly relevant to cybersecurity, systems security, secure software, embedded systems, or AI security.
  • Strong problem-solving and technical communication skills, with the ability to work effectively in teams.


Desired Experience and Expertise

We particularly value demonstrated experience in one or more of the following:
  • Systems engineering, security requirements analysis, and threat modeling.
  • Security evaluation and assurance, including adversarial testing, experimental methods, security measurement, and evidence supporting security and assurance claims.
  • Secure software development, operating system internals, embedded systems security, and network protocols.
  • Applied cryptography and protocols, including industry and government standards.
  • Static and dynamic software analysis and applied formal methods.
  • AI and cybersecurity, including AI-enabled software analysis, vulnerability discovery, security testing, threat analysis, and cyber defense; and security of AI-enabled systems, including adversarial threats and evaluation of security, robustness, and resilience.
  • Technical communication, including documenting designs, writing reports and research papers, and presenting technical results.


We do not expect candidates to have expertise in all of these areas and welcome candidates interested in developing deeper expertise through hands-on research.

Recent Graduate Hiring Range: $100,200 - $120,000
Experienced Hiring Range: $100,200 - $150,000

Disclaimer: MIT Lincoln Laboratory provides a typical hiring range as a good faith estimate of what we reasonably expect to offer for this position at the time of posting. The final salary offered to a selected candidate will depend on various factors, including-but not limited to-the scope and responsibilities of the role, the candidate's experience, skills and education/training, internal equity considerations and applicable legal requirements. This range reflects base salary only and does not include additional forms of compensation or benefits.

At MIT Lincoln Laboratory, our exceptional career opportunities include many outstanding benefits to help you stay healthy, feel supported, and enjoy a fulfilling work-life balance. Benefits offered to employees include:

  • Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans
  • MIT-funded pension
  • Matching 401K
  • Paid leave (including vacation, sick, parental, military, etc.)
  • Tuition reimbursement and continuing education programs
  • Mentorship programs
  • A range of work-life balance options
  • ... and much more!

Please visit our Benefits page for more information. As an employee of MIT, you can also take advantage of other voluntary benefits, discounts and perks.

Selected candidate will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation and must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret level DoD security clearance.

Requisition ID: 43403

About Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". The university is known for its strong emphasis on scientific and technological research and its engineering programs. MIT was founded in 1861 and has a long history of innovation and entrepreneurship. The university has produced numerous Nobel laureates, Rhodes Scholars, and MacArthur Fellows.
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