Wireless Security Engineer

About the Role

The Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is seeking a Junior Wireless Security Engineer to join the Cyber EW Techniques Branch within the Embedded System Vulnerability Division (ESVD) of the Cybersecurity, Information Protection, and Hardware Evaluation Research (CIPHER) Lab. This role focuses on developing and demonstrating RF and network-based techniques to analyze, exploit, and protect wireless and embedded devices.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist with demonstrations of over-the-air techniques to gain unauthorized access to or exploit wireless communication networks.
• Demonstrate mitigation techniques to protect systems.
• Assist in the development of SDR algorithms for:
• Reverse engineering signals.
• Demodulating and decoding RF signals.
• Generating similar RF signals.
• Research capabilities, implementation methods, and security features of devices under test to determine functionality and potential weaknesses.
• Commonly evaluated devices include communications devices such as radios, modems, and routers.
• Contribute to technical reports and presentations.
• Employ hardware/firmware/software reverse engineering techniques to search for potential vulnerabilities accessible through RF apertures.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Candidates currently enrolled in an accredited degree program relevant to this position will be considered. Must have a graduation date no later than August 2026.
• Coursework or demonstrable working knowledge of wireless/RF/digital communications concepts such as analog/digital modulation, EM spectrum, attenuators/amplifiers, filters, FEC, and interleaving.
• Experience programming in C/C++ or Python.
• Experience with software version control using Git.
• Ability to Obtain and Maintain DoD Top Secret Security Clearance.
• U.S. Citizenship is required due to research contracts with the U.S. federal government.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active Top Secret Clearance.
• Experience developing software/debugging processes on Linux.
• Experience building and managing DOCKER images.
• 3-6 months of experience developing SDR code using frameworks such as GnuRadio, RedHawk, xMIDAS, or similar.
• Experience building and testing applications on commercial SDRs such as N.I./Ettus X410, X310, N210.
• Travel requirements are <10%.

Education and Experience

• 0 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Refer to Georgia Tech Faculty Handbook section 3.2.1 and Research Faculty Technical Level Guidelines for minimum requirements at higher levels.