Senior Vulnerability Researcher (Cloud & Containers)

Job Title: Senior Vulnerability Researcher (Cloud & Containers)

Job Category: Engineering

Time Type: Full time

Minimum Clearance Required to Start: Top Secret

Employee Type: Regular

Percentage of Travel Required: Up to 10%

Type of Travel: Continental US

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The Opportunity:

We are seeking a Senior Vulnerability Researcher with deep expertise in cloud-native architecture, container runtimes, and advanced binary analysis. This role is ideal for a low-level expert who thrives on technical ambiguity and enjoys hunting for vulnerabilities within the "DNA of the cloud." You will use automated reasoning and manual deep-dives to uncover escapes and logic flaws in Kubernetes infrastructure, playing a key role in evaluating the security of critical distributed systems and contributing directly to national cybersecurity efforts.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct deep-dive research into OCI runtimes (runc, crun) and Linux kernel primitives (namespaces, cgroups, eBPF) to identify breakout and privilege escalation paths.

• Perform static and dynamic analysis on compiled binaries (Go, Rust, C++) using IDA Pro, Ghidra, or Binary Ninja to map undocumented logic and potential security issues.

• Build and maintain custom fuzzing harnesses (e.g., AFL++, libFuzzer) to stress-test gRPC interfaces, service mesh components, and microservices.

• Utilize concolic execution tools (e.g., Angr, Manticore) to automate the discovery of complex execution paths and bypass security checks.

• Investigate edge-case behaviors in containerized environments and low-level system initialization logic to reveal hidden attack surfaces.

• Develop custom tools and scripts (primarily in Python3) to automate research workflows, protocol decoding, and memory analysis.

• Document findings clearly and translate technical complexity into actionable reports for security and engineering teams.

Qualifications:

Required:

• An active Top Secret clearance.

• 7+ years of professional experience in vulnerability research, software exploitation, or low-level engineering.

• Expert-level proficiency in Go, Rust, and C/C++.

• Strong command of Python3 for scripting and automation of research tasks.

• Deep understanding of x86/ARM assembly and memory corruption primitives.

• Proven track record of finding vulnerabilities in distributed systems, virtualization layers, or container runtimes.

• Hands-on experience with disassembly and decompilation tools (e.g., IDA Pro, Ghidra, Binary Ninja) and debugging tools (GDB).

• Detailed understanding of Linux kernel internals, specifically namespaces, cgroups, and the container execution model.

• Experience with automated bug-hunting techniques, including fuzzing and symbolic/concolic execution.

Desired:

• An active SCI clearance is highly desired.

• Experience with Kubernetes security architecture and service mesh implementations (Istio, Linkerd).

• Familiarity with hardware-assisted isolation technologies and TEEs (Trusted Execution Environments).

• Ability to build scalable security tooling and infrastructure to support analysis workflows in a team setting.

• Background in cloud provider security (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and underlying hypervisor technology.

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What You Can Expect:

 A culture of integrity.

At CACI, we place character and innovation at the center of everything we do. As a valued team member, you’ll be part of a high-performing group dedicated to our customer’s missions and driven by a higher purpose – to ensure the safety of our nation.

An environment of trust.

CACI values the unique contributions that every employee brings to our company and our customers - every day. You’ll have the autonomy to take the time you need through a unique flexible time off benefit and have access to robust learning resources to make your ambitions a reality.

A focus on continuous growth.

Together, we will advance our nation's most critical missions, build on our lengthy track record of business success, and find opportunities to break new ground — in your career and in our legacy.

Pay Range:

There are a host of factors that can influence final salary including, but not limited to, geographic location, Federal Government contract labor categories