Embedded Hardware Security Research Engineer

$150,000 - $190,000/Yr

Riverside Research - Dayton, OH

Full-time

Dayton, OH

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

The Embedded Hardware Security Research Engineer at Riverside Research will work closely with the US Air Force and Department of Defense to develop tamper-protected microelectronic devices and intellectual property. This role requires expertise in advanced attacks on integrated circuits and the implementation of countermeasures to prevent such attacks. The position involves conducting research in a microelectronics laboratory and utilizing various test equipment and software to support national security initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Provides subject matter expertise in state-of-the-art implementation attacks
• Attends technology interchange meetings at DoD and contractor sites
• Designs and performs research and experiments to assess attack effectiveness against microelectronic devices
• Interacts with third-party vendors to collect appropriate source information
• Analyzes secure architectures to identify vulnerabilities
• Documents findings in technical reports and presentations
• Develops, maintains, adjusts, and reports on project schedules and timelines
• Attends technical conferences to understand new attacks and protections
• Collaborates with Government research leads to develop and present papers across a variety of DoD conferences and technical interchanges
• Supports Principal Investigator and Program Manager in the development and documentation of technical requirements for approved research areas
• Contributes to proposals for new research in similar and/or related technology areas

Requirements

• Secret clearance to start, but must be able to obtain Top Secret security clearance and all required program access approvals
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or Mathematics, and 8 years direct experience in cryptography or embedded hardware security, or a master's degree in related academic field and 6 years direct experience in cryptography or embedded hardware security, or a PhD with 3 years experience within a related area
• Experience with Verilog, VHDL, or SystemC
• Experience designing or working with security features of FPGAs or ASICs
• Demonstratable understanding of cryptography implementation in embedded technologies including microcontrollers, FPGAs, ASICs, and related technologies
• Proficiency in C, C++, or Python
• Proficient in creating technical reports and presentations supporting research areas
• Willing to travel a few times per year

Nice-to-haves

• Top Secret clearance
• Experience bare-metal programming microcontrollers or microprocessors
• Strong understanding of cryptographic algorithms and protocols
• Strong understanding of implementation attacks including side-channel, glitching, etc.
• Experience implementing side-channel countermeasures
• Understanding of sub-100 nm CMOS and FinFET device fabrication, assembly, and packaging including 3DICs
• Experience working in an R&D environment solving open-ended problems
• Experience developing and presenting research papers and presentations in relevant subject areas
• Experience developing research proposals

Benefits

• Comprehensive compensation and benefit packages