Senior Cybersecurity Researcher at Two Six Technologies
Herndon, VA
$130,778–$196,167
Jul 13, 2026
Herndon, VA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior-level security research role focused on reverse engineering firmware and software for network and embedded systems, with the goal of finding vulnerabilities and building proof-of-concept exploits. Day-to-day work involves binary analysis, protocol examination, custom tooling, and close collaboration with hardware and software researchers. An active Top Secret clearance is required, and the position is fully on-site in Herndon, Virginia.
Senior level · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · TS/SCI clearance · Full-time
Pay in the description: $130,778–$196,167
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $152,225 (middle half $125,286–$177,673). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (8)
SOC classification is a genuine judgment call: the role is primarily vulnerability research and reverse engineering (security analysis), but also involves significant low-level software/firmware development and exploit writing. 15-1212 (Information Security Analysts) was chosen as the primary code given the emphasis on vulnerability discovery and security impact assessment; 15-1252 (Software Developers) is a strong runner-up given the coding and tool-development demands.
The clearance requirement is stated as 'Active Top Secret clearance required with eligibility/willingness to obtain a TS/SCI' — this gates on holding an active TS and being willing to pursue TS/SCI, so TopSecretSci is applied.
Degree requirement is set to None because the JD explicitly accepts 'equivalent practical experience' in lieu of a formal degree.
The 'What You'll Need' section lists expertise in 'one or more of' a set of specializations (firmware analysis, QEMU/rehosting, fuzzing/exploit development, binary obfuscation, wireless protocols, file system forensics). These are framed as a menu where at least one is required; each sub-item is marked as a required skill reflecting that the overall gate is real, though no single sub-item is individually mandatory. Fuzzing, exploit development, and QEMU are broken out separately for granularity.
JTAG/SWD, SDR, digital signal processing, cryptography, and RTOS experience all appear under the 'Nice to Have (Preferred)' section.
The role is explicitly on-site daily in Herndon, Virginia — remote is not available.
Ignored 2 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): firmware analysis, exploit development.
Requires a TS/SCI clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
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