Principal Offensive Cyber Research Engineer

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the long-term technical vision and roadmap for Twenty’s offensive cyber research and capabilities.
• Serve as the principal technical advisor to executive leadership on strategy, capability development, and technical risk.
• Lead groundbreaking research into advanced adversary behaviors and next-generation offensive cyber techniques.
• Establish company-wide standards, frameworks, and best practices for offensive tooling and engineering quality.
• Architect and guide development of advanced adversary emulation and attack automation systems built for scale.
• Lead technical governance (e.g., architecture reviews) and provide authoritative guidance on complex decisions.
• Mentor Staff and Senior engineers, build growth plans, and strengthen the organization’s technical leadership bench.
• Recruit, interview, and assess top-tier offensive cyber talent to build and sustain world-class teams.
• Lead technical engagements with senior government stakeholders—translating complex capabilities into decision-grade clarity.
• Build strategic research partnerships across government, academia, and industry to accelerate innovation and impact.

Requirements

• 8–12 years of distinguished experience across offensive cyber operations, advanced research, and software development.
• Served in senior technical leadership roles in government/military DNEA, Exploitation Analyst (EA) operations, elite red teams, or nation-state threat research.
• Defined technical strategy and led large-scale initiatives that shipped durable, high-impact capabilities.
• Expert-level understanding of adversary behaviors and TTPs, including deep familiarity with MITRE ATT&CK.
• Demonstrated technical judgment in designing complex, scalable systems and establishing engineering standards.
• Led and mentored senior engineers, including setting expectations, running technical reviews, and developing talent.
• Strong executive and customer communication skills, with experience briefing senior leaders and shaping decisions.
• Eligible to obtain a U.S. Government security clearance.

Nice-to-Haves

• Deployed offensive cyber capabilities into operational use with measurable mission impact.
• Track record of thought leadership through publications, conference talks, or widely respected technical writing.
• Deep background in malware development, vulnerability research, or exploit engineering with notable discoveries.
• Advanced technical certifications (e.g., OSEE, GXPN, or equivalent government credentials).
• Experience with multi-source intelligence fusion or cross-domain operational environments.
• Familiarity with acquisition/requirements processes and guiding capability development across multiple teams.

Tech Environment

• Modern systems programming and scripting languages (e.g., C/C++, Rust, Python).
• Cloud environments and cloud security across major providers (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Graph-based analysis and large-scale data processing systems.
• AI/ML workflows applied to adversary emulation and automation.
• Containerized infrastructure, CI/CD, and production-grade observability.