Associate Hacker

Position: Associate Hacker 2026

Associate Hacker 2026 – IBM Consulting

Join IBM Consulting’s Associate Program for university hires to work with a diverse range of clients worldwide.

About X‑Force

The X‑Force team comprises world‑renowned security researchers, hackers, and analysts. We are looking for Associate Hackers to join our penetration testing team.

Role and Responsibilities

• Engage with clients to secure applications and infrastructure through penetration testing.
• Gain in‑depth knowledge of client environments, run tests, and escape weak controls.
• Rapidly learn new technologies and processes with minimal assistance; travel depends on project requirements.

Work You Could Do As An Associate Hacker

• Document, vet, and weaponize identified vulnerabilities through reverse engineering.
• Prepare and present technical reports and briefings to technical and executive teams.
• Provide subject‑matter expertise in research, tooling, and consulting engagements.
• Gain knowledge across multiple platforms, processes, or architectures.

Preferred Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Required Technical and Professional Expertise

• Outcome focused, resilient, and flexible to achieve success across consultative contexts.
• Effective communication and presentation skills.
• Ability to lead large groups and facilitate.
• Drive to research, publish, blog, present.
• Ability to shape client expectations.
• Self‑start and work independently on projects.
• In‑depth understanding of network design, security, authentication, authorization, and encryption protocols.
• In‑depth understanding of network security tools for vulnerability scanning, monitoring, sniffing, routers, firewalls, intrusion detection and protection, anomaly detection, and encryption standards.
• Programming experience in Java, .Net, Python, or Ruby.

Preferred Technical and Professional Experience

• Published research, blog posts, or presentation history at local or regional security conferences.
• Experience in Network Penetration Testing, Application Penetration Testing, Red Teaming, Social Engineering, or Vulnerability Scanning.

Seniority Level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment Type

Full‑time

Job Function

Engineering and Information Technology

Industries

IT Services and IT Consulting

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