Cyber Researcher

Location(s):
Gloucester and London

BAE Systems Digital Intelligence is home to 4,500 digital, cyber and intelligence experts. We work collaboratively across 10 countries to collect, connect and understand complex data, so that governments, nation states, armed forces and commercial businesses can unlock digital advantage in the most demanding environments.

Location:

Gloucester, Manchester or London

Our world class team of Cyber Researchers and Reverse Engineers tackle some of the most interesting problems with a meaningful and tangible impact on the national security of the UK. We are growing our Cyber Developer team significantly and are looking for a diverse range of talent from experienced Software Engineers with a proven track record to those with a keen interest and aptitude looking to develop their skills in this exciting space!

We have a community of technical specialists with a friendly and inclusive culture with great opportunities to learn from experts and make use of a carefully curated training plan with some of the best trainers and conferences available.

An operational cyber researcher is able to plan and perform research into a wide range of systems and technologies with a focus on discovering and exploiting weaknesses in their design or implementation. The role provides technical guidance for customers as well as supporting bids and proposals. An operational cyber researcher has broad skills which generally involve, but are not limited to, the following activities:

• Exploratory Research
• Vulnerability & Technical Research
• Experimental Development

Researchers undertaking exploratory research are expected to:

• Rapidly summarise and assess new domains
• Provide domain knowledge for technical analysis, experimental development and subsequent engineering

Researchers undertaking vulnerability & technical research are expected to:

• Know which pen-testing and reverse engineering tools and methodologies are appropriate to a given problem
• Have experience of advanced vulnerability assessment techniques such as fuzzing and code injection

Researchers undertaking experimental development are expected to:

• Develop, assess and prioritize prototype and simulated capabilities

A wide range of skills are required for Cyber Research. The number one skill is being able to think systematically and take logical steps towards deconstructing a complex system. For lower-level work, an intermediate/advanced understanding of how computers work is important (eg knowing the difference between the heap and the stack, and between compiled and interpreted languages).

More required skills for this role include:

• Technical writing
• Presentation skills
• Innovative problem solving
• Team working
• Technical Analysis
• Scripting (e.g. with Python)
• Rapid development of prototypes or simulations (e.g. with C#)

As well as the above, an Operational Cyber Researcher will need skills and experience in at least one of the areas below. An ideal candidate will cover several areas.

Technical Analysis:

• Network traffic analysis
• Reverse engineering
• Vulnerability analysis
• Exploit development

Exploratory Research:

• OSINT and interacting with SMEs
• Developing new research skills as appropriate

• Technical Leadership
• Team management

Exploratory Research:

• Network architecture and security
• Risk assessment
• Systems engineering
• Architectural frameworks

Technical Analysis:

• Processor architecture
• Operating systems and firmware
• Standard and domain-specific protocols and data formats

• Software development life cycle
• Assured development practices (at a high-level)

A wide range of tools exist, and the researcher should be able to determine which are most appropriate for a given task. Types of tools used include:

• Scripting languages (e.g. Python)
• Traffic capture and analysis tools (e.g. Wireshark)
• Disassemblers (e.g. IDA Pro)
• Debuggers (e.g. gdb)
• Decompilers (e.g. Hex-Rays Decompiler)
• Virtualization environments
• Integrated development environments
• Domain-specific simulation and development tools

• Work-life…