Senior Security Researcher

Company Description

Join us and make YOUR mark on the World!

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has turned bold ideas into world‑changing impact advancing science and technology to strengthen U.S. security and promote global stability.

Our mission spans four critical national security areas: nuclear deterrence, threat preparedness, energy security, and multi‑domain defense, empowering teams to take on the toughest challenges of today and tomorrow. With a culture built on innovation and operational excellence, LLNL is a place where your expertise can make a real impact.

We have multiple openings for a Senior Research Scientist to lead efforts to develop techniques and tools for cybersecurity in support of the defense of critical infrastructure systems and Federal networks. You will lead and support a range of highly complex projects at the intersection of cybersecurity, operational technology, machine learning, and AI, developing and deploying innovative methods to emulate adversarial behaviors to help develop tools used to defend critical U.S. infrastructure and networks.

Your expertise will drive the evolution of advanced cyber capabilities, threat analysis, and mitigation strategies for industrial control systems. These positions are in the Computational Engineering Division (CED), within the Engineering Directorate, in support of Global Security’s Energy and Homeland Security (E) program.

These positions will be filled at either level based on knowledge and related experience as assessed by the hiring team. Additional job responsibilities (outlined below) will be assigned if hired at the higher level.

• Lead and support advanced cybersecurity‑related research projects leveraging creative and automated methods to identify vulnerabilities, discover malicious behaviors and tools, and advance the state of the art in securing operational technology systems.
• Collaborate in the development of technical requirements for data collection and adversarial simulation capabilities at LLNL.
• Analyze and assess novel attacks to uncover TTPs, potential weaknesses, malicious behavior, and potential attack vectors with the aim of creating repeatable workflows to support the program’s mission.
• Work closely with interdisciplinary project scientists and engineers in the scope, planning, and formulating modeling/simulation efforts for physical, engineering, and computational systems.
• Develop, implement, validate, and document specialized analysis software tools and models as required and use them to inform understanding and mitigation of threats to operational technology.
• Identify emerging threats and opportunities for enhancing cybersecurity capabilities, helping shape the technical direction of LLNL’s cybersecurity initiatives.
• Engage with sponsors and stakeholders to develop new program growth opportunities, contribute to research proposals, and ensure alignment with mission objectives.
• Drive and execute innovative ideas and approaches to meet sponsor and project needs in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.
• Mentor and collaborate with team members, utilizing your technical expertise to attract and retain projects, programs, and funding.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Direct technical tasks for highly complex projects which consistently require the application of creativity and innovation; set broad research/project vision and strategy and influence technical direction for Laboratory and others wielding extensive influence, such as senior management, industrial partners, and policy makers.
• Provide highly innovative solutions to abstract complex problems/ideas, convert them into usable algorithms/software modules, and provide solutions that require in-depth analysis of multiple factors and the creative use of established methods.
• Develop new ideas, modify approaches, and redefine requirements that significantly impact major Laboratory programs, set high‑level goals, and contribute to the revolutionary advancement of knowledge.

• Ability to secure and maintain a U.S. DOE Q‑level security clearance which requires U.S. citizenship.
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