Hardware Security Engineer - Consultant

Awerian works with leading industry and national defence partners to assess critical systems for potential vulnerabilities, contributing novel software and hardware cyber defence techniques which use Awerian’s physics‑first approach to go far beyond the typical “IT approach” to cyber security. As a consultant at Awerian you will use your curiosity, creativity, and rigour to tackle diverse, real‑world challenges which are typically at the forefront of emerging technologies.
Hardware Security at Awerian demands technical expertise coupled with creative thinking to understand the connections between the software, hardware, underpinning infrastructure, and user interaction of systems to identify, understand, and design solutions to protect against potential cyber‑physical vulnerabilities.
You will use your experience to understand systems, identify potential hardware or cyber‑physical security implications and develop proof‑of‑concept demonstrators, often in novel settings, pulling together third‑party components and building elements yourself. And you will see ideas become reality as you create impactful solutions through Awerian’s rapid approach to design and implementation. It’s a fantastically challenging, varied, and agile role.
Awerian’s wide variety of projects often bring together aspects of science, engineering, machine learning and cyber, and span initial proofs‑of‑concept through to development of working prototypes, providing both intellectual and practical challenges. Projects are rapidly evolving, in line with both the nature of the technology landscape and our clients’ requirements and can span from a few months to multi‑year programmes.

• Understanding systems on a deep technical level through intense research and testing.
• Considering potential cyber‑physical vulnerabilities, often for niche applications.
• Generating novel concepts and approaches to address challenges.
• Rapid prototyping and troubleshooting.
• Designing and building proof‑of‑concept demonstrators, or special products.
• Analysing results and drawing and presenting conclusions.
• Making recommendations for further research.

Projects will also stretch and develop your commercial awareness, through partnership with clients to understand their needs and deliver high‑quality outcomes at pace.

• Hold a strong undergraduate degree in a relevant subject including (but not limited to) Engineering, Computer Science or Physics.
• Possess understanding of electronics hardware, sensors, and/or systems and their functionality in real world applications.
• Demonstrate experience interfacing with and debugging a range of hardware, for example, via standard protocols (e.g. JTAG, UART) or test and measurement equipment (e.g. oscilloscopes).
• Be able to design and build hardware prototypes and demonstrators.
• Bring an outside‑the‑box approach, creative problem‑solving ability, independent mindset, and broad interest in developments across cyber security.
• Be able to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
• Possess the ability to work both autonomously and collaboratively within an expert team in a high‑performing environment.

• Experience in the UK Defence and Security sector.
• Experience of, or the skills required for, client‑facing roles.
• Technical expertise in one or more of the following areas:
• Vulnerability research and reverse engineering,
• Low‑level programming on embedded systems or similar.
• Communications, networking, and protocol analysis.
• RF technologies and Software Defined Radio.

Owing to the fast‑paced, collaborative nature of our work, successful applicant(s) would be expected to work on‑site full time, in our state‑of‑the‑art office and labs at the TTP Campus (Cambridge Road, Melbourn, SG8 6HQ
).

Awerian is a research and technology development consultancy, comprising ~40 mathematicians, scientists, and engineers. Awerian provides advanced R&D services to the UK defence and national security sector and specialises in delivering innovative solutions at pace to its clients’ most challenging…