Staff Embedded Systems Security Engineer
True Anomaly6 hours ago
Denver, CO, USAStaff+
Base Salary
$200k - $305k/yr
Responsibilities
- Own security architecture, threat modeling, and defensive controls for spacecraft platforms, including flight computers, firmware, FPGA gateware, cryptographic implementations, and secure boot.
- Build security platforms, tooling, and foundational services for secure-by-default flight software, firmware, and hardware configuration.
- Design and operate PKI for device authentication, firmware signing, secure boot, certificate lifecycle management, and secure key storage on resource-constrained spacecraft.
- Architect cryptographic and security implementations meeting FIPS 140-3, CNSA 2.0, and CCSDS Space Data Link Security requirements, including post-quantum cryptography migration.
- Harden flight software build and deployment tooling and protect the supply-chain integrity of build outputs, dependencies, and third-party components.
- Lead security assessments and penetration testing for spacecraft, RF systems, and test environments.
- Drive secure design practices across flight software, hardware, and test engineering teams and mentor engineers through technical leadership.
- Use AI to accelerate development, analyze security data, and address embedded systems security challenges.
Requirements
- Active security clearance or the ability to obtain and maintain one.
- Deep hands-on expertise in embedded, hardware, firmware, and hardware security, including attack surfaces, side-channel attacks, fault injection, firmware security, secure boot, and HSMs.
- Strong C and C++ development skills, engineering fundamentals, debugging production systems, and low-level experience with assembly and firmware.
- Proven experience building production security platforms, tooling, and foundational services for hardware and embedded engineering teams.
- Expert PKI knowledge for embedded and resource-constrained systems, including device authentication, firmware-signing certificate chains, secure-boot PKI hierarchies, certificate provisioning and rotation, secure key storage, and HSM integration.
- Expert applied cryptography experience with FIPS 140-3, familiarity with CNSA 2.0 and CCSDS SDLS, post-quantum cryptography migration, and NIST 800-series publications.
- Experience applying hardware and firmware security-testing methodologies and building automated testing tooling and frameworks at scale.
- Principal-level impact in setting security strategy, prioritizing risks, leading hardening initiatives, mentoring engineers, and influencing teams without direct authority.
- Preferred: hands-on experience with formal FIPS validation through CMVP.
- Preferred: real-time or safety-critical embedded systems experience and background in aerospace, defense, avionics, medical devices, or industrial control systems.
- Preferred: hardware reverse engineering, firmware analysis, FPGA/VHDL security, RF/radio security, HIL/SIL infrastructure, embedded Linux, supply-chain security, and hardened embedded build pipelines.
- Preferred: evidence of practical security impact such as published CVEs, research, publications, conference talks, open-source contributions, or relevant projects.
Benefits
- Base salary of $200,000-$305,000.
- Equity and health, dental, vision, HRA/HSA, PTO, paid holidays, 401(k), and parental leave benefits.
- Hybrid work environment with some on-site work required.
- Successful candidates must be located near Denver or Colorado Springs.
- The position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
- The position is subject to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including ITAR eligibility requirements.
About True Anomaly
True Anomaly builds spacecraft and software for space defense, including autonomous satellites, precision-sensing payloads, mission command-and-control software, and space-based interceptors for national security and commercial operators. Founded in 2022 by former U.S. Space Force members, it is privately held and headquartered in Englewood, Colorado. The company sells hardware, AI-enabled flight software, and mission operations services to U.S. and allied defense programs and space infrastructure providers.