Senior / Staff Robotics Security Software Engineer
Posted
Summary
Senior/Staff Security Software Engineer designing and hardening security controls across Saronic's autonomous surface vessel fleet — spanning edge compute (Rust, NixOS, embedded Linux), vessel-to-vessel/cloud mesh networks (mutual TLS, key rotation, satellite/cellular/mesh radio), and cloud orchestration (cryptographic services, secrets management, CI/CD security). Hands-on implementation of secur
- We are seeking a Security Software Engineer to design, implement, and harden the security controls across Saronic’s autonomous surface vessel fleet
- This role spans three layers: edge compute on the vessels themselves, the networks that enable vessels to communicate with each other and with the cloud, and the cloud orchestration layer that manages the fleet at scale
- You will work hands-on in a Rust-first ecosystem, on NixOS-based embedded Linux platforms, building security features that ship into production and operate reliably in real-world maritime environments
- Edge: Design and implement secure boot, hardware roots of trust, trusted execution environments, rollback protection, and secure update and over-the-air delivery pipelines for vessel compute
- Middleware and Mesh: Implement per-vessel identity and mutual authentication for vessel-to-vessel and vessel-to-cloud links, implement certificates, key rotation, and revocation workflows, and protect message integrity against replay and spoofing across intermittent, bandwidth-constrained, and contested links (satellite, cellular, and mesh radio)
- Cloud Orchestration: Build and maintain cryptographic services bridging vessel and cloud infrastructure, and harden identity and access controls, secrets and key management, and containerized workloads
- Platform and Lifecycle: Secure NixOS configurations using Nix’s declarative and reproducible model, drive vulnerability management across third-party crates and dependencies, and embed security into CI/CD pipelines from build through deployment
- Collaboration: Partner with autonomy, platform security, manufacturing, and field teams to embed security requirements from the ground up, and collaborate with the enterprise and application security teams on threat modeling, risk assessment, and incident response to ensure implemented controls align with overarching policy and standards
- Contribute to architecture and interface design documents and participate in code and design reviews to maintain high security and coding standards
- Build reusable security tools, libraries, and instrumentation across the codebase to solve hard security problems using automation and AI-assisted approaches
- Physical Demands
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
- Occasional standing and walking within the office
- Manual dexterity to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, and other office equipment
- Visual acuity to read screens, documents, and reports
- Occasional reaching, bending, or stooping to access file drawers, cabinets, or office supplies
- Lifting and carrying items up to 20 pounds occasionally (e.g., office supplies, packages)
- Knowledge of DoD standards and regulations related to security software development is advantageous
- Solid understanding of cryptographic primitives and protocols (keys, certificates, signatures, TLS, and mutual TLS) and experience integrating them into real systems
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field
- Familiarity with networking protocols and IPC/message-passing frameworks
- Staff Engineers: 8+ years of experience in security software engineering, including architecture, cross-functional leadership, or platform ownership in autonomy, robotics, or embedded systems
- Proficiency in programming languages such as C/C++ or Rust and hands-on experience securing embedded Linux systems
- Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to work in a fast-paced startup environment
- Experience with hardware security modules, secure boot, and system-level software spanning kernel and bootloader
- Experience with real-time systems is a plus
- Strong communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams
- 3+ years of experience in security software engineering, preferably in autonomy, robotics, or embedded systems
- Prior work on autonomous systems is a plus