Cybersecurity Researcher

Research Programme
Our mission is simple to summarise: make Singapore's healthcare ecosystem measurably harder to attack. We are looking for talented and driven people who will work with us on this mission by finding real weaknesses, building real defenses and see them through to fixes that protect patients, hospitals, and the devices they depend on.

Imperial College London and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are seeking a hands-on Cybersecurity Researcher to join IN-CYPHER (Imperial/NTU CYber Protection for HEalthcaRe). IN-CYPHER is a UK–Singapore research programme on the security of connected medical devices and healthcare systems, based at Imperial Global Singapore (IGS).

Purpose of the Post

Connected medical devices often stay in service for 10–20 years, are hard to patch, and sit inside complex hospital networks. We want someone who knows how these systems are broken and how they are defended, and who can turn that skill into lasting impact through research, vulnerability disclosure, tooling, and work with clinical and industry partners.

We welcome candidates whose strengths lie in any of the following areas:

·      Red team: penetration testing, vulnerability research, and exploit development, with a record of reported CVEs or published exploits/PoCs.

·      Blue team: detection engineering, network monitoring, intrusion and anomaly detection, and incident response, with evidence such as tools, detection pipelines, or deployed infrastructure.

·      Yellow team: building the environments others attack and defend, such as cyber ranges, testbeds, vulnerable-by-design systems, and emulation or simulation infrastructure, with evidence of systems you have built.

Prior medical-domain experience is welcome but not required. You will work closely with clinical and engineering partners at Imperial, NTU, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Candidates will be employed by Imperial Global Singapore, a research division of Imperial College London, which is consistently ranked within the top 10 of the QS University Rankings.

The position is based at the Imperial Global Singapore office located in the CREATE building on the NUS campus. The Cybersecurity Researcher will join a vibrant cross-faculty interdisciplinary research environment currently hosting approximately 30 researchers working across 5 major programmes. 

Key Responsibilities

Main Duties

• Plan and lead your own research on the offensive and/or defensive security of connected medical devices and healthcare networks.
• Drive research outputs through to concrete protective impact in Singapore's healthcare sector, such as disclosed and remediated vulnerabilities, deployed detection tooling, and guidance adopted by clinical and industry partners.
• Conduct security assessments, vulnerability research, and penetration tests on medical devices, protocols, and hospital-like systems, following responsible-disclosure practice.
• Design, build, and maintain testbeds and attack/defence infrastructure for the programme, such as a medical-device cyber range.
• Develop and evaluate detection and anomaly-detection techniques for network traffic and device data flows.
• Coordinate responsible disclosure with manufacturers and relevant authorities where vulnerabilities are found.
• Publish in high-quality refereed venues and present at academic and practitioner conferences.
• Develop contacts and collaborations within IGS, Imperial, NTU, and the wider community.
• Promote the positive reputation of IGS and the IN-CYPHER Programme.
• Contribute to grant proposals, programme activities, and the smooth running of IN-CYPHER and other programmes under IGS.
• Assist in the supervision of undergraduate interns, postgraduate research students, and research assistants as required.
• Maintain organised, accurate records and the highest standards of scientific integrity and confidentiality.
• Comply with IGS and CREATE practices and attend safety courses where appropriate.
• Any other duties as may be deemed reasonable by scientific and operations managers of IGS, IN-CYPHER, and scientific investigators of the relevant Themes.

Other Duties

Undertake any necessary training and/or development
Undertake appropriate administration tasks
Attend relevant meetings
Observe and comply with all IGS policies and regulations, including the key policies and procedures on:

Confidentiality
Conflict of Interest
Business Continuity
Data Protection
Equal Opportunities
Ethics related to scientific conduct and to considerations of patient data, where appropriate
External Interests
Financial Regulations
Health and Safety
Use of Information Technology
Policies regarding smoking and e-cigarettes

Undertake specific safety responsibilities relevant to individual roles, as set out by IGS

Person Specification
Requirements

Candidates/post holders will be expected to demonstrate the following: Essential (E)/ Desirable (D)

Education

PhD (or equivalent industrial experience) in computer science, engineering, applied mathematics, or a closely related discipline. (E)

For a senior appointment: 2–5 years of post-doctoral or equivalent experience in security or a field allied to one of the IN-CYPHER themes. (E)

Knowledge & Experience

Solid understanding of attack techniques and defensive controls across network, system, and application layers, for example MITRE ATT&CK. (E)

Fluency in at least one language used for security tooling and analysis, such as Python, C, Go, or Rust. (E)

Knowledge of research methods and of how to evaluate security techniques rigorously. (E)

Knowledge of embedded, IoT, or wireless security, or of ML-based anomaly detection. (D)

A demonstrable, verifiable track record in at least one of the following: (E)

• Red team: credited CVEs, published exploits or PoCs, or bug-bounty disclosures.
• Blue team: detection tools, rulesets, monitoring pipelines, or incident-response work you built or led.
• Yellow team: testbeds, cyber ranges, or attack/defence infrastructure you designed and built.

Practical experience in network security, including protocol analysis, traffic capture, and network-level attack or defence. (E)

Research outputs such as refereed publications, conference or practitioner talks, or substantial open-source security tooling. (E)

Experience in the analysis, interpretation, and visualisation of data, for example network traffic or security telemetry. (E)

Experience with medical devices or healthcare systems, for example HL7 FHIR, DICOM, BLE/wireless medical devices, or hospital IT environments. (D)

Industrial security experience, such as consultancy, a red team, or a SOC. (D)

Relevant certifications, such as OSCP, OSEP, OSWE, CRTO, or GIAC. (D)

Familiarity with security standards and regulation, such as ISO 27001, NIST SP 800-53/800-30, IEC 62443, IEC 81001-5-1, ISO 14971, or medical-device cybersecurity guidance. (D)

Strong Linux system administration, virtualisation, and networking skills. (D)

Experience supervising students or interns. (D)

Skills & Abilities

Ability to review recent literature, develop and apply new concepts, and solve problems creatively. (E)

Excellent written and verbal communication, including writing for scientific publication and for disclosure to vendors. (E)

Ability to collaborate within a large, distributed, interdisciplinary team, potentially across time zones. (E)

Ability to direct and motivate a small research team. (E)

Unquestionable integrity and commitment to ethical and legal conduct in security research, including responsible disclosure. (E)

Discipline and regard for confidentiality and security at all times. (E)

Willingness to work as part of a team, to be open-minded and cooperative, and to undertake any necessary training for the role. (E)

A flexible attitude towards work. (E)

Willingness to travel within Singapore, to the United Kingdom, and to other destinations as required to conduct and disseminate research. (D)

Willingness to work outside normal working hours (including weekends) if the requirements of the project demand. (D)

Further Information

Please note that job descriptions cannot be exhaustive, and the post-holder may be required to undertake other duties, which are broadly in line with the above key responsibilities.

Imperial Global Singapore is committed to Imperial’s equality and diversity frameworks. Our values are at the root of everything we do and everyone in our community is expected to demonstrate Imperial:

·    Respect

·    Collaboration

·    Excellence

·    Integrity

·    Innovation

Employees are also required to comply with all Imperial Global Singapore’s policies and regulations.

Imperial Global Singapore is committed to equality of opportunity and to eliminating discrimination. All employees are expected to:

1. Champion a positive approach to change and opportunity
2. Encourage inclusive participation and eliminate discrimination
3. Communicate regularly and effectively within and across teams
4. Consider the thoughts and expectations of others
5. Deliver positive outcomes
6. Develop and grow skills and expertise
7. Work in a planned and managed way

Employees are also required to comply with all IGS policies and regulations, paying special attention to:

• Confidentiality
• Conflict of Interest
• Data Protection
• Equal Opportunities
• Financial Regulations
• Health and Safety
• Information Technology
• Smoking
• Private Engagements and Register of Interests
• The regulations of CREATE Tower and of Singapore

They must also undertake specific training and assume responsibility for safety relevant to specific roles, as set out on the College Website Health and Safety Structure and Responsibilities page.

IGS observes the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring and promotion decisions, we evaluate applicants on the quality of their work, not the journal impact factor where it is published.

IGS believes that the use of animals in research is vital to improve human and animal health and welfare. Animals may only be used in research programmes where their use is shown to be necessary for developing new treatments and making medical advances. IGS is committed to ensuring that, in cases where this research is deemed essential, animals are treated with full respect, and that any and all staff involved with this work show due consideration at every level. For further details, applicants are directed to: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/about-imperial-research/research-integrity-investigations/ethics/animal/

Skills

Medical Systems, Security Assessments, Design, Vulnerability Research, Defence Sector, Protocol, Design-Build, Medical Devices, Cybersecurity, Network Intrusion Detection And Prevention, Network Security