{"id":694521,"url":"https://alion.io/job/twenty-principal-offensive-cyber-research-engineer","title":"Principal Offensive Cyber Research Engineer","company":{"id":685785,"name":"Twenty","domain":"twenty.io","url":"https://alion.io/company/twenty-2","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":95,"open_postings":29,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":147,"computed_at":"2026-10-24T06:02:35Z"}},"role":"Security","role_family":"Security","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Arlington, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":192000,"max":455000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":455000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":8,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"MITRE ATT&CK","optional":false},{"name":"Red Teaming","optional":false},{"name":"AWS","optional":true},{"name":"Azure","optional":true},{"name":"C++","optional":true},{"name":"CI/CD","optional":true},{"name":"GCP","optional":true},{"name":"Python","optional":true},{"name":"Rust","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2025-10-12T17:21:28Z","employer_posted_date":"2025-10-12","last_verified_at":"2026-10-24T16:34:51Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":377,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":0,"flags":[],"days_open":376},"description":"About the Company\nAmerica is under sustained cyber attack. Our adversaries infiltrate our networks, steal our IP, and degrade the digital infrastructure that modern life runs on. They’ve learned-correctly-that those attacks rarely produce consequences.\nTwenty was founded to change that, by making our adversaries think twice before they attack us. Our vision is American and allied primacy in cyberspace-a future where they cannot contest us, deterrence is assured, and the free world remains secure.\nFounded in 2024, Twenty Technologies (www.twenty.io) industrializes offensive cyber operations for the U.S. and its allies. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Twenty has raised $168M from Khosla Ventures, Accel, Caffeinated Capital, Friends & Family Capital, Point72 Ventures, General Catalyst, and In-Q-Tel.\nMission | On Site | Full Time | Active TS/SCI with CI Polygraph\nRole Summary\nYou will serve as the preeminent technical authority for Twenty’s offensive cyber research program-setting the long-term vision, raising the bar on technical execution, and driving breakthroughs in adversary emulation and attack automation. Your work will shape how we build and standardize offensive capabilities that support real-world national security outcomes. You’ll partner closely with engineering, product, and operations leaders, and you’ll regularly advise executive leadership and government stakeholders on strategy, technical risk, and capability evolution.\nWhat You’ll Do\nDefine and drive the long-term technical vision and roadmap for Twenty’s offensive cyber research and capabilities.\n\nServe as the principal technical advisor to executive leadership on strategy, capability development, and technical risk.\n\nLead groundbreaking research into advanced adversary behaviors and next-generation offensive cyber techniques.\n\nEstablish company-wide standards, frameworks, and best practices for offensive tooling and engineering quality.\n\nArchitect and guide development of advanced adversary emulation and attack automation systems built for scale.\n\nLead technical governance (e.g., architecture reviews) and provide authoritative guidance on complex decisions.\n\nMentor Staff and Senior engineers, build growth plans, and strengthen the organization’s technical leadership bench.\n\nRecruit, interview, and assess top-tier offensive cyber talent to build and sustain world-class teams.\n\nLead technical engagements with senior government stakeholders-translating complex capabilities into decision-grade clarity.\n\nBuild strategic research partnerships across government, academia, and industry to accelerate innovation and impact.\n\nWho You Are\nYou’re motivated by mission-driven work that helps defend democracies in the cyber domain.\n\nYou set a high technical bar and raise it-through clear standards, strong reviews, and hands-on mentorship.\n\nYou’re calm under pressure and comfortable making high-stakes decisions with incomplete information.\n\nYou think in systems: tradeoffs, second-order effects, operational constraints, and long-term maintainability.\n\nYou have the presence to influence executives and senior government stakeholders without overselling.\n\nYou balance innovation with operational discipline-prioritizing safety, rigor, and responsible stewardship.\n\nYou communicate with precision: crisp written artifacts, clear technical narratives, and direct feedback.\n\nMust Have\nYou have 8-12 years of distinguished experience across offensive cyber operations, advanced research, and software development.\n\nYou have served in senior technical leadership roles in one or more of: government/military DNEA, Exploitation Analyst (EA) operations, elite red teams, or nation-state threat research.\n\nYou have defined technical strategy and led large-scale initiatives that shipped durable, high-impact capabilities.\n\nYou have expert-level understanding of adversary behaviors and TTPs, including deep familiarity with MITRE ATT&CK.\n\nYou have demonstrated technical judgment in designing complex, scalable systems and establishing engineering standards.\n\nYou have led and mentored senior engineers, including setting expectations, running technical reviews, and developing talent.\n\nYou have strong executive and customer communication skills, with experience briefing senior leaders and shaping decisions.\n\nYou are eligible to obtain a U.S. Government security clearance.\n\nNice to Have\nYou have deployed offensive cyber capabilities into operational use with measurable mission impact.\n\nYou have a track record of thought leadership through publications, conference talks, or widely respected technical writing.\n\nYou have deep background in malware development, vulnerability research, or exploit engineering with notable discoveries.\n\nYou hold advanced technical certifications (e.g., OSEE, GXPN, or equivalent government credentials).\n\nYou have experience with multi-source intelligence fusion or cross-domain operational environments.\n\nYou have familiarity with acquisition/requirements processes and guiding capability development across multiple teams.\n\nTech Environment (You Might Work With)\nYou might work with modern systems programming and scripting languages (e.g., C/C++, Rust, Python).\n\nYou might work with cloud environments and cloud security across major providers (AWS, Azure, GCP).\n\nYou might work with graph-based analysis and large-scale data processing systems.\n\nYou might work with AI/ML workflows applied to adversary emulation and automation.\n\nYou might work with containerized infrastructure, CI/CD, and production-grade observability.\n\nSecurity / Work Environment\nThis role requires eligibility to obtain a U.S. Government security clearance. Some work may involve operating in a controlled environment.\nBenefits\nWhat's on the table:\nHealth. Medical, dental, and vision plan options. Life / AD&D, disability coverage options.\n\nFamily. Paid parental leave for eligible full-time employees. 12 weeks for birthing parents, 4 for non-birthing parents, 6 weeks for adoptive, foster, or intended parents through surrogacy.\n\nVacation. Paid holidays and flexible PTO. Take what you need.\n\nRetirement. 401(k) with pre-tax and Roth options. HSA/FSA options, dependent care FSA.\n\nBenefits vary by location, role, and eligibility. Full plan details provided during the interview and offer process.\nIf this role sounds like you, apply and share with us your interest\nDue to U.S. government contract and security requirements, this role is limited to U.S. citizens. Some positions may also require eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance. Any active clearance requirement will be listed in the role description.\nTwenty is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected status, consistent with applicable law.\nIf you need a reasonable accommodation during the hiring process, let us know and we will work with you.","description_format":"text","description_chars":7038,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":8,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":true,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Parental leave"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Cyber Warfare","National Security"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-11T01:41:42Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":16,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.585,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":376,"expected_fill_days":147,"reasons":["conf:1","velocity","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-24T06:02:35Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":455000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/twenty-principal-offensive-cyber-research-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/twenty-principal-offensive-cyber-research-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-24T17:42:45Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":25786,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-25T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":685785},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=685785"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Ftwenty-principal-offensive-cyber-research-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Ftwenty-principal-offensive-cyber-research-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Ftwenty-principal-offensive-cyber-research-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/twenty-principal-offensive-cyber-research-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Ftwenty-principal-offensive-cyber-research-engineer"}]}