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Firmware Security Researcher Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Platform Hardware Security

San Francisco, CA ยท On-site

$320K - $405K/yr

Build firmware analysis pipelines for continuous security monitoring * Document security ... Research shows that people who identify as being from underrepresented groups are more prone to ...

A melting pot of AI research specialists, silicon designers, software engineers and systems ... Implement system firmware security features including root of trust, secure boot chains, and signed ...

A melting pot of AI research specialists, silicon designers, software engineers and systems ... Implement system firmware security features including root of trust, secure boot chains, and signed ...

A melting pot of AI research specialists, silicon designers, software engineers and systems ... Implement system firmware security features including root of trust, secure boot chains, and signed ...

Senior Firmware Validation Engineer

Austin, TX ยท On-site

$118K - $156K/yr

A melting pot of AI research specialists, silicon designers, software engineers and systems ... Drive validation of platform security features including Root of Trust, secure boot, and TPM ...

Senior Firmware Validation Engineer

Austin, TX ยท On-site

$118K - $156K/yr

A melting pot of AI research specialists, silicon designers, software engineers and systems ... Drive validation of platform security features including Root of Trust, secure boot, and TPM ...

Firmware Engineer

Manhattan, NY ยท On-site

$220K/yr

Proven background in red teaming, offensive security research, or adversarial testing targeting ... Shipped firmware on microcontrollers and OS-based embedded systems. * Written firmware for systems ...

Firmware Engineer

New York, NY ยท On-site

$220K/yr

Proven background in red teaming, offensive security research, or adversarial testing targeting ... Shipped firmware on microcontrollers and OS-based embedded systems. * Written firmware for systems ...

Senior Firmware Validation Engineer

Austin, TX ยท On-site

$118K - $156K/yr

A melting pot of AI research specialists, silicon designers, software engineers and systems ... Drive validation of platform security features including Root of Trust, secure boot, and TPM ...

Firmware Engineer

New York, NY ยท On-site

$220K/yr

Proven background in red teaming, offensive security research, or adversarial testing targeting ... Shipped firmware on microcontrollers and OS-based embedded systems. * Written firmware for systems ...

Senior Firmware Validation Engineer

Austin, TX ยท On-site

$118K - $156K/yr

A melting pot of AI research specialists, silicon designers, software engineers and systems ... Drive validation of platform security features including Root of Trust, secure boot, and TPM ...

Showing results 41-60

Firmware Security Researcher information

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How much do firmware security researcher jobs pay per hour?

As of Sep 9, 2026, the average hourly pay for firmware security researcher in the United States is $51.44, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $49.76 and $53.12 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a firmware security researcher?

Firmware Security Researchers are professionals who specialize in identifying, analyzing, and mitigating security vulnerabilities within firmware, which is the low-level software that controls hardware devices. Their work involves reverse engineering firmware, conducting vulnerability assessments, and developing tools or techniques to protect embedded systems from cyber threats. They play a crucial role in securing devices such as computers, IoT gadgets, and industrial equipment, helping prevent unauthorized access and cyberattacks at the hardware level. Firmware Security Researchers often collaborate with hardware manufacturers, software developers, and cybersecurity teams to improve overall device security.

What are some common challenges firmware security researchers face when analyzing embedded systems?

Firmware Security Researchers often encounter challenges such as limited or undocumented hardware interfaces, proprietary code, and complex supply chains that obscure vulnerabilities. Accessing and extracting firmware from devices can require specialized tools and techniques, and reverse engineering is frequently necessary due to lack of source code. Collaboration with hardware engineers and other security professionals is essential to fully understand device architecture and to effectively identify and mitigate risks in embedded systems.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a firmware security researcher, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Firmware Security Researcher, you need a deep understanding of embedded systems, low-level programming (such as C/C++ and assembly), and a background in computer science or electrical engineering. Familiarity with tools like IDA Pro, Ghidra, JTAG debuggers, and firmware analysis platforms, as well as relevant certifications such as OSCP or CISSP, is highly valuable. Critical thinking, attention to detail, and effective problem-solving are essential soft skills in this role. These competencies are crucial for identifying vulnerabilities, analyzing complex firmware code, and ensuring the security of embedded devices in today's interconnected world.

What is the difference between Firmware Security Researcher vs Embedded Security Analyst?

AspectFirmware Security ResearcherEmbedded Security Analyst
CredentialsCybersecurity certifications, knowledge of firmware analysis toolsSecurity certifications, embedded systems knowledge
Work EnvironmentResearch labs, cybersecurity firms, tech companiesManufacturers, IoT companies, embedded device firms
Industry UsageFocus on firmware vulnerabilities and exploitsFocus on embedded system security and threat mitigation

The Firmware Security Researcher primarily investigates firmware vulnerabilities and exploits, often working in research labs or cybersecurity firms. In contrast, the Embedded Security Analyst focuses on securing embedded systems within manufacturing or IoT environments. Both roles require cybersecurity knowledge, but their focus areas and work settings differ.

What are popular job titles related to Firmware Security Researcher jobs?

For Firmware Security Researcher jobs, the most frequently searched job titles are:

Infographic showing various Firmware Security Researcher job openings in the United States as of September 2026, with employment types broken down into 85% Full Time, 13% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 90% Physical, 2% Hybrid, and 8% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $107,000 per year, or $51.4 per hour.

Platform Hardware Security

San Francisco, CA โ€ข On-site

Anthropic
Software Developmentย โ€ขย 11 - 50 employees

$320K - $405K/yr

Full-time

PTO

Re-posted 26 days ago


Key responsibilities

  • Design and implement secure boot chains from firmware through OS initialization for diverse hardware platforms.

  • Architect attestation systems that provide cryptographic proof of system state from hardware root of trust through application layer.

  • Prototype, validate, and deploy security mechanisms, conduct firmware vulnerability assessments, and document security architectures.


Job description

About Anthropic
Anthropic's mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. We want AI to be safe and beneficial for our users and for society as a whole. Our team is a quickly growing group of committed researchers, engineers, policy experts, and business leaders working together to build beneficial AI systems.
About the role
We're seeking a Platform Hardware Security Engineer to design and implement security architectures for bare-metal infrastructure. You'll work with teams across Anthropic to build firmware, bootloaders, operating systems, and attestation systems to ensure the integrity of our infrastructure from the ground up.
This role requires expertise in low-level systems security and the ability to architect solutions that balance security requirements with the performance demands of training AI models across our massive fleet.
Key responsibilities
  • Design and implement secure boot chains from firmware through OS initialization for diverse hardware platforms (CPUs, BMCs, switches, peripherals, and embedded microcontrollers)
  • Architect attestation systems that provide cryptographic proof of system state from hardware root of trust through application layer
  • Develop measured boot implementations and runtime integrity monitoring
  • Create reference architectures and security requirements for bare-metal deployments
  • Integrate security controls with infrastructure teams without impacting training performance
  • Prototype and validate security mechanisms before production deployment
  • Conduct firmware vulnerability assessments and penetration testing
  • Build firmware analysis pipelines for continuous security monitoring
  • Document security architectures and maintain threat models
  • Collaborate with software and hardware vendors to ensure security capabilities meet our requirements
Minimum qualifications
  • Hands-on experience with secure boot, measured boot, and attestation technologies (TPM, Intel TXT, AMD SEV, ARM TrustZone)
  • Strong understanding of cryptographic protocols and hardware security modules
  • Experience with UEFI/BIOS or embedded firmware security, bootloader hardening, and chain of trust implementation
  • Proficiency in low-level programming (C, Rust, Assembly) and systems programming
  • Knowledge of firmware vulnerability assessment and threat modeling
  • Track record of designing security architectures for complex, distributed systems
  • Experience with supply chain security
  • Ability to work effectively across hardware and software boundaries
  • Knowledge of NIST firmware security guidelines and hardware security frameworks
Preferred qualifications
  • 8+ years of experience in systems security, with at least 5 years focused on firmware and hardware security (firmware, bootloaders, and OS-level security)
  • Experience with confidential computing technologies and hardware-based TEEs
  • Knowledge of SLSA framework and software supply chain security standards
  • Experience securing large-scale HPC or cloud infrastructure
  • Contributions to open-source security projects (coreboot, CHIPSEC, etc.)
  • Background in formal verification or security proof techniques
  • Experience with silicon root of trust implementations
  • Experience working with building foundational technical designs, operational leadership, and vendor collaboration
  • Previous work with AI/ML infrastructure security

The annual compensation range for this role is listed below.
For sales roles, the range provided is the role's On Target Earnings ("OTE") range, meaning that the range includes both the sales commissions/sales bonuses target and annual base salary for the role.
Annual Salary:
$320,000-$405,000 USD
Logistics
Minimum education: Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education, training, and/or experience
Required field of study: A field relevant to the role as demonstrated through coursework, training, or professional experience
Minimum years of experience: Years of experience required will correlate with the internal job level requirements for the position
Location-based hybrid policy: Currently, we expect all staff to be in one of our offices at least 25% of the time. However, some roles may require more time in our offices.
Visa sponsorship: We do sponsor visas! However, we aren't able to successfully sponsor visas for every role and every candidate. But if we make you an offer, we will make every reasonable effort to get you a visa, and we retain an immigration lawyer to help with this.
We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every single qualification. Not all strong candidates will meet every single qualification as listed. Research shows that people who identify as being from underrepresented groups are more prone to experiencing imposter syndrome and doubting the strength of their candidacy, so we urge you not to exclude yourself prematurely and to submit an application if you're interested in this work. We think AI systems like the ones we're building have enormous social and ethical implications. We think this makes representation even more important, and we strive to include a range of diverse perspectives on our team.
Your safety matters to us. To protect yourself from potential scams, remember that Anthropic recruiters only contact you from @anthropic.com email addresses. In some cases, we may partner with vetted recruiting agencies who will identify themselves as working on behalf of Anthropic. Be cautious of emails from other domains. Legitimate Anthropic recruiters will never ask for money, fees, or banking information before your first day. If you're ever unsure about a communication, don't click any links-visit anthropic.com/careers directly for confirmed position openings.
How we're different
We believe that the highest-impact AI research will be big science. At Anthropic we work as a single cohesive team on just a few large-scale research efforts. And we value impact - advancing our long-term goals of steerable, trustworthy AI - rather than work on smaller and more specific puzzles. We view AI research as an empirical science, which has as much in common with physics and biology as with traditional efforts in computer science. We're an extremely collaborative group, and we host frequent research discussions to ensure that we are pursuing the highest-impact work at any given time. As such, we greatly value communication skills.
The easiest way to understand our research directions is to read our recent research. This research continues many of the directions our team worked on prior to Anthropic, including: GPT-3, Circuit-Based Interpretability, Multimodal Neurons, Scaling Laws, AI & Compute, Concrete Problems in AI Safety, and Learning from Human Preferences.
Come work with us!
Anthropic is a public benefit corporation headquartered in San Francisco. We offer competitive compensation and benefits, optional equity donation matching, generous vacation and parental leave, flexible working hours, and a lovely office space in which to collaborate with colleagues. Guidance on Candidates' AI Usage: Learn about our policy for using AI in our application process.