Description

Secure Software and Applied Cryptography Engineer in the System Security Section (TEC-SES), End-to-End Systems Division, Systems Department, Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality.

The System Security Section is responsible for end-to-end system security engineering for the Agency’s missions, projects and activities across space, ground and user segments and communication links, at system, subsystem, element and equipment levels. Its responsibilities span the mission lifecycle from the study phase and definition of requirements to design, development, security integration and verification, and security service preparation, across the full stack, from the physical to the application layer.

To fulfil these functions, the System Security Section defines and conducts the associated research and development (R&D) activities and studies and implements the necessary security engineering standards.

Using its security laboratory facilities, the System Security Section performs vulnerability assessments across all areas within its remit and proposes detection methods and mitigation and protection measures using security assessment tools and equipment.

This position will support a third-party activity aimed at developing a national security evaluation laboratory capability.

Duties

Your tasks and responsibilities will include:

• supporting the Project Manager by providing recommendations, guidance and plans for test and evaluation laboratory capability development and technologies for software security evaluation;
• regular reporting to the Project Manager on the status of the duties assigned under the project;
• engaging directly with and advising national customers and ESA experts on options for developing and maturing software security evaluation capability;
• deriving technical requirements and reviewing, assessing and evaluating project proposals, including the security design, development, implementation, qualification and validation;
• fostering new security application areas for multidisciplinary activities, placing emphasis on innovative concepts and cutting-edge technologies in the field of software security evaluation;
• supporting laboratory activities as required;
• continuously following technological and scientific developments relevant to the position, particularly emerging threats, exploits and industry trends;
• contributing, as requested, to other technical activities beyond the main project in your area of expertise.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

For more information, please refer to the ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education and professional experience

A master’s degree in a relevant field and, in principle, three years of relevant professional experience are required for this post. Alternatively, candidates with a bachelor’s degree and an additional four years of relevant professional experience may be considered.

Additional requirements

In-depth knowledge of the following:

• source code review and static code analysis;
• secure C/C++ programming;
• root causes of vulnerabilities (memory safety, undefined behaviour, integer overflow and underflow, null pointer deference, concurrency and race conditions, input validation, error handling, resource exhaustion, use-after-free and format-string issues);
• timing attacks;
• compiler transformations and compiler/linker security features;
• secure API design;
• secure key/secret handling;
• serialisation and parsing;
• inter-process communication;
• entropy sources and estimation, DRBG construction and health tests;
• applied cryptography, including post-quantum (PQC);
• design of modules intended for NIST FIPS-140 validation or equivalent security assurance frameworks, such as EUCC;
• standards such as FIPS 140-3 and FIPS 197, current PQC standards, and code review standards applicable to test and evaluation facilities;
• fuzzing;
• secure protocols and related attacks and vulnerabilities (downgrade and replay attacks, state-machine vulnerabilities and failure behaviour).

In addition, experience in the following would be beneficial:

• formal testing standards for evaluating cryptographic implementations used by national or nationally qualified test and evaluation facilities;
• working with classified information.

At least three years of experience in a security certification or testing laboratory is desirable, preferably in cryptographic evaluation.