Cryptography Research Engineer

Riverside Research is seeking a Cryptography Research Engineer to work alongside our US Air Force (USAF) and Department of Defense (DoD) partners to develop tamper protected microelectronic devices and intellectual property (IP). This position will possess a strong understanding of cryptographic algorithm development and implementation, including post-quantum cryptography, and advanced attacks against cryptographic implementations. You will work with hardware security experts employing a range of microelectronics test equipment, custom software, and computing resources to provide the best support to our customers. This position is located at WPAFB, Ohio.

Provides assessments of state-of-the-art implementation attacks against cryptographic algorithms
• Attends technology interchange meetings at DoD and contractor sites
• Designs and performs research and experiments to assess attack effectiveness against microelectronic devices
• Interacts with internal team and trusted third-parties to collect appropriate source information
• Analyzes secure architectures to identify vulnerabilities
• Documents findings in technical reports and presentations
• Develops, maintains, adjusts, and reports on project schedules and timelines
• Attends technical conferences to understand new attacks and protections
• Collaborates with Government research leads to conducted research and present papers across a variety of DoD conferences and technical interchanges
• Supports Principal Investigator and Program Manager in the development and documentation of technical requirements for approved research areas
• Contributes to proposals for new research in similar and/or related technology areas

Required Qualifications:

• Secret required clearance to start, but must be able obtain Top Secret security clearance and all required program access approvals.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science or Mathematics with 5 years direct experience in cryptography or a closely related discipline; or a master's degree in related academic field and 3 years direct experience in cryptography or embedded hardware security, or a PhD within a related discipline.
• Strong mathematical foundation in cryptography, excellent English reading skills, eagerness to learn, and desire to perform fundamental research.
• Familiarity with the finalized NIST Post-Quantum Encryption Standards (CRYSTALS-Kyber, CRYSTALS-Dilithium, Sphincs+ and FALCON) and other public-key cryptographic algorithms (AES, RSA, ECC).
• Good communication and teamwork skills.
• Proficient in creating technical reports and presentations supporting research areas.
• Willing to travel a few times per year.

Desired Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science or Mathematics with 8 years direct experience in cryptography or a closely related discipline; or a master's degree in related academic field and 6 years direct experience in cryptography or embedded hardware security, or a PhD within a related discipline with 3 years practical experience.
• Publication history in cryptography or mathematics.
• Proficiency in Python, Rust, or C++.
• Experience building cryptographic algorithms in hardware and RTL implementations.
• Experience with Machine Learning and Data Analysis.
• Proficiency in common ZK proofs (Groth, SNARKs, STARKs, etc.).
• Familiarity with common ZK primitives (BLS, ECDSA, Oracle, Hash, Merkel Tree, etc.).
• Knowledge of standard ZK protocols (Pedersen, Schnorr, KZG, Polynomial Commitment, etc.).
• Experience with VOLE-based ZK proofs, symmetric key ciphers, or fully homomorphic encryption.
• Understanding of multi-party computation and obfuscation circuits.
• Knowledge of blockchain technology design principles and experience with a common blockchain open-source project.