Software Design Engineer

About the role

Ascendion is seeking a Software Design Engineer to join our team in Redmond, WA. This position focuses on enhancing AI-driven security analysis pipelines for firmware, contributing to the development of tools that identify vulnerabilities in third-party firmware. You will collaborate with a diverse team of engineers and researchers to push the boundaries of digital security.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Develop and refine security analysis pipelines that convert C/C++ firmware into LLVM Intermediate Representation (IR).
• Create and maintain systems for executing fuzzing campaigns and improving crash triage processes to enhance vulnerability detection.
• Collaborate with team members to validate analysis results across various firmware targets and environments.
• Contribute to open-source readiness by improving documentation, testing, and CI/CD automation.
• Write clean and maintainable code while participating in design reviews and technical discussions.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• At least 7 years of experience in C/C++ software development.
• Proficient in compiler technologies and LLVM, with hands-on experience in low-level systems programming.
• Familiarity with fuzzing frameworks such as libFuzzer or AFL, and a solid understanding of software security principles.
• Experience with Python for automation and tooling, and Git-based development workflows.
• Proven ability to produce well-tested and documented production code.

Nice to have

• Experience with firmware or embedded systems development.
• Knowledge of hardware abstraction layers (HALs) and cross-compilation techniques.
• Familiarity with static analysis tools like CodeQL and program analysis concepts.
• Experience integrating AI or machine learning into engineering processes.
• Previous contributions to open-source projects and experience with CI/CD pipeline development.

Skills & tools

• C/C++
• LLVM
• Python
• Fuzzing frameworks (libFuzzer, AFL)
• Git

Practical notes

• Salary Range: $166,000 - $172,000 annually. Compensation may vary based on factors such as location, skills, education, and experience.
• Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, long-term and short-term disability insurance, personal days, paid vacation, and holidays.

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