Cybersecurity Expert - Offensive Security

About the job Mercor connects elite creative and technical talent with leading AI research labs. Headquartered in San Francisco, our investors include Benchmark , General Catalyst , Peter Thiel , Adam D'Angelo , Larry Summers , and Jack Dorsey . Position: Cybersecurity Research Expert – Offensive Security & Vulnerability Research Type: Contract Compensation: $200–$250/hour Location: Remote Role Responsibilities - Evaluate AI-generated analyses of complex cybersecurity scenarios, exploits, and vulnerability reports. - Review technical writeups for correctness, exploitability, and mitigation quality. - Validate vulnerability root-cause analysis across software, operating systems, networking, cloud, and web applications. - Provide structured feedback on security reasoning, exploit chains, and defensive recommendations. - Contribute to benchmark development for advanced AI security capabilities . - Work independently and asynchronously to meet deadlines while improving AI model performance . Qualifications Must-Have - Member of a top-ranked Capture The Flag (CTF) team with demonstrated competitive achievements. - Discoverer or co-author of CVEs affecting widely used open-source or commercial software. - Publicly recognised bug bounty researcher with findings accepted by major programs (e.g., Google, Microsoft, Apple, Meta, GitHub, Mozilla, Chromium, Kubernetes, Linux Foundation, etc.). - Research experience at a well-respected security laboratory or academic research group . - Author of high-quality security research publications , conference papers, or widely cited technical writeups. - Strong understanding of exploit development, reverse engineering, binary analysis, vulnerability research, operating systems, networks, web security, or cryptography. Preferred - Professional experience in offensive security, application security, vulnerability research, product security, or security engineering. - Experience with reverse engineering tools such as IDA Pro , Ghidra , Binary Ninja , or Radare2 . - Familiarity with fuzzing, symbolic execution, static analysis, or dynamic analysis frameworks. - Experience with Linux internals , Windows internals , browser security, cloud security, embedded security, or mobile security. - Strong programming skills in C/C++ , Rust , Python , Go , or Java . - Excellent written communication and ability to explain complex security concepts clearly. Nice to Have - Hall of Fame recognition from major bug bounty programs. - Black Hat, DEF CON, USENIX Security, IEEE S&P, ACM CCS, NDSS, or similar conference presentations/publications. - Maintainer or significant contributor to well-known open-source security tools. - Offensive Security certifications ( OSCP , OSEP , OSCE3 ), GIAC certifications , or equivalent credentials. Application Process (Takes 20–30 mins to complete) - Upload resume - AI interview based on your resume - Submit form Resources & Support - For details about the interview process and platform information, please check: https://talent.docs.mercor.com/welcome - For any help or support, reach out to: support@mercor.com PS: Our team reviews applications daily. Please complete your AI interview and application steps to be considered for this opportunity.