Senior Security Engineer Cryptography

As a Senior Security Engineer on Trail of Bits' Cryptography team, you review and strengthen high-assurance cryptographic systems used across technology, finance, defense, and blockchain. You evaluate whether cryptographic designs and implementations deliver their claimed security properties, find subtle failures where theory meets code, and help clients make sound decisions about risk and remediation.

What you'll do

• Lead cryptographic assessments by reviewing protocols, libraries, and application code, identifying design and implementation weaknesses, validating exploitability, and recommending practical fixes
• Analyze advanced constructions including standardized symmetric and asymmetric cryptography, post-quantum schemes, zero-knowledge proof systems, and multiparty computation protocols, learning unfamiliar designs when needed
• Build useful tooling such as test harnesses and proofs of concept that improve cryptanalysis, implementation review, and repeatability across engagements
• Own clear client delivery by planning your work, surfacing risk early, leading technical discussions, and producing precise reports that explain findings and engineering paths forward
• Shape the practice by contributing to scoping and methodology, mentoring other engineers, identifying promising research or tooling opportunities, and turning repeated client needs into stronger services
• Share what you learn through contributions to open-source projects and, when appropriate, publishing technical work or presenting to the security and cryptography communities

What you bring

• Substantial applied cryptography experience evaluating cryptographic primitives, protocols, and implementations, with the judgment to distinguish theoretical concerns from practical security failures
• Mathematical fluency strong enough to read relevant academic papers, reason about security assumptions, and translate research into implementation-level questions
• Proficiency in at least one systems or security-oriented language such as Rust, Go, C, or C++, plus experience using Git-based development workflows
• Assessment judgment to form and test hypotheses, recognize where specifications and implementations diverge, document evidence, and prioritize findings by real-world impact
• A record of independently driving complex technical work, managing ambiguity, making defensible decisions, and helping teammates improve their approach
• Clear writing and confident technical communication with engineers, researchers, and other stakeholders who will question assumptions and expect precise answers
• Willingness to learn unfamiliar systems, share incomplete ideas early, and work closely with colleagues, clients, and the broader technical community

Nice to have

• Experience assessing post-quantum, zero-knowledge, threshold, multiparty-computation, or privacy-preserving systems
• Published cryptography or security research, open-source contributions, public audit reports, conference talks, or technical writing
• Experience designing cryptographic APIs, reviewing protocol specifications, or moving research implementations toward production use
• Experience scoping security engagements, mentoring engineers, or developing repeatable assessment methodologies

What we offer

• Base salary range of $165,000 to $220,000 plus potential performance-based bonus
• Fully company-paid insurance packages including health, dental, vision, disability, and life
• 401(k) plan with a 5% match of your base salary
• 20 days of paid vacation with flexibility for more, adhering to jurisdictional regulations
• 4 months of parental leave
• $10,000 in relocation assistance if you move to New York City
• $1,000 work-from-home stipend for your home office
• $750 annual learning and development stipend
• Company-sponsored all-team celebrations including travel and accommodation
• Philanthropic contribution matching up to $2,000 annually
• Fully remote, working across every time zone globally

About Trail of Bits

Founded in 2012 by expert security researchers, Trail of Bits helps secure some of the world's most targeted organizations and devices. The company combines novel research with practical solutions to reduce security risks from emerging technologies, working across clients in technology, finance, defense, and blockchain. With over 100 employees working globally from a remote-first culture, Trail of Bits is known for advancing security and addressing technology's newest challenges.