Embedded Cryptography / FIPS Engineer - 100% Remote - Part Time / Freelance
About the role
Position Overview
We are looking for a highly skilled Embedded Cryptography / FIPS Engineer to design, develop, and validate secure cryptographic solutions for embedded systems used in mission-critical environments. This role focuses on FIPS 140-3 compliance, cryptographic driver development, and integration into real-time operating systems (RTOS) for next-generation processors such as the High Performance Space Computer (HPSC) .
The engineer will collaborate with RTOS kernel developers, hardware vendors, and security experts to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of embedded systems in aerospace and defense applications.
Key Responsibilities
- Cryptographic Driver Development
- Design and implement embedded cryptographic modules and drivers (e.g., AES, RSA, ECC, PQC algorithms) for RTOS environments.
- Develop a User Mode Crypto driver for HPSC and integrate it with RTEMS or similar RTOS.
- FIPS 140-3 Compliance & Certification
- Implement cryptographic modules in line with NIST and FIPS standards .
- Develop documentation, test vectors, and validation artifacts required for FIPS 140-3 certification.
- Support third-party testing and validation processes.
- Security Design & Integration
- Collaborate with hardware vendors (e.g., Microchip) to leverage hardware crypto acceleration.
- Research and integrate post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards where applicable.
- Conduct threat modeling and ensure secure key management, privilege separation, and kernel/user boundaries.
- Testing & Validation
- Perform functional and security testing on crypto drivers in emulated (QEMU) and hardware-based environments.
- Conduct penetration testing, fuzzing, and side-channel analysis to identify vulnerabilities.
- Documentation & Delivery
- Provide architecture design documents, SBOMs, test plans, and integration guides.
- Contribute to open-source security enhancements where permitted.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or Cybersecurity .
- 5+ years of experience in embedded cryptography and secure software development .
- Strong expertise in C/C++ programming for embedded systems.
- Hands-on experience with FIPS 140-2/140-3 validation processes .
- Knowledge of NIST-approved algorithms (AES, SHA, RSA, ECC, DRBG, etc.) and emerging PQC standards.
- Solid understanding of RTOS environments (RTEMS, Zephyr, FreeRTOS, or similar).
- Experience with cryptographic libraries (OpenSSL, mbedTLS, WolfSSL, BoringSSL, etc.).
Preferred Qualifications
- Familiarity with HPSC, RISC-V, or space-qualified processors .
- Experience with secure kernel design (privilege levels, kernel/user separation).
- Background in hardware crypto modules (TPMs, HSMs, ARM TrustZone, RISC-V extensions).
- Experience in side-channel attack mitigation and cryptographic fault injection testing.
- Contributions to open-source cryptography projects .
Soft Skills
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to think like an attacker and a defender.
- Excellent communication skills for technical documentation and collaboration.
- Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams, including open-source and government stakeholders.
Embedded Cryptography / FIPS Engineer - 100% Remote - Part Time / Freelance
About the role
Position Overview
We are looking for a highly skilled Embedded Cryptography / FIPS Engineer to design, develop, and validate secure cryptographic solutions for embedded systems used in mission-critical environments. This role focuses on FIPS 140-3 compliance, cryptographic driver development, and integration into real-time operating systems (RTOS) for next-generation processors such as the High Performance Space Computer (HPSC) .
The engineer will collaborate with RTOS kernel developers, hardware vendors, and security experts to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of embedded systems in aerospace and defense applications.
Key Responsibilities
- Cryptographic Driver Development
- Design and implement embedded cryptographic modules and drivers (e.g., AES, RSA, ECC, PQC algorithms) for RTOS environments.
- Develop a User Mode Crypto driver for HPSC and integrate it with RTEMS or similar RTOS.
- FIPS 140-3 Compliance & Certification
- Implement cryptographic modules in line with NIST and FIPS standards .
- Develop documentation, test vectors, and validation artifacts required for FIPS 140-3 certification.
- Support third-party testing and validation processes.
- Security Design & Integration
- Collaborate with hardware vendors (e.g., Microchip) to leverage hardware crypto acceleration.
- Research and integrate post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards where applicable.
- Conduct threat modeling and ensure secure key management, privilege separation, and kernel/user boundaries.
- Testing & Validation
- Perform functional and security testing on crypto drivers in emulated (QEMU) and hardware-based environments.
- Conduct penetration testing, fuzzing, and side-channel analysis to identify vulnerabilities.
- Documentation & Delivery
- Provide architecture design documents, SBOMs, test plans, and integration guides.
- Contribute to open-source security enhancements where permitted.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or Cybersecurity .
- 5+ years of experience in embedded cryptography and secure software development .
- Strong expertise in C/C++ programming for embedded systems.
- Hands-on experience with FIPS 140-2/140-3 validation processes .
- Knowledge of NIST-approved algorithms (AES, SHA, RSA, ECC, DRBG, etc.) and emerging PQC standards.
- Solid understanding of RTOS environments (RTEMS, Zephyr, FreeRTOS, or similar).
- Experience with cryptographic libraries (OpenSSL, mbedTLS, WolfSSL, BoringSSL, etc.).
Preferred Qualifications
- Familiarity with HPSC, RISC-V, or space-qualified processors .
- Experience with secure kernel design (privilege levels, kernel/user separation).
- Background in hardware crypto modules (TPMs, HSMs, ARM TrustZone, RISC-V extensions).
- Experience in side-channel attack mitigation and cryptographic fault injection testing.
- Contributions to open-source cryptography projects .
Soft Skills
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to think like an attacker and a defender.
- Excellent communication skills for technical documentation and collaboration.
- Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams, including open-source and government stakeholders.