Six Figure Work

Senior Principal Cyber Engineer

Nightwing

Company websitenightwing.com (Nightwing, opens in new tab)

Base salary $122K  to $253K

Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in Sterling, VA

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  • LocationSterling, VA
  • WorkplaceWorkplace not stated
  • Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
  • Last checked (1 h ago) · observed since

About this job

Nightwing provides technically advanced full-spectrum cyber, data operations, systems integration and intelligence mission support services to meet our customers’ most demanding challenges. Our capabilities include cyber space operations, cyber defense and resiliency, vulnerability research, ubiquitous technical surveillance, data intelligence, lifecycle mission enablement, and software modernization. Nightwing brings disruptive technologies, agility, and competitive offerings to customers in the intelligence community, defense, civil, and commercial markets.


Senior Principal Cyber Engineer

Cyber Offense and Defense Experts (CODEX) is seeking a cyber engineer to join our team to solve crucial cyber challenges, working on site with our end users in their spaces. Applicants will join a team of highly-skilled developers building high-impact native applications for mobile devices, with continuous and meaningful feedback from users. Applicants are expected to integrate reverse engineering results into development products and expand their knowledge of the mobile platform to meet development objectives and customer requirements.

The place of performance for this work is at a customer site in Sterling, Virginia.

CODEX Overview

Nightwing’s CODEX (Cyber Offense and Defense Experts) division brings together an elite team of mission-focused industry experts who are well known for their ability to overcome the most advanced technical challenges. The team comprises engineers of multiple disciplines including vulnerability research, reverse engineering, CNO/CNE development, hardware emulation, system engineering, and data analytics. Our engineers do more than just work with cutting-edge technology—they ensure missions succeed for our customers.  CODEX offers its engineers the ability to advance their careers through mentorship, training, and an expansive technical portfolio that covers every side of cyber. If you want to be part of a collaborative team that supports challenging, meaningful work that is vital to our national security, apply today!

Technical Requirements

  • Current TS/SCI clearance is required
  • Experience developing for Android or another mobile platform
  • At least 10 years of experience Cyber Tool Development with C/C++ on Unix/Linux platforms using Make/CMake build systems
  • Familiarity with static decompilers (e.g HexRays) & disassemblers (e.g. Ghidra)
  • Experience developing against or working with large open-source projects (e.g. AOSP)

Desired Experience

  • Team or task leadership experience
  • Understanding of CNE techniques and methodologies on Android and Linux
  • Experience with the ARM64/ARM32 Architecture or other similar platform
  • Experience with AI agent task delegation and output evaluation
  • Familiarity with Atlassian products (Bitbucket, Bamboo, JIRA, etc.)
  • Familiarity with version control software such as git
  • Reverse engineering ARM binaries
  • Developing proof-of-concept exploit software

Education Requirements

Requires a degree in a technical discipline

Security Clearance

Current TS/SCI clearance is required

This position is not relocation eligible, but a signing bonus may be an option for the sufficiently qualified candidate.

ERIP Eligibility - This requisition is eligible for an employee referral award. ALL eligibility requirements must be met to receive the referral award.

#CODEX

At Nightwing, we value collaboration and teamwork. You’ll have the opportunity to work alongside talented individuals who are passionate about what they do. Together, we’ll leverage our collective expertise to drive innovation, solve complex problems, and deliver exceptional results for our clients.

Thank you for considering joining us as we embark on this new journey and shape the future of cybersecurity and intelligence together as part of the Nightwing team.

Nightwing is An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age or any other federally protected class.


Salary & Benefits

The salary associated with this position ($122,000-$253,000) is commensurate with the selected candidate’s qualifications, years of relevant experience, and demonstrated level of expertise. Compensation will be determined based on these factors to ensure alignment with skills, responsibilities, and market standards.


Nightwing offers medical, vision and dental insurance coverage in addition to a 401k plan, PTO, Holidays, and additional insurances.


Nightwing is An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age or any other federally protected class.

 

Source: Nightwing on Workday · View original posting (opens in new tab)

Pay in context

This role's base floor ($122,000) is above 39% of the 237 IT & Security roles in Virginia listed on this site; 14 others list the same floor. Their median floor is $129,200; the middle half runs from $113,200 to $159,300.

Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 7, 2026.

This range next to 6 other live Nightwing roles with the nearest advertised base floor
Chart as a table
This range next to 6 other live Nightwing roles with the nearest advertised base floor
RolePublished base
Senior Principal Cyber Engineer (this listing)$122K - $253K
Windows Kernel Developer$122K - $253K
Software Engineer 3$122K - $253K
Windows Vulnerability Research$122K - $253K
Senior Program / Product Manager$122K - $253K
Systems Engineer/Technical Project Manager$122K - $253K
Cyber Host Forensic Analyst IV$122K - $253K

Same $100K to $400K scale as every card. All Nightwing roles · How to read the bar

Observed changes

  1. First observed on the employer's board
  2. Began meeting the published-salary criteria
Observed since
Employer-stated posting date
2026-09-21
Where this pay comes from

Location as the employer wrote it: Sterling, VA

The salary associated with this position ($122,000-$253,000) is commensurate with the selected candidate’s qualificatio

Method
Employer text, read with fixed rules and re-verified
Checked
Rule set
us-base-v2

The pay passage appears in the employer's own job text. Fixed, deterministic rules located it, and the passage below was checked against the stored copy of the posting.

What we verified

  • The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
  • The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
  • The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.

We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.

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