AI Systems Engineer Offensive Cybersecurity – Washington, D.C. – $160K-$250K

Job Description

Company: Direct Line Workforce Solutions

Location: Washington, US

Location: Washington, D.C. (in-person, 5 days a week)

Compensation: $160,000 – $250,000 base, plus equity

Join a fast-growing defense technology company building AI-driven systems for one of the most consequential problems in software: cyber dominance.

What You’ll Own

– Build production systems that conduct AI-driven vulnerability research and exploit development at scale

– Work close to the metal: operating system internals, kernel-level interfaces, and low-level performance optimization

– Own problems end-to-end across architecture, implementation, and shipped production code

– Partner directly with vulnerability researchers, security operators, and the engineering team to convert manual cyber operations into automated, repeatable systems

– Help define the standards and operating cadence of a team that intends to set the bar for AI-native offensive cyber

What You’ll Bring

– 2+ years of engineering experience

– Deep low-level systems experience, such as operating system internals, kernel work, runtime detection, or dynamic analysis

– A strong builder mindset, comfortable owning systems end-to-end and shipping production code where performance and correctness matter

– Extreme comfort with ambiguity and uncertainty

– Willingness to work in person in Washington, DC, 5 days a week (full relocation and housing assistance provided)

– Eligibility for security clearances and other requirements associated with US government work

Nice to Have

– Vulnerability research, CTF, or prior offensive security experience

– Prior experience as a founder or early engineer at a YC-backed company

– Engineering experience at a high-bar AI or defense technology company

– Open-source contributions to OS-level tooling

– Cyber or security startup engineering experience, especially in runtime detection, dynamic analysis, or operating system tooling

This is a chance to work on one of the most consequential and fastest-growing problems in software, alongside a small, highly technical team that includes founders and engineers from some of the most respected companies in AI and security.

Source: Career Page