This is a Cybersecurity Research Expert role with Mercor based in Sydney, NSW, Australia == Mercor == Role Seniority

- mid level, senior

More About The Cybersecurity Research Expert Role At Mercor We're looking for highly accomplished Cybersecurity Research Experts to help evaluate cutting-edge AI systems in advanced security reasoning, vulnerability analysis, exploit development, and secure software engineering.

This project is ideal for practitioners with a strong track record in offensive security research and publicly recognised technical contributions.

What You'll Do

- 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.

Ideal Background We are looking for candidates with multiple of the following credentials:

- 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 (e.g., KAIST Security Lab, SSLab, university security research groups, or equivalent industry research organisations).




- 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 Qualifications

- Qualified 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.

Why Join?

- Work on frontier AI models tackling real-world cybersecurity problems.




- Collaborate with leading researchers on advanced security evaluation tasks.
- Help shape the next generation of AI systems for cybersecurity.

We consider all qualified applicants without regard to legally protected characteristics and provide reasonable accommodations upon request.

Contract and Payment Terms

- You will be engaged as an independent contractor.
- This is a fully remote role that can be completed on your own schedule.
- Projects can be extended, shortened, or concluded early depending on needs and performance.
- Your work at Mercor will not involve access to confidential or proprietary information from any employer, client, or institution.
- Payments are weekly on Stripe or Wise based on services rendered.
- Please note: We are unable to support H1-B or STEM OPT candidates at this time.

Before we jump into the responsibilities of the role. No matter what you come in knowing, you’ll be learning new things all the time and the Mercor team will be there to support your growth. ? Please consider applying even if you don't meet 100% of what’s outlined ?

Key Responsibilities

- ? Evaluating AI-generated analyses
- ✅ Reviewing technical writeups
- ? Validating vulnerability analysis

Key Strengths

- ?️ Offensive security research
- ? Vulnerability analysis
- ? Exploit development
- ? Reverse engineering tools
- ?‍? Programming skills
- ? Security research publications

Why Mercor is partnering with Hatch on this role. Hatch exists to level the playing field for people as they discover a career that’s right for them. So when you apply you have the chance to than just your resume. A Final Note: This is a role with Mercor not with Hatch.

📌 Cybersecurity Research Expert (Sydney)
🏢 Hatch
📍 Sydney