Who We’re Looking For
Deltapath is hiring a Linux Systems Engineer who can demonstrate real, hands-on Linux skills — not just theory. You live in the terminal. You’ve built, broken, and rebuilt Linux systems for fun. You understand what actually happens when you run a command, not just what the man page says.
This role sits at the intersection of Linux systems administration and security research. You will spend your time doing practical security work: replicating CVEs in lab environments, exploring kernel internals, testing network access controls, and probing our infrastructure for weaknesses — all under direct mentorship from a seasoned Linux engineer.
If you’ve never compiled a kernel, written a Bash script that solved a real problem, or set up a Linux service from scratch, this role is not for you.
What You’ll Do
CVE Analysis & Verification
- Monitor CVE feeds (NVD, Ubuntu Security Notices, GitHub advisories) and triage relevance to our infrastructure and products
- Reproduce CVEs in isolated lab environments — setting up the vulnerable configuration, confirming exploitability, and verifying that patches resolve the issue
- Use AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT) to accelerate understanding of exploit mechanics, then validate findings hands-on
- Produce clear technical documentation: does this CVE affect us? What’s the evidence? What’s the fix?
Linux Kernel & Systems Research
- Explore kernel security mechanisms: AppArmor, SELinux, namespaces, capabilities, seccomp
- Investigate system calls, privilege escalation vectors, and attack surfaces in Linux internals
- Build and test kernel configurations; experiment with kernel modules and security subsystems
- Document and share findings with the engineering team
Network Security
- Learn and test PacketFence network access control and FreeIPA identity management
- Explore VLAN configurations, 802.1X authentication, and network segmentation
- Analyze firewall rules (iptables/nftables) and trace packet flow through the network stack
- Test for lateral movement paths and access control bypass techniques
Ethical Hacking & Penetration Testing (Supervised)
- Conduct supervised penetration tests against Deltapath infrastructure and products
- Identify misconfigurations, privilege escalation paths, and security gaps
- Think offensively — approach systems as an attacker would, document what you find, and work with your mentor to develop remediation
Product Security (UC Appliance)
- Learn the architecture of Deltapath’s Ubuntu-based UC appliance
- Identify security risks in product dependencies, third-party libraries, and system configuration
- Contribute to security hardening improvements
What You Must Be Able to Do — Right Now
These are not “nice to haves.” If you cannot demonstrate these skills in an interview or practical assessment, you will not progress.
Linux Systems (Hands-On Required)
- Navigate and administer a Linux system entirely from the command line — no GUI
- Manage users, groups, file permissions, processes, services, and systemd units
- Write Bash scripts that do something useful: parse logs, automate a task, check system state
- Install, configure, and troubleshoot Linux services (SSH, DNS, web servers, firewalls) from scratch
- Understand how Linux networking works: interfaces, routing, iptables, DNS resolution
- Read and interpret log files to diagnose a system problem
Security Fundamentals
- Explain common vulnerability classes (privilege escalation, SUID abuse, misconfigured services) with concrete examples
- Understand cryptography fundamentals: symmetric vs. asymmetric encryption, hashing, TLS handshake
- Describe how a firewall rule is evaluated and how NAT works
- Demonstrate basic understanding of CVE structure and severity scoring (CVSS)
Programming Basics
- Comfortable with Bash scripting (write it, not just read it)
- Basic C literacy — enough to read kernel code or a simple exploit and understand what it does
- Python is a bonus; it’s used widely in security tooling
Experience & Education
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or a related field, with up to 1–2 years of hands-on experience — whether professional, internship, or self-directed. Your practical skills and personal projects matter more than your degree or job title.
Preferred (Will Set You Apart)
- CTF experience: Active on Hack The Box, TryHackMe, PicoCTF, or similar — show us your profile
- GitHub activity: Personal projects, security tools, scripts, or contributions that demonstrate real work
- Kernel tinkering: Built a custom kernel, written a kernel module, explored kernel source
- Virtualization: Set up lab environments using Proxmox, KVM, VirtualBox, or similar
- Bug bounty participation: Submitted reports through HackerOne, Bugcrowd, or vendor programs
- Security certifications: CompTIA Linux+, Security+, CEH, or actively studying for one
- Security writing: Blog posts, write-ups, or documented experiments — even informal ones
What This Role Is Not
- It is not a role for candidates who have only studied security concepts in lectures without applying them
- It is not a SOC analyst or compliance role
- It is not remote or hybrid — you will work onsite in a hands-on learning environment
- It is not expected that you manage live infrastructure independently from day one
What You’ll Get
- Direct mentorship from engineers with 25+ years of Linux systems and network engineering experience — a rare and genuinely accelerated learning environment
- Exposure to real infrastructure, real vulnerabilities, and real security decisions
- A defined growth path into a security specialist role over 2–3 years
- The opportunity to build deep Linux and security expertise at a product company where your work has direct impact