Vulnerability Research Software Engineer

Join Socket to build and scale our patching infrastructure that delivers secure, vetted packages to developers worldwide. You’ll be at the forefront of supply chain security, creating patches for critical vulnerabilities and building the systems that help the entire open source ecosystem stay secure.

This role emphasizes deep software engineering expertise, especially in Rust and Unix environments. You'll tackle challenging CLI work—scoping, troubleshooting, and addressing edge cases across multiple package managers. This role combines engineering work with meaningful community impact that benefits the entire ecosystem. As an early member of the Socket team, you’ll help shape how we scale this technology.

What You'll Do

Master Socket workflows, tools, and patching processes

Build and maintain CLI tooling used in customer environments.

Implement package-manager integrations and handle ecosystem-specific edge cases.

Translate dependency and vulnerability workflows into reliable developer-facing interfaces.

Debug implementation issues across Unix-based environments.

Work closely with the patch team to scope work, troubleshoot problems, and ship practical improvements.

Contribute to frontend experiences using JavaScript, React, and TypeScript.

Scale patch production to dozens or hundreds of patches per week

Build and improve automated patching infrastructure and tooling

Build APIs and integrations to deliver certified packages

Create tooling for patch quality assurance and testing

Work with security researchers to understand and patch critical vulnerabilities

Give developers quick, safe remediation options for widely-used packages

Help secure the software supply chain for millions of developers

What You'll Bring

Required:

3+ years of software engineering experience with production systems

Strong proficiency in Rust and Unix/Linux environments

Proficiency in Node.js, JavaScript, and TypeScript

Experience with package managers (npm, yarn, pnpm) and the JavaScript ecosystem

Understanding of software security concepts and vulnerability management

Experience building and scaling APIs and data processing pipelines

Familiarity with automated testing, CI/CD, and deployment systems

Preferred:

Experience with security tooling, vulnerability scanning, or patch management

Knowledge of software supply chain security challenges

Experience with other package ecosystems (Python, Go, etc.)

Open source contributions or package maintenance experience

Background in DevSecOps or security engineering

Experience with high-throughput data processing systems

Our Interview Process

Informational with a member from our Talent Team

Hiring Manager Interview

Peer Interview

Take-home problem

Internal review of take-home

Live review of take-home

Debrief

Final Interview with our founder

References

Decision/Offer

Hiring is a big decision on both sides. Read more about our Hiring Philosophy and how we approach the process at Socket.

Benefits: Our benefits are crafted to support you and your family, so you can take care of what matters most and thrive in and outside of work. We offer:

Market competitive salary bands

Meaningful equity program

Comprehensive health benefits for you and your family (99% coverage)

Flexible time-off, holidays, and winter shutdown to rest & recharge

Paid parental leave

Remote-first, with quarterly team off-sites

At Socket, we

Pursue Excellence: We set ourselves apart by consistently delivering work of exceptional quality and distinction.

Move with urgency and focus: We prioritize swift, decisive action.

Think rigorously: We care about being right and it often takes reasoning from first principles to get there. We value alternative perspectives and have constructive discussions.

Trust and amplify: We overtrust, always assume good intent, and give specific feedback to help each other improve.

Feel a strong sense of ownership: We wear many hats and feel a strong sense of overall ownership of the company and we're non-territorial regarding our nominal domains.

Are customer obsessed: We relentlessly prioritize the needs of our customers, striving to exceed their expectations and delight them at every interaction.