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Dragos

United Kingdom

Principal Penetration Tester

Posted 2 days ago

Level
Senior
Experience
8+ years
Work style
Remote
Area
Offensive security

At a glance

The role in plain English

This Principal Penetration Tester role at Dragos focuses on leading and executing advanced penetration testing and vulnerability assessments for industrial control systems and operational technology environments. The position suits experienced professionals with deep OT security expertise who can shape technical strategy, mentor teams, and translate findings for diverse stakeholders. Day-to-day work involves hands-on testing, developing methodologies, engaging with clients, and contributing to research and internal process improvement.

What you'll do

  • Lead complex OT penetration testing and vulnerability assessments
  • Define methodologies and frameworks for OT security testing
  • Translate findings into remediation guidance and R&D priorities
  • Mentor and advise internal teams and the wider OT security community
  • Engage executive stakeholders with strategic cybersecurity advice

What they're looking for

Essential

  • 8+ years in OT penetration testing or red teaming
  • Strong knowledge of OT architectures and protocols
  • Experience with offensive security tools (e.g., Metasploit, Nmap)
  • Proven report-writing and presentation skills
  • Ability to work independently and travel up to 40%

Nice to have

  • Experience using large language models for penetration testing
  • Conference presentation or whitepaper publication experience

Core skills

  • OT penetration testing
  • Red teaming
  • Metasploit
  • Nmap
  • Kali Linux
  • Cobalt Strike
  • Burp Suite
  • Network analysis

The shape of the job

Technical depth

5/5

FoundationalSpecialist

Pace

4/5

SteadyFast-moving

Ownership

5/5

GuidedSelf-directed

Teamwork

4/5

Heads-downHighly collaborative

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Questions to prepare for

  1. 01Describe your approach to testing a SCADA environment for vulnerabilities.
  2. 02How do you adapt penetration testing methodologies for OT networks?
  3. 03Give an example of translating technical findings for a non-technical executive audience.
  4. 04How have you used AI or large language models to support penetration testing?

About Dragos

Dragos provides cybersecurity services and technology for industrial control systems and operational technology environments, serving critical infrastructure sectors.

Full job descriptionAs published by Dragos

At Dragos, the mission is personal. The systems we protect deliver the water you drink, power your home, and keep the hospitals your community depends on running. Those critical infrastructure systems that power our civilization around the world are under attack every day by adversaries. When those systems fail, people are immediately at risk. We are the global leader in xOT cybersecurity, combining technology, threat intelligence, and expert services. The people here chose this work because they understand what is at stake . Here, you will find a remote-first mission-driven team across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and APAC built on authenticity, transparency, and trust. If safeguarding the systems that protect your family, friends, and community is the kind of work that matters to you, you are in the right place.

About the Role :

Our Professional Services Team is seeking Associate Principal OT Penetration Tester who will provide technical leadership across vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, and adversary emulation activities supporting customer services engagements. You will shape engagement strategy and uncover real‑world attack paths across ICS/OT networks through hands‑on exploitation and deep technical analysis, working closely with customers across critical infrastructure sectors such as oil and gas, electric, water treatment, and manufacturing. You will also translate findings into clear, actionable remediation guidance, influencing detection and platform development. You will mentor team members and be an advisor and representative of Dragos within the broader OT security community.

Responsibilities :

  • Serve as primary technical lead and trusted advisor for Dragos’s most complex, high-impact industrial penetration testing, purple teaming, and vulnerability assessment engagements, shaping engagement direction and aligning deep technical execution with client business goals.
  • Set the technical bar for OT penetration testing excellence by defining methodologies, assessment frameworks, and red team tactics informed by threat intelligence and adversary emulation. Design and lead offensive campaigns modeled on known and unknown TTPs to uncover complex attack paths across IT/OT boundaries and within industrial environments.
  • Translate hands-on findings into strategic R&D priorities, guiding the development of proprietary tools, behavioral analytics, and detection content by identifying gaps in visibility, response, and prevention in customer environments.
  • Evolve internal playbooks, runbooks, and operating procedures, applying field lessons, threat intelligence, and emerging adversary behaviors to improve the efficiency, scalability, and effectiveness of the penetration testing practice.
  • Engage executive stakeholders, internally and externally, with strategic cybersecurity guidance, risk prioritization, and remediation recommendations tied to business objectives, delivering clear, authoritative presentations to C-suites, boards, and technical leadership.
  • Represent Dragos as an industry thought leader through original research, top-tier conference presentations, whitepapers, and public engagements that advance OT security with unique insights and innovation.
  • Mentor engineering, threat intelligence, and consulting teams across functions, cultivating future leaders and a culture of continuous learning, technical curiosity, and mission-driven execution.

Qualifications :

  • 8+ years of hands-on cybersecurity experience in vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, or red teaming within the OT space, with in-depth knowledge of OT penetration testing methodologies in white, gray, and black-box contexts.
  • Deep understanding of OT-specific architectures and services, including DCS, historians, SCADA networks, transmission/distribution management, AMI, related communication protocols, and other control systems.
  • Extensive knowledge of OT cyber threats, attack paths, exploits, and adversary TTPs.
  • Hands-on experience with offensive security tooling such as Metasploit, Nmap, Kali Linux, Cobalt Strike, Burp Suite, common LOTL toolsets, and C2 frameworks.
  • Advanced experience with networking components (routers, switches, load balancers, firewalls), plus the ability to analyze network traffic and host data in a cybersecurity context.
  • Proven experience using large language models (e.g., Claude) to support penetration testing execution and reporting, including reconnaissance, exploit development, and drafting findings, with sound judgment in validating AI-generated output and securely handling client data.
  • Strong report-writing and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
  • Ability to work independently in a remote environment and coordinate across distributed teams, with willingness to travel up to 30-40% (domestic and international) to support customer engagements.

Compensation :

  • Salary: £105,000
  • Competitive Equity Package
  • Comprehensive Benefits Plan

#LI-JF1 #LI-REMOTE

Dragos is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetics, or any other basis forbidden under federal, state, or local laws. All new hires must pass a background check as a condition of employment.

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