Associate Hacker 2026

About X-Force:

Now, let's talk about why we are here: X-Force! The team is comprised of hackers, responders, researchers and analysts, many of whom are world-renowned security thought leaders. We are looking for Associate Hackers to join our Penetration testing team.

Are you passionate about breaking into applications, networks, systems, databases, devices and other technologies to uncover security vulnerabilities and help fix them? Are you interested in joining a team of like-minded passionate experts, many of whom have decades of experience breaking into anything and everything to help organizations strengthen their security? If so, IBM Consulting's team of veteran hackers is looking for a hacker, and you may be the perfect fit.

Our clients' technical and business needs are constantly evolving. We're hiring inspired, talented individuals eager to apply their knowledge and perspective to challenging work that evolves industries and our world. We prioritize ongoing learning, development of technical skills, and continuous personal growth, all grounded in a culture of coaching and apprenticeship.

Your role and responsibilities

Put your technical skills in the spotlight securing our clients' most important assets. As an Associate Hacker, you'll engage with clients to effectively secure their applications and infrastructure through penetration testing. You will gain in-depth of knowledge and experience understanding a client's environment, running tests against these environments, and escalating or gaining access to system by leveraging weak controls. You must be able to rapidly learn new technologies and processes with minimal assistance. Travel depends on project requirements.

Work you could do as an Associate Hacker:

• Perform documentation, vetting and weaponization of identified vulnerabilities through reverse engineering.
• Prepare and present technical reports and briefings to Technical and Executive teams.
• Provide subject matter expertise in the form of research, tooling, and consulting engagements.
• Gain knowledge across multiple platforms, processes, or architectures.

Required education

High School Diploma/GED

Preferred education

Bachelor's Degree

Required technical and professional expertise

• Outcome focused, possessing a high level of resilience, you demonstrate the flexibility and resolve needed to achieve success across a broad range of consultative contexts
• Effective communication and presentation skills
• The ability to lead large groups and be a primary facilitator
• Drive to do research, publications, blogs, presentations, etc.
• Ability to lead and shape client expectations
• Ability to self-start, and work independently on project
• In-depth understanding of network design, network security, authentication, authorization techniques, and encryption protocols and standards
• In-depth understanding of network security tools for vulnerability scanning, network monitoring, network sniffing, routers, firewalls, Intrusion detection and protection, anomaly detection and encryption standards
• Programming experience in one or more of the following: Java, .Net, Python, or Ruby

Preferred technical and professional experience

• History of published research, blog posts, or a history of presenting at local or regional security conferences.
• Knowledge or experience in one or more of the following Security Domains: Network Penetration Testing, Application Penetration Testing, Red Teaming, Social Engineering, Vulnerability Scanning

ABOUT BUSINESS UNIT

IBM Consulting is IBM's consulting and global professional services business, with market leading capabilities in business and technology transformation. With deep expertise in many industries, we offer strategy, experience, technology, and operations services to many of the most innovative and valuable companies in the world. Our people are focused on accelerating our clients' businesses through the power of collaboration. We believe in the power of technology responsibly used to help people, partners and the planet.

YOUR LIFE @ IBM

In a world where technology never stands still, we understand that, dedication to our clients success, innovation that matters, and trust and personal responsibility in all our relationships, lives in what we do as IBMers as we strive to be the catalyst that makes the world work better.

Being an IBMer means you'll be able to learn and develop yourself and your career, you'll be encouraged to be courageous and experiment everyday, all whilst having continuous trust and support in an environment where everyone can thrive whatever their personal or professional background.

Our IBMers are growth minded, always staying curious, open to feedback and learning new information and skills to constantly transform themselves and our company. They are trusted to provide on-going feedback to help other IBMers grow, as well as collaborate with colleagues keeping in mind a team focused approach to include different perspectives to drive exceptional outcomes for our customers. The courage our IBMers have to make critical decisions everyday is essential to IBM becoming the catalyst for progress, always embracing challenges with resources they have to hand, a can-do attitude and always striving for an outcome focused approach within everything that they do.

Are you ready to be an IBMer?

ABOUT IBM

IBM's greatest invention is the IBMer. We believe that through the application of intelligence, reason and science, we can improve business, society and the human condition, bringing the power of an open hybrid cloud and AI strategy to life for our clients and partners around the world.

Restlessly reinventing since 1911, we are not only one of the largest corporate organizations in the world, we're also one of the biggest technology and consulting employers, with many of the Fortune 500 companies relying on the IBM Cloud to run their business.

At IBM, we pride ourselves on being an early adopter of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain. Now it's time for you to join us on our journey to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.

IBM is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, pregnancy, disability, neurodivergence, age, or other characteristics protected by the applicable law. IBM is also committed to compliance with all fair employment practices regarding citizenship and immigration status.

OTHER RELEVANT JOB DETAILS

The compensation range and benefits for this position are based on a full-time schedule for a full calendar year. The salary will vary depending on your job-related skills, experience and location. Pay increment and frequency of pay will be in accordance with employment classification and applicable laws. For part time roles, your compensation and benefits will be adjusted to reflect your hours. Benefits may be pro-rated for those who start working during the calendar year.

Client-provided location(s): Austin, TX

Job ID: IBM-65778

Employment Type: OTHER

Posted: 2025-10-15T18:52:39