Senior Penetration Tester & Cybersecurity Auditor – Apeing Labs

Overview Apeing Labs is building the

future of decentralized trading

— a high-speed, Solana-first decentralized exchange (DEX) designed to rival the performance and liquidity of centralized platforms. With a focus on

security, deep liquidity, and user trust , our mission is to create the most advanced and secure infrastructure for DeFi traders.

As our volumes grow,

security becomes the single most important priority . We are seeking an

elite in-house cybersecurity expert

to

own our security stack end-to-end : from smart contracts to backend trading engines, APIs, and infrastructure.

This role is not advisory — you will be

embedded in the core engineering loop , with authority and accountability to keep Apeing Labs unbreakable.

Responsibilities As

Senior Penetration Tester & Cybersecurity Auditor , you will:

Lead

offensive and defensive security programs

for all Apeing Labs systems.

Conduct

regular penetration tests

on trading infrastructure, APIs, Solana smart contracts, and web/mobile applications.

Perform

full-spectrum security audits

of source code, DevOps pipelines, and smart contract deployments.

Develop and enforce

security architecture principles

for new features and products.

Establish and run

incident response protocols , ensuring rapid detection and mitigation.

Mentor developers to embed

secure coding practices

across the team.

Act as the

point of contact for external audits , bug bounty programs, and white-hat researchers.

Core Responsibilities

Conduct

red team / blue team exercises

simulating real-world attacks.

Audit smart contracts and Solana programs using tools such as

Sec3, OtterSec, Halborn, Slither, Foundry .

Harden APIs and trading engines against

DDoS, MEV attacks, front-running, and sandwich attacks .

Perform

infrastructure and cloud security audits

(Kubernetes, Docker, Kafka, Geyser streams).

Design

key management, custody, and multisig wallet flows

(Squads, Ledger, cold wallet integration).

Set up continuous monitoring for anomalies, intrusion detection, and log analysis.

Maintain compliance with

ISO27001, SOC2, GDPR, and DeFi best practices .

Write detailed

audit and penetration testing reports , including actionable remediation steps.

Candidate Requirements Experience (Must-Have):

10–15 years in

cybersecurity, penetration testing, and auditing .

Proven track record of

securing high-value fintech or DeFi platforms .

Hands-on experience with

Solana or Ethereum security models .

Strong expertise in

OWASP, NIST, MITRE ATT&CK

frameworks.

Familiarity with

trading systems, HFT architectures, or low-latency infra .

Previous leadership of

red-team engagements

with measurable outcomes.

Technical Skills

Pentesting tools: Burp Suite, Metasploit, Wireshark, Nessus, fuzzing frameworks.

Blockchain/DeFi tools: Slither, Echidna, Foundry, MythX, Solana CLI.

Infra/DevOps security: Kubernetes, Docker, CI/CD pipelines, Vault, Kafka.

Programming knowledge (at least in 2): Rust, C++, Python, Go, Solidity, TypeScript.

Strong knowledge of

cryptography, custody solutions, and key management .

Soft Skills

Ability to translate technical risks into

business impact language

for leadership.

High level of

integrity and confidentiality

handling sensitive data.

Proactive problem solver with

ownership mindset .

Strong leadership and mentoring capabilities.

Custom Application Questions

Describe the most complex

penetration test or blockchain audit

you’ve performed. What vulnerabilities did you uncover, and how did you address them?

Which

Solana or DeFi-specific security tools

do you actively use, and how have you applied them in past roles?

Walk us through how you would secure a

high-speed trading platform

against front-running, MEV, and DDoS attacks.

Blockchain & Smart Contract Security

Deep understanding of

Solana’s runtime, accounts model, and SPL token standards .

Knowledge of

Ethereum/EVM security principles

(since many DeFi attacks originated there).

Familiarity with

common attack vectors

in DeFi:

Re-entrancy attacks

Flash loan exploits

Front-running / MEV (Miner/Validator Extractable Value)

Sandwich attacks

Oracle manipulation

Cross-chain bridge exploits

Experience auditing

smart contracts

with tools like Slither, Foundry, Echidna, and Solana-specific analyzers.

Application & API Security

Deep knowledge of

OWASP Top 10

vulnerabilities and beyond.

Strong grasp of

API-level attack vectors

(especially REST & WebSocket APIs in trading).

Familiarity with

HFT/low-latency trading systems

security (latency exploits, manipulation of order books).

Knowledge of

Web3 wallets, signing mechanisms, and key management

(Phantom, Ledger, multisig wallets like Squads).

Infrastructure & Cloud Security

Kubernetes, Docker, and container security.

Experience with

cloud security hardening

(AWS, GCP, or bare metal infra).

Kafka, Geyser, and other Solana data stream security (ensuring no data leakage/manipulation).

Experience setting up

monitoring and anomaly detection systems

(SIEMs, IDS/IPS).

Cryptography & Custody

Strong applied cryptography knowledge:

Elliptic curve cryptography (Ed25519, secp256k1).

Multi-party computation (MPC).

Threshold signatures.

Knowledge of

cold storage / hardware wallets / key sharding strategies .

Building secure custody flows for

institutions

(multi-sig, time-locks, withdrawal limits).

Compliance & Governance Knowledge

Familiarity with

regulatory requirements

(ISO27001, SOC2, GDPR).

Knowledge of

audit frameworks

for exchanges and financial institutions.

Ability to prepare

audit-ready documentation

for investors and regulators.

Seniority level

Mid-Senior level

Employment type

Full-time

Job function

Information Technology

Industries

Blockchain Services

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