Principal Security Researcher
Job ID: 110180
Location: Research Triangle Park, NC [Remote]
Salary: $90.00 - $95.00 Hourly
Category: Infrastructure
Employment Type: Contract
Our client is seeking a highly skilled Principal Security Researcher to join the CTO’s security research team at a leading technology firm. This principal level role involves leading complex research initiatives and developing innovative techniques to bolster cyber defense mechanisms. The ideal candidate will collaborate extensively across engineering, data science, and threat intelligence teams to shape the future of cybersecurity. This position is pivotal in driving the discovery and development of advanced methods to detect, analyze, and prevent sophisticated cyber threats, thereby empowering every person and organization on the planet to achieve more securely.
Responsibilities:
- Invent and develop novel detection methods for identifying cyber-attacks.
- Lead in-depth research projects on emerging attack vectors, tactics, and techniques utilized by advanced threat actors.
- Utilize graph analytic techniques applied to the cyber domain to enhance threat detection and analysis.
- Leverage machine learning, statistical analysis, and other advanced analytics to uncover stealthy and sophisticated threats.
- Collaborate with threat hunters, red team, and blue team members to refine attack detection strategies and methodologies.
- Communicate and present complex research findings and actionable insights to executive audiences, contributing to strategic decision-making.
Qualifications:
- Minimum 7 years of experience in software development lifecycle, large-scale computing, modeling, cybersecurity, and/or anomaly detection.
- Doctorate in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related field preferred.
- Demonstrated understanding of attacker tradecraft and cloud-based attacks (e.g., Entra, Azure, and M365).
- Proficiency in scripting or programming in languages such as Python.
- Proficiency in cloud query languages such as Kusto.
- Experience in identifying malicious activity in detection systems at scale to protect environments, products, or services.
- Ability to meet customer and/or government security screening requirements. This includes passing a Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to present to an executive audience.
- Preferred: 8+ years of experience in relevant fields.
- Team-oriented mindset with a strong capability to work collaboratively across diverse teams.