Senior Security Researcher
Microsoft
Senior Security Researcher
Multiple Locations, United States
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Overview
The Cloud & AI organization accelerates Microsoft’s mission and bold ambitions to ensure that our company and industry is securing digital technology platforms, devices, and clouds in our customers’ heterogeneous environments, as well as ensuring the security of our own internal estate. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world. Microsoft is one of the largest enterprise service companies in the world.
The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) is focused on discovering and tracking threats to customers. Create a more secure environment through the Secure Future Initiative. MSTIC focuses on reducing global harm and protecting Microsoft and its customers using threat intelligence. Our culture is centered on embracing a growth mindset, a theme of inspiring excellence, and encouraging teams and leaders to bring their best each day. In doing so, we create life-changing innovations that impact billions of lives around the world. The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) have unique optics into end-to-end attacks and how different stages manifest across our telemetry: we join the dots and show the art of the possible. The threat intelligence research team research and develop new capability to detect attacks and threat actors through novel correlation and analysis ideas.
We are looking for a highly motivated and experienced Sr. Security Researcher with experience developing unique detection methodologies for tracking threat actor infrastructure. This individual will serve as a subject matter expert on internet scanning and detection capabilities and facilitate the expansion of our network detection capabilities in partnership with analysts across MSTIC.
Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.
In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- Master's Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science or related field
- OR 5+ years experience in software development lifecycle, large-scale computing, modeling, cybersecurity, and/or anomaly detection.
- 4+ years threat intelligence experience tracking threat actors and their infrastructure Strong understanding of network protocols and internet scanning at scale
- Experience developing signatures in internet scanning service data (Censys, Shodan, etc) to detect threat actor command and control infrastructure
- Experience working with engineering teams to develop probes for internet wide scanning capabilities
Other Requirements:
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:
- Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Doctorate in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science or related field
- OR 6+ years experience in software development lifecycle, large-scale computing, modeling, cybersecurity, and/or anomaly detection.
- Experience querying large data sets via Kusto Query Language (KQL), python, or other similar query languages.
- Ability to conduct malware analysis and analyze network traffic associated with advanced attack campaigns
Security Research IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $158,400 - $258,000 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
Microsoft will accept applications for the role until September 3, 2025.
#MSTIC #msftsecurity
Responsibilities
- Leverage their experience and understanding of tracking threat actors to expand network infrastructure fingerprint signature development to broaden the impact of MSTICs infrastructure detection capability and collaborate with team members to identify opportunities to fingerprint existing and emerging actor infrastructure for improved tracking of threat actors.
- Partner with Microsoft engineering teams to improve our internet wide scanning through the development of new probes and custom scanning capabilities that can drive additional threat actor insights and infrastructure detection
- Effectively combine network intelligence with additional data sets to surface new nation state and ransomware campaigns and expand MSTICs visibility into attacks targeting Microsoft and its customers
- Utilize network-based command and control insights to identify 1st party protection opportunities and partner across the CISO organization to enhance Microsoft’s defenses.