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Microsoft Corporation Logo Microsoft Corporation · IT - Software Development

Principal Security Researcher

United States, Redmond Employment contract 142800.00 - 304200.00 USD / Year · Job Posted May 16, 2026
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Job Description

The Microsoft Threat Protection Research (MTP-R) Purple Team sits at the intersection of offense, defense, and intelligence, working across Microsoft Defender technologies to ensure telemetry, detections, and protections are effective against real-world cyberattacks. We are looking for a Principal-level red team security researcher with experience in adversary emulation, offensive tooling, and malware development to design and execute realistic attack simulations in an AI-first environment. This role will use agentic systems and LLM-driven workflows to scale attack development, automation, and simulation fidelity, while helping shape how AI-enabled offensive research is used to emulate modern adversaries in controlled, high-impact ways.

Job Responsibility

  • Lead the design and execution of complex, multi-stage adversary simulations across endpoint, identity, cloud, and SaaS environments
  • Architect and develop advanced offensive tooling, including scalable C2 frameworks, custom implants, and malware tradecraft
  • Conduct deep research into modern attacker techniques, including novel evasion strategies, cloud abuse patterns, and identity-based attacks
  • Drive threat modeling and adversary emulation strategy, aligning simulations with real-world campaigns and emerging threats
  • Leverage and contribute to threat intelligence by producing new insights from simulation results, tradecraft research, and adversary behavior analysis
  • Design and implement AI-enabled and agentic systems to automate offensive operations, generate adaptive attack paths, and scale simulation complexity
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of defensive systems, including AI-driven detections, and provide strategic recommendations for improvement
  • Partner with engineering, detection, and intelligence teams to influence product direction and improve security outcomes
  • Deliver executive-level briefings, technical reports, and strategic recommendations
  • Act as a technical leader, shaping offensive research methodology, mentoring team members, and driving long-term innovation

Requirements

  • Doctorate in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field AND 3+ years experience in software development lifecycle, large-scale computing, threat analysis or modeling, cybersecurity, vulnerability research, and/or anomaly detection OR Master's Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field AND 4+ years experience in software development lifecycle, large-scale computing, threat analysis or modeling, cybersecurity, vulnerability research, and/or anomaly detection OR Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field AND 6+ years experience in software development lifecycle, large-scale computing, threat analysis or modeling, cybersecurity, vulnerability research, and/or anomaly detection OR equivalent experience
  • Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role
  • This position will be required to pass the Microsoft background and Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter

Nice to have

  • Doctorate in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field AND 5+ years experience
  • Master's Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field AND 8+ years experience
  • Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field AND 12+ years experience
  • 5+ years of experience in red teaming, offensive security, or adversary emulation
  • Security related certifications such as OSCP, OSCE, OSEP, OSWE, GPEN, GXPN, GREM
  • Expertise in C2 framework design, implant development, and offensive infrastructure
  • Background in malware development, reverse engineering, or exploit development
  • Experience leveraging and producing threat intelligence at the campaign or actor level
  • Knowledge of MITRE ATT&CK and threat modeling methodologies
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