Senior Security Researcher – Microsoft Red Team - CTJ - Top Secret

Security represents the most critical priorities for our customers in a world awash in digital threats, regulatory scrutiny, and estate complexity. Microsoft Security aspires to make the world a safer place for all. We want to reshape security and empower every user, customer, and developer with a security cloud that protects them with end to end, simplified solutions. The Microsoft Security 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.

The Microsoft Security 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.

Do you want to find and exploit security vulnerabilities that impact hundreds of millions of users? Join the Microsoft Red Team where you'll join the red teaming side of security and emulate real-world attacks against Microsoft. We help ensure Microsoft is ready to face and respond to even the most determined adversaries by exploring new ways to find and prevent security flaws.

We are looking for a Senior Security Researcher to work alongside other Security Researchers and Penetration Testers experienced in identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in all layers of the services including application, cloud, network, and operational security domains. You will also collaborate across Microsoft with developers and security personnel from multiple teams. By adopting the tactics, techniques, and procedures of potential attackers, you will provide critical insights that empower our security teams to strengthen defenses and protect against the evolving landscape of digital threats.

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.

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.

Responsibilities

• Research and discover zero-day vulnerabilities in cloud environments and associated technologies. Develop and implement proof-of-concept exploits to demonstrate potential risks and work closely with engineering teams to address findings.
• Analyze a wide array of data sources to identify potential security weaknesses and breach points within Microsoft’s infrastructure
• Develop tools and techniques to scale and accelerate adversary emulation and vulnerability discovery
• Partner with operational teams to execute targeted attacks on these systems, simulating real-world threat scenarios
• Advocate for security change across the company through building partnerships and articulating the impact of risks
• Embody our culture and values.

Qualifications

Required/Minimum 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.

Other Requirements:

Security Clearance Requirements: Candidates must be able 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:

• Candidates must have an active TS and be willing to upgrade to TS/SCI (with polygraph) or have an active TS/SCI and be willing to upgrade to TS/SCI (with polygraph). This role will require candidates to maintain the TS/SCI (with polygraph) clearance. Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. Failure to maintain or obtain the appropriate clearance and/or customer screening requirements may result in employment action up to and including termination.

• Clearance Verification: This position requires successful verification of the stated security clearance to meet federal government customer requirements. You will be asked to provide clearance verification information prior to an offer of employment.

• Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter
• Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This position requires verification of U.S. citizenship due to citizenship-based legal restrictions. Specifically, this position supports United States federal, state, and/or local United States government agency customer and is subject to certain citizenship-based restrictions where required or permitted by applicable law. To meet this legal requirement, citizenship will be verified via a valid passport, or other approved documents, or verified US government Clearance 

Preferred/Additional Qualifications: 

• Proficiency in multiple programming and scripting languages.
• 6+ years of hands-on experience in vulnerability security research
• Proven track record of discovering and responsibly disclosing security vulnerabilities.

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

• Single reqs: Microsoft will accept applications for the role until July 7, 2025.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.  We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

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