Senior Threat and Attack Researcher

About the opportunity

At Optus, our purpose is to power optimism with options. To lead and live our purpose, we are looking for positive, customer centric, innovative and aspirational leadership. Reporting to the Director, Threat and attack research, the Senior Threat & Attack Researcher is a critical position that will enable Optus to realise its vision of becoming Australia’s most loved everyday brand with lasting customer relationships.

This role will see you make a meaningful impact for Optus, our customers and the broader ecosystem by identifying, tracking and proactively mitigating threats through activities such as:

• Utilising a deep understanding of the local and global threat landscape to identify new and emerging threat activity, proposing mitigations and countermeasures.

• Leveraging a mixture of sources to track the tactics, techniques and procedures of our adversaries and how they evolve.

• Engaging in threat modelling, adversarial simulation, and attack surface assessments to explore potential attack paths.

• Ensuring that intelligence products provide stakeholders with insights which are contextualised and actionable.

• Actively participating in industry working groups and sharing communities.

• Bringing a strong engineering mindset; creating tools, automating repetitive tasks, and plumbing data between disparate systems.

• Driving the continued evolution of the defensive cyber security capability, including participating in planning and development of supporting business cases for further investment.

• Instilling and fostering a culture of excellence, integrity, and professionalism; one that works toward the highest standards in cyber security.

What makes you a perfect fit?

• Degree in computer science, information systems, engineering, or cyber security, or equivalent experience.

• Proven expertise in defensive and offensive cyber security functions.

• Skilled in multitasking, handling ambiguity, and thriving in dynamic environments.

• Deep understanding of malware, TTPs, and cyber threat types, including state, cybercrime, hacktivism, and insider threats.

• Proficiency in threat intelligence, detection engineering, incident management, malware analysis, and forensics.

• Strong Python skills, with experience in creating custom tools and automation.

• Ability to synthesize data into actionable insights that align with business goals.

• Skilled at conveying complex ideas to diverse audiences and working across teams.

• Experienced in mentoring and delivering practical, engineering-focused solutions.

• Proven ability to work well under pressure and adapt to change.

Perks we love at Optus

• 3 days in the office, 2 days remote – with flexible hours to suit!

• Inclusive paid parental leave, up to 14 weeks for the primary care giver

• All Optus employees have access to resources, webinars and support via the ‘Parents at Work portal’

• Own your own growth by accessing an extensive online and facilitator led learning catalogue – even earn a MBA micro-credential via OptusU (University)

• Connect at work through one of our employee-led volunteer groups: Culture Connect, Elevate Women, Disability Network, Express Yourself (LGBTQIA+), United Veterans and Yarn Network

• Vibrant campus life, variety of facilities including restaurants, cafes, gymnasium, GP, and post office

• Free Optus bus from Macquarie University Metro Station (every 6-8 minutes); morning and afternoon!

Keen to see what it’s really like to work at Optus? Search #OptusLife on LinkedIn to go behind the scenes!

At Optus, we are strengthened by others and that means valuing diversity and saying ‘yes’ to embracing individual differences. We are committed to ensuring that our application process provides an equal employment opportunity to all job seekers, including individuals from diverse gender, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, individuals with a disability, individuals identifying as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community, individuals who may have served in the armed forces or who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. If you require any adjustments or accessibility support to participate fairly and equitably in the recruitment process, please email AccessibleRecruitment@optus.com.au along with your preferred method of contact and we will be in touch.

For more information on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging at Optus, please visit https://www.optus.com.au/about/inclusion-diversity.

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