Senior Security Researcher
Microsoft · Posted Oct 13
Software, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and hardware services
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About the role
The Cloud Threat Protection Research team within Microsoft Threat Protection works at the heart of how Microsoft protects cloud and AI workloads at global scale, studying real attacker behaviour, analysing production incidents, and designing defences that power Microsoft Defender for large enterprises, governments, and critical infrastructure. The role sits at the intersection of cloud security research and AI, covering hybrid attacks across cloud services, endpoints, identity and AI systems. This Senior Security Researcher will hunt threats, build high-signal detections and automatic attack disruption at global scale, and partner with product, engineering and in-house AI teams.
What you will do
- Hunt for active and new threats in the wild across Microsoft Defender for Cloud workloads.
- Research real-world hybrid attacks that move between cloud services, endpoints, identity and AI systems.
- Analyse live attacker behavior, production incidents and customer feedback to build high-signal detections and improve existing ones.
- Design multi-cloud and enterprise protections that ship in Microsoft Defender at global scale.
- Turn high-confidence threat research into automatic attack disruption in Microsoft Defender to stop active attacks in real time.
- Partner with in-house AI teams to advance AI security, detection quality and explainability.
- Build innovative tools, automation and research prototypes that scale globally.
- Collaborate closely with product, engineering and global research teams to turn ideas into impact.
Skills used in this role
What the employer is looking for
- 8+ years of experience in cybersecurity, with strong hands-on understanding of the modern attacker kill chain, MITRE ATT&CK framework, and evolving cloud-based threats, including attacks targeting Enterprise Apps, and emerging AI-driven applications.
- Proven experience securing cloud and containerized environments, with hands‑on knowledge of Azure, AWS, and/or GCP, and technologies such as Kubernetes, container platforms, Storage, Key Vault, DNS and cloud services.
- Deep knowledge of adversary tooling, red team frameworks, and attacker techniques, with the ability to analyse, simulate, and interpret real-world attacker behaviors across cloud ecosystems.
- Proficiency in at least one programming language (e.g., Python, C, or C++) for building research prototypes, internal tools, automation, or detection logic.
- Strong proficiency in query languages such as KQL, SQL, or Cypher for large-scale telemetry analysis, threat hunting, behavioral investigations, and detection validation.
- Experience working with large-scale datasets to support detection development, proactive threat hunting, behavioral analytics, and signal quality improvement.
- Strong collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate research insights, influence product and engineering decisions, and work effectively with partner teams, including Engineering, Data Science, and incident response stakeholders.
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience in security research or threat detection.
Benefits and support
- Compensation and benefits are detailed in the job posting
About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is a multinational technology company that develops, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products, services, and hardware devices. Best known for its Windows operating systems, Microsoft 365 productivity suite, and Xbox gaming consoles, the company has expanded heavily into enterprise cloud computing via Azure and advanced artificial intelligence solutions. As one of the world's most valuable public enterprises, it empowers individuals and businesses globally through innovative digital transformation.
- Industry
- Software
- Company size
- 228,000+ employees
- Founded
- April 4, 1975
- Location
- Redmond, Washington, USA
- Funding stage
- Public Company
Leadership
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Vice Chair and President
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