About the job
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.
Responsibilities
· 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.
Qualifications
Minimum
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.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 background and Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
Preferred
Doctorate in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field AND 5+ 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 8+ 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 12+ years experience in software development lifecycle, large-scale computing, threat analysis or modeling, cybersecurity, vulnerability research, and/or anomaly detection.OR equivalent 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.