The Senior Security Researcher role on the Microsoft Threat Protection Research Purple Team focuses on emulating real-world threat actors to enhance cybersecurity measures. This position involves designing and executing adversary simulations, developing offensive tooling, and conducting malware research. The team operates at the intersection of offense, defense, and intelligence, utilizing AI-driven workflows to improve attack simulations. The goal is to ensure effective telemetry and detections against modern cyber threats.

• Doctorate in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field.
• Master's Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field AND 3+ years of experience in relevant fields.
• Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field AND 4+ years of experience in relevant fields.
• 5+ years of incident response, threat hunting, and/or SOC experience.
• Knowledge of MITRE ATT&CK and threat modeling methodologies.
• 3+ years of experience with coding.
• Experience in classical and deep learning machine learning methods.

• Design and execute adversary simulations that emulate real-world threat actors across various environments.
• Develop and modify offensive tooling, including custom payloads and command-and-control frameworks.
• Conduct malware development and tradecraft research to replicate modern attacker techniques.
• Leverage threat intelligence to inform adversary emulation scenarios.
• Apply threat modeling frameworks to emulate realistic attack paths and identify defensive gaps.
• Utilize AI-enabled systems to generate attack variations and automate tradecraft execution.
• Partner with blue team and detection engineering teams to validate detections.
• Analyze telemetry generated from simulations to assess detection coverage.
• Contribute to simulation reports, technical documentation, and internal knowledge sharing.
• Collaborate across teams to improve offensive tooling and research practices.

• Employees at Microsoft are often offered comprehensive, “world-class” benefits—including health and mental-wellness programs, competitive pay with bonuses and stock awards, and retirement/savings options. Time-off and flexibility are common, with generous vacation and holidays, parental and caregiver leave, and flexible work schedules, alongside learning support, employee resource groups, product discounts, and matching-gifts/volunteering programs. Specific benefits can vary by region.