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.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint’s deep research team focuses on creating durable solutions to critical security problems that allow attackers to succeed in their mission. We are looking for a Security Researcher II, who can conduct specialized security research on novel or challenging tactics and techniques, understand the evolving threat landscape and design robust solutions to detect and prevent cyberattacks. If you are passionate about making the world safer through applied research and development, this role is for you.
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.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science or related field.
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• OR 3+ years experience in software development lifecycle, large-scale computing, modeling, cybersecurity, and/or anomaly detection.

• 3+ years of software development/research experience utilizing knowledge of security/threat landscape Practical Windows internals knowledge (other OS experience may count).
• 1+ years of experience with Reverse Engineering: familiar with debuggers, disassemblers, protocols, file formats.

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 QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science or related field.
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• OR 4+ years experience in software development lifecycle, large-scale computing, modeling, cyber-security, and/or anomaly detection.

• Offensive security research experience.
• Digital forensics skills Programming skills in C, C++, C# or willingness to learn Industry recognized author of security research papers, blogs, or books Low-level/security knowledge of other operating systems.
  Security Research IC3 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $100,600 - $199,000 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 $131,400 - $215,400 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
  Microsoft will accept applications for the role until August 21, 2025.

As a Security Researcher II, you will:

• Research emerging attack vectors and techniques.
• Analyze detection and prevention gaps and understand root cause.
• Design and develop detection, prevention and disruption solutions to thwart advanced attacks.
• Synthesize in-field telemetry to judge the state of threat coverage and share insights.
• Identify trends, foresee landscape direction and propose enhancements to meet the needs.
• Collaborate across teams to address systemic security issues.
• Guide design of AI based solutions to tackle hard security problems.