Security Researcher II

Overview

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.

The Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) is looking for a Security Researcher II to join us in protecting Microsoft services and products, and the users of these, from threats to security and privacy.

This role offers a unique opportunity to solve real-world security and privacy challenges, perform cutting-edge research, informed by vulnerability data, leading to mitigations or new techniques that can be deployed at Microsoft and beyond. 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.

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.  

Responsibilities

• Reproducing reported security vulnerabilities and identifying the root cause
• Design and develop automation solutions that assist with vulnerability discovery, reproduction and mitigations.
• Working with product teams to comprehensively remediate vulnerabilities and educate them on vulnerability classes such as deserialization, memory corruption, command injection, XSS (cross site scripting), SSRF (server side request forgery), etc.
• Analyze reported vulnerabilities for any insights and trends.
• Engaging with and contributing knowledge back to the security research community
• Conduct novel research to improve the security of Microsoft products and services

Qualifications

Required Qualifications: 

• Master's Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field AND 1+ year(s) 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 2+ 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 Qualifications:  

• Doctorate in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field
  • OR Master's Degree 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 Bachelor's Degree 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 equivalent experience. 
• Understanding of cybersecurity threats impacting cloud environments, particularly Microsoft environments, and the ability to assess security risks and recommend appropriate mitigations
• 2+ years of experience in security research, vulnerability analysis, and/or exploit development in on-prem and cloud environments.
• Experience investigating security risks within open-source software ecosystems, including software supply chains, dependency management, package repositories (such as npm and NuGet), and build automation environments 
• Experience developing, testing, or maintaining multi-agent and AI-assisted workflows for security use cases, such as code analysis, vulnerability discovery, threat investigation, or automated security research
• Knowledge of vulnerability research, threat modeling, and security assessment methodologies across open-source technologies, including language runtimes, web frameworks, and foundational software libraries. Experience collaborating with engineering teams or open-source communities to improve security posture is a plus
• Experience programming in C# and/or working with the .NET platform to develop, analyze, or secure software applications and services.

Security Research IC3 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $102,100 - $202,200 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 $133,800 - $219,200 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

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.