Senior Security Researcher

Share job

Do you enjoy the challenge of discovering and analyzing vulnerabilities in software and services to understand how they work and how an attacker might exploit them? Are you excited by the idea of analyzing real-world exploits and researching new attack techniques? Are you passionate about driving meaningful security improvements into products and services to better protect billions of customers? Do you want to be part of a collaborative team that invests in the growth and success of one another?

The Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) is responsible for detecting, protecting, and responding to threats that affect Microsoft’s products and services. We are looking for a motivated Senior Security Researcher to join our team.

As part of MSRC, our team is responsible for analyzing vulnerabilities found in Microsoft’s products and services to determine their root cause, severity, and security impact. This analysis plays a critical role in shaping the security updates that are deployed to customers. The knowledge that we gain from analyzing vulnerabilities also informs the offensive and defensive security research performed by our team. As part of this research, our team works collaboratively with many teams across Microsoft to investigate, develop, and deploy security features that help discover and mitigate the biggest threats to customers.

This role is targeted towards vulnerability response and research within software and services used and produced by Microsoft. As a Senior Security Researcher, you will assess the impact of these vulnerabilities identified and issue advice for the remediation of affected products. You will have the chance to conduct novel vulnerability research in the areas that Microsoft relies on and develop mitigation strategies for enhancing our security posture. You will collaborate with other security researchers, developers, and community members to responsibly address security issues.

This is a unique opportunity to have a positive impact on improving safety for customers around the world and to work on challenging real-world security problems as part of a supportive and collaborative team.

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:

• Master's Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science or related field.
• OR 5+ years experience in software development lifecycle, large-scale computing, modeling, cybersecurity, and/or anomaly detection.
• 3+ years of experience in security research, vulnerability analysis, and/or exploit development.

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 or related field.
• OR 6+ years experience in software development lifecycle, large-scale computing, modeling, cybersecurity, and/or anomaly detection.
• A public record of vulnerability research and discovery
• Knowledge of the operating system internals of Linux and/or Windows.
• 3+ years of experience developing or auditing C/C++ with a focus on secure coding.

Security Research IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 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 $158,400 - $258,000 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 July 29, 2025.

#msrc #msrcjobs #MSFTSecurity

As a Senior Security Researcher, you will:

• Be reproducing vulnerabilities, and identifying the root cause.
• Working with product teams to comprehensively remediate vulnerabilities.
• Working with the community to responsibly report vulnerabilities upstream to open-source projects.
• Assessing the impact of public common vulnerability and exposures (CVEs) on Microsoft products and services.
• Conduct novel research to improve the security of Microsoft products and services.