Principal Security Research Manager - Red Team

Job ID: 200064111Posted: 2026-11-04Location: United States, Washington, RedmondSalary: USD $165,600 - $296,400 per yearEmployment type: Full-TimeWork site: 3 days / week in-officeRole type: People ManagerTravel: Less than 25%Profession: Research, Applied, & Data SciencesDiscipline: Applied SciencesCompany: MicrosoftOverviewMicrosoft Security is seeking a founding technical leader to build and guide an AI red team with expertise across adversarial machine learning, agent security, offensive security, automation and privacy. You will lead hands-on red teaming of advanced AI models, agentic systems and AI-enabled security products; define how attacks are designed, executed and reproduced; and drive critical findings into durable improvements. This role combines deep AI and security judgment with people leadership, partnering closely with researchers, engineers, product teams and independent reviewers to reduce product risk and strengthen security assessments. Success requires a technically credible manager who can develop specialist talent, make sound severity decisions and translate adversarial evidence into action.We are looking for a Principal Security Research Manager - Red Team to join our 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.In alignment with our Microsoft values, we are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment for all employees to positively impact our culture every day.ResponsibilitiesBuild and develop a team of specialists spanning adversarial machine learning, agent security, offensive security, attack automation and privacy.Set the attack strategy and severity bar for uncovering critical weaknesses in advanced AI models, agentic systems and AI-enabled products.Lead hands-on red-team operations across models, training and evaluation systems, agent frameworks, tools, identities and permissions to discover exploitable behavior before release.Design and operationalize high-fidelity attack campaigns, continuous adversarial testing and automated suites that reproduce realistic threats at scale.Drive critical findings to verified remediation with research, engineering and product security teams, converting recurring weaknesses into regression evaluations, adversarial environments and stronger controls.Produce clear, reproducible evidence that enables rapid severity decisions, focused engineering action and efficient independent security review.Track emerging AI attack techniques and real-world threat behavior, then evolve the team’s methods, tooling and technical investments to stay ahead of them.QualificationsRequired Qualifications:Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 8+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)OR Master's Degree in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 6+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)OR Doctorate in Statistics, Econometrics, Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, or related field AND 5+ years related experience (e.g., statistics, predictive analytics, research)OR equivalent experience.3+ years of people management experience.Other Requirements:Candidates must be able 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 Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.Preferred Qualifications:Experience leading red-team programs and making evidence-based risk decisions across complex technical stakeholders. Hands-on expertise in adversarial machine learning or offensive security, with demonstrated technical fluency across both AI systems and security operations.Experience testing large language models, agentic systems, tool use, indirect prompt injection or AI-enabled security products.Experience, including hiring, coaching and developing applied scientists, security researchers or similarly specialized technical talent. Demonstrated ability to communicate technical findings, severity and residual risk clearly to engineering teams and senior decision-makers. Experience building a new technical function, hiring multidisciplinary talent and establishing effective partnerships with independent security or governance teams.Applied Sciences M6 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $165,600 - $296,400 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 $220,800 - $331,200 per year. Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: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.