Security Researcher II and Senior Security Researcher (Multiple Positions)

Job ID: 200063073Posted: 2026-10-21Location: United States, Washington, RedmondSalary: USD $102,100 - $202,200 per yearEmployment type: Full-TimeWork site: 3 days / week in-officeRole type: Individual ContributorTravel: Less than 25%Profession: Security EngineeringDiscipline: Security ResearchCompany: MicrosoftOverviewMicrosoft Defender Experts Team is looking for a Security Researcher II or Senior Security Researcher to join our detection and response team. No matter how sophisticated attacker behaviors become, Microsoft 365 Defender will help enterprises detect, investigate, and respond to advanced attacks and data breaches on their networks. Our team uses deep knowledge of the attacker landscape and rich telemetry from our sensors to perform root-cause analysis and generate custom alerts, ensuring that Microsoft 365 Defender customers are well equipped to quickly respond to human adversaries identified in their unique environments. Ensuring that no human adversary can operate silently begins with experts harnessing the powerful optics provided by Microsoft 365 Defender, across the attacker kill-chain, coupled with world-class detections. We are looking for someone who is passionate about this work to help us harness the power of Microsoft’s trillions of security signals to quickly identify and report the latest human adversary behaviors, drive critical context-rich alerts, build new tools and automations in support of hunting objectives, and drive innovations for detecting advanced attacker tradecraft. 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.ResponsibilitiesWork directly with senior leaders of our customers’ security organizations as design partners on new cloud detection and response innovations, as well as to ensure excellent customer satisfaction with our products and services.Partner with your team of Microsoft Threat Experts providing deep research and analysis of threats impacting our customers.Work cross-functionally with engineering, marketing, and business leaders to innovate and deliver new security service offerings at a global scale.Investigate, analyze, and learn from security researchers, attackers, and real incidents to develop durable detection solutions/strategies across customer tools.Work with other internal and external teams to forge new and improve existing partnerships that help mature the products that support Defender Experts service offerings.Provide technical leadership in a challenging and rewarding environment and influence the organization.QualificationsRequired 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 detectionOR 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 detectionOR 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. • This position requires verification of U.S. citizenship due to citizenship‑based legal restrictions. Specifically, this position supports United States federal, state, and/or local government agency customers and is subject to certain citizenship‑based restrictions where required or permitted by applicable law. To meet this legal requirement, and as a condition of employment, the successful candidate’s citizenship will be verified via a valid passport.Preferred Qualifications:Doctorate in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related fieldOR 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 detectionOR Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field AND 4+ years experience in software development lifecycle, large-scale computing, threat analysis or modeling, cybersecurity, vulnerability research, and/or anomaly detectionOR equivalent experience.7+ years of experience in a technical role in the areas of Security Operations, Threat Intelligence, Cyber Incident Response, or Penetration Testing/Red Team.4+ years of people/service delivery management experience, or relevant experience demonstrating customer interaction/support delivery.#MSFTSecuritySecurity 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: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 $160,200 - $261,000 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.