Microsoft
Security Researcher II and Senior Security Researcher (Multiple Positions)
$102K–$261K
Redmond, WA +2 · On-site · Senior · Full-time · Posted Oct 21, 2026
- Location
- Redmond, WA
Mountain View, CA
Reston, VA - Experience
- 1+ year with a master's degree or 2+ years with a bachelor's degree in listed relevant areas; equivalent experience accepted. Preferred alternatives include 3+ years with a master's degree or 4+ years with a bachelor's degree; also 7+ years in specified technical roles and 4+ years in management or relevant customer support experience.
- Education
- Master's or bachelor's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Computer Security, or related field; or equivalent experience.
About the job
Research and analyze cyber threats to build detections, alerts, tools, and service innovations that help Microsoft 365 Defender customers detect and respond to advanced attacks.
What you'll do
- Investigate threats and real incidents, and develop durable detection solutions and strategies.
- Partner with customers and internal teams to shape and deliver detection and response innovations.
- Build tools and automations, provide threat analysis, and offer technical leadership.
What they ask for
- Master's degree in a listed quantitative or computing field and 1+ year of relevant experience, or bachelor's degree in a listed field and 2+ years, or equivalent experience.
- Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements.
- Must verify U.S. citizenship with a valid passport due to citizenship-based legal restrictions.
Nice to have
- Doctorate, or master's plus 3+ years, or bachelor's plus 4+ years of relevant experience, or equivalent experience.
- 7+ years in security operations, threat intelligence, cyber incident response, or penetration testing/red team; and 4+ years in people/service delivery management or relevant customer interaction/support delivery.
Pay
USD $102,100 - $202,200 per year (base salary); USD $133,800 - $219,200 per year (base salary); USD $119,800 - $234,700 per year (base salary); USD $160,200 - $261,000 per year (base salary)
Tools
Microsoft 365 Defender
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative