Senior Penetration Tester

Vanguard Cyber, LLC; Sydney; A distancia; AUD 120.000 - 180.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

Salary + super

Ownership in practice

Training budget

Research time

Fully remote

Community involvement

Descripción de la vacante

Vanguard Cyber is a Sydney-based cybersecurity consultancy seeking a senior penetration tester to lead testing delivery and act as the technical backbone of the business. You will split time between hands-on testing, client engagements end-to-end, and improving our internal IT infrastructure, while shaping the team and processes that let us scale without compromising quality.

You will mentor graduates and junior testers, contribute to testing methodologies, and translate complex findings into

Formación

• 3+ years in penetration testing or offensive security, ideally in a consulting environment.
• Breadth across web apps, APIs, networks, and AD, with cloud knowledge.
• Hands-on IT infra skills: administering and securing Microsoft 365 and Entra ID, networking and endpoints.
• Mentoring experience or interest in mentoring juniors.
• Clear, accurate reporting and ability to present to developers and board.
• Builder mindset with ability to create structure from scratch.
• Active engagement with the field through research, CTFs, talks, bug bounty or home lab.
• Certs: OSCP, CPTS, OSWE, OSEP, CREST CRT highly regarded.
• Australian citizenship or full-time working rights preferred; clearance bonus.

Responsabilidades

• Lead delivery: own penetration testing engagements from scoping to reporting and debrief.
• Stay hands-on: actively test and be the go-to person on engagements.
• Look after our IT infrastructure: manage and secure our internal environment including 365 and networks.
• Grow the team: help shape roles, assist in hiring, scale the practice.
• Mentor and develop: coach graduates and junior testers toward certifications.
• Set the standard: contribute to testing methodologies and internal tooling.
• Be the trusted advisor: translate findings into clear guidance for engineers and executives.
• Support the business: assist with scoping, proposals and pricing for new work.
• Give back: participate in community talks, CTFs, research, blogs or open source.

Conocimientos

Offensive security

Web apps

APIs

Networks

Active Directory

Cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP)

Mentoring

Communication

Builder mindset

Security reporting

Herramientas

Microsoft 365

Entra ID

Descripción del empleo

Ready to stop being one tester in a big machine and become the go-to technical person in a growing consultancy? We're looking for a senior level penetration tester to lead our testing delivery, look after our IT infrastructure, and help grow our team from the ground up.

This isn't a role where you inherit a playbook. You'll write it.

About us

Vanguard Cyber is a Sydney based cybersecurity consultancy dedicated to making a change.

We're small, independent and growing. We believe good security work should be thorough, honest and explained in plain language, and that the people doing it should be supported to keep learning. We invest in graduates, give back to the community, and want our next leader to share that same mindset.

About the role

As a senior level penetration tester, you'll be the primary delivery person for our penetration testing engagements and the technical backbone of the business.

You'll split your time between hands-on testing, leading client engagements end to end, looking after Vanguard Cyber's own IT infrastructure, and helping build the people and processes that let the team scale without losing quality. You'll work directly with the founder and have a genuine say in where the business goes next.

What you'll do

• Lead delivery: Own penetration testing engagements from scoping and kick-off through to reporting and debrief, across web, API, internal and external network, cloud and Active Directory
• Stay hands-on: Be an active tester on engagements and the person the team turns to when they're stuck
• Look after our IT infrastructure: Manage, maintain and secure our internal environment, including Microsoft 365, endpoints, networking, cloud tenancies and our testing infrastructure, so it reflects the standard we recommend to clients
• Grow the team: Help shape new roles, take part in hiring, and support the team as it grows from one to a well-rounded practice
• Mentor and develop: Coach our graduate and junior testers, review their work, and help them build towards their certifications
• Set the standard: Contribute to testing methodologies, report templates, QA processes and internal tooling that keep our work consistent and high quality
• Be the trusted advisor: Translate technical findings into clear, practical advice for both engineers and executives
• Support the business: Help with scoping, proposals and pricing for new engagements
• Give back: Represent Vanguard Cyber in the community through talks, CTFs, research, blog posts or open source tools

What we're looking for

• Offensive experience: 3+ years in penetration testing or offensive security, ideally in a consulting environment, with experience running engagements independently
• Technical breadth and depth: Strong across web applications, APIs, networks and Active Directory, with working knowledge of cloud (AWS, Azure or GCP) and a specialty or two you love
• IT infrastructure skills: Hands-on experience administering and securing Microsoft 365 and Entra ID, networking and firewalls, and endpoint management in a small business environment
• Mentoring: Experience or a genuine interest in mentoring juniors and reviewing others' work
• Communication: You write clear, accurate reports and are comfortable presenting findings to anyone from developers to the board
• Builder mindset: You enjoy creating structure from scratch and are comfortable wearing multiple hats in a growing business
• Genuine interest: You stay engaged with the field outside of client work, through research, CTFs, conference talks, bug bounty, tooling or a home lab
• Certifications: OSCP, CPTS, OSWE, OSEP, CRTO or CREST CRT are highly regarded
• Clearance: An existing Australian Government security clearance (Baseline or NV1) is a bonus but not essential
• Australian citizenship or otherwise full-time working rights required

What we offer

• Competitive salary plus super, reflecting your experience
• Real ownership and influence over the practice you're building, with a direct line to the founder
• A dedicated training and certification budget for you and the team you grow
• Paid time for research, tooling and community contributions
• Fully remote working arrangement
• A close-knit team that genuinely cares about doing good work and helping others break into the industry

How to set yourself apart

At our core, we're looking for people who genuinely care about the cybersecurity community and want to contribute to something bigger than themselves. For this role, that means someone who gets as much satisfaction from watching a junior land their first critical finding as from landing one themselves.