Junior AI Specialist

Fortinet; Burnaby; On-site; CAD 79,000 - 97,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage

Health Spending Account

Employee & Family Assistance Plan

Job summary

A leading cybersecurity firm in Canada is seeking a junior AI Cybersecurity Specialist to leverage AI in defending against threats. The role involves designing machine learning models, securing AI pipelines, and developing automated responses. Candidates should have a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or related fields, preferably with up to 2 years of experience and proficiency in programming languages like Python and Java. The salary range is $79,000 – $97,000 annually, complemented by a comprehensive benefits package.

Qualifications

• 0-2 years of related experience required.
• Strong knowledge of network protocols and encryption.
• Solid understanding of data science and AI fundamentals.

Responsibilities

• Design and deploy machine learning models for anomaly detection.
• Secure internal AI/ML pipelines against various attacks.
• Develop AI-driven security automation to reduce response times.

Skills

Machine learning

AI tools development

Python

Java

SQL

AWS

Azure

GCP

Docker

Kubernetes

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Data Science, or related field

Tools

TensorFlow

PyTorch

Scikit-learn

Spark

Flink

Hadoop

Job description

Job Description

The Role

FortiGuard IoC team is looking for a junior AI Cybersecurity Specialist who is passionate about using AI to defend against threat actors. You will be at the forefront of an arms race: using machine learning to detect advanced threats and building various AI tools to automate threat processes.

Responsibilities

• Design and deploy machine learning models to identify anomalies, malware, and zero‑day threats within enterprise networks and cloud environments.
• Secure internal AI/ML pipelines against poisoning, evasion, and model inversion attacks.
• Develop AI‑driven security automation to reduce response times and mitigate false positives in the IoC Research Team.
• Analyze emerging threats and create IoCs.
• Work closely with Data Scientists, DevOps, and SOC analysts to add AI‑driven solutions (e.g., chatbots, AI agents, and Agentic RAG) to improve team productivity.
• Develop AI workflows and maintain AI development environments.
• Connect applications to LLMs (GPT, Claude, LLaMA) and perform LLM fine‑tuning.
• Wrap machine learning models behind REST or GraphQL APIs to make them accessible.
• Develop specialized APIs for AI agents to interact with tools such as databases, internet search, or third‑party software (Model Context Protocol).

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Data Science, or a related field.
• 0‑2 years of related experience.
• Proficiency in Python, Java, SQL, and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Experience with ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, Scikit‑learn) and data‑processing frameworks (Spark, Flink, and Hadoop).
• Strong knowledge of network protocols, encryption, and endpoint security.
• Familiarity with Docker and Kubernetes.
• Solid understanding of data science and deep understanding of how artificial intelligence works.
• Great communication skills, detail‑oriented, analytical and problem‑solving skills, curious and proactive.

Salary

The Canada base salary range for this full‑time position is expected to be between $79,000 – $97,000 annually. Wage ranges are based on various factors including the labour market, job type, and job level. Exact salary offers will be determined by factors such as the candidate’s subject knowledge, skill level, qualifications, and experience.

Benefits

Fortinet strives to provide you and your family with a comprehensive benefits package. Benefits eligibility starts on your first day of hire and includes 100% company‑paid medical, dental, and vision coverage, a Health Spending Account, and a Personal Spending Account giving you flexibility to spend where you need it most. Our Employee & Family Assistance Plan (EFAP) offers counseling, legal advice, mental health resources, etc. Critical illness, disability, and life insurance are also provided, as well as a Group Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) with a company match. Competitive paid time off and flexible leave policies, including paid health days, are offered.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Fortinet is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity in our company, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, military/veteran status or any other applicable legally protected characteristics in the location in which the candidate is applying.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with disabilities. If you require assistance or accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at [e-mail].