Sr. Security Researcher - Toronto, ON

TrendAI; Toronto; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and dental coverage

Telehealth Virtual Health Services

Life Insurance

Short & Long Term Disability

Paid Time Off

Tuition Assistance

Employee Resource Groups

Job summary

TrendAI in Canada is searching for a Senior Security Researcher to lead their team and drive innovative vulnerability research initiatives. You will mentor junior researchers and conduct advanced studies at the intersection of security and AI.

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 2-4 years of experience and a Master's degree in computer science. TrendAI provides a range of benefits, a competitive salary with bonus opportunities, and emphasizes work-life balance.

Qualifications

• 2-4 years of hands-on experience in vulnerability research, reverse engineering, and exploitation development.
• Proven track record of publications in security-related fields.
• Passion for teaching and mentoring junior researchers.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of researchers and interns across multiple time zones.
• Mentor team members in comprehensive research practices.
• Develop training materials for varying levels of researchers.

Skills

Vulnerability research

Reverse engineering

Exploitation development

Machine learning

Strong communication skills

Education

Master's degree or equivalent experience in computer science

Tools

Disassemblers

Debuggers

Network traffic analysis tools

Job description

TrendAI™, the global AI security leader and enterprise business unit of Trend Micro, empowers organizations with full AI visibility and consolidated security that inspires confidence, drives innovation, and eliminates risk.

At TrendAI™, we’re always seeking exceptional talent; people who want to collaborate with the best and push boundaries together. Here, your work goes beyond building a career. You will help protect what matters and play a vital role in shaping a safer, more trustworthy AI-powered future.

Position Summary

TrendAI Research is seeking a highly motivated Senior Security Researcher to grow with our team of security researchers. The ideal candidate shall be equipped with solid technical expertise in vulnerability research, and is capable of independent research and of being a collaborative team player and, most importantly, possess the desire to grow their career towards management and leadership roles.

About The Role

• As you hold a senior level role, you will provide and support execution of the team’s vision. You’ll also be responsible for communicating within TrendAI to identify and triage collaboration and project opportunities.
• You’ll lead a research track at the intersection of vulnerability research and machine learning/artificial intelligence and own a full-cycle and comprehensive research process.
• You’ll help develop security researchers and interns in conducting security research. This includes curating and developing training materials for researchers of all levels.
• And as an aspiring leader, who is keen to learn, grow, enhance communication skills, and help grow others, you will help protect our customers against zero-day threats by strengthening our vulnerability research capacity and capabilities. The aim of the outcome is to ensure our threat experts can continually adapt to the ever-changing threat landscape and its domain expertise requirements.

You Will Be a Good Fit If

• You have experience working in vulnerability research and/or in the broader context of research at the intersection of security research and machine learning/artificial intelligence.
• You are a hands‑on researcher and comfortable with technology development and implementation.
• You strive for excellence and can deliver in a timely manner. You take pride in making impactful contributions.
• You are adaptable and collaborative, able to take direction and contribute to team priorities rather than needing to pursue a predetermined research agenda.
• You take ownership and can turn ambiguous technical problems into tractable and manageable problems.
• You enjoy mentoring and coaching junior researchers

Responsibilities

• Lead researchers and interns, across multiple time zones, to consistently make progress in research projects.
• Mentor researchers and interns to effectively conduct a full-cycle and comprehensive research. Often, our research projects include, for example, reverse engineering, patch-diffing, exploit development, manual code audit, automated bug discovery, and AI capability assessment and enhancement in vulnerability research.
• Curate and develop technical training materials for researchers at all levels.
• Cultivate information sharing and learning culture within TrendAI and among research communities.
• Triage research projects, facilitate knowledge transfer, and bring up threat experts.

Qualifications

• 2-4 Years of hands‑on experience in vulnerability research, reverse engineering, and exploitation development.
• Proven track record of publications, e.g., academic journal, whitepaper, or community forum.
• Hands‑on experience with disassemblers, debuggers, network traffic and program instrumentation tools.
• Functional knowledge of the network fundamentals, operating system internals, and computer architecture.
• Passion for teaching and learning. Successfully mentored or supervised undergraduate students or junior team members is a plus.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Reliable and dependable – solid team player!

Preferred Professional Designation / Certification

• Proven ability to hack software, discover flaws, and suggest improvements. Abilities demonstrated through activities such as CTFs, bug bounty programs, and open-source project contribution.
• Proven track record of quality publications in the areas of security and machine learning/artificial intelligence.
• Master's degree or equivalent experience in computer science and math or related fields.

What We Offer You

You're important to us. What matters to you, matters to us too. Trend Micro provides benefit options for you and your family.

• Group benefits program with health and dental coverage
• Telehealth Virtual Health Services
• Life Insurance
• Short & Long Term Disability
• Pre‑partum, maternity, parental and medical leave
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Mental Health Wellness Program
• Wellness Incentive Program
• Retirement Savings Programs with company match
• Paid Time Off
• 14 Annual Holidays
• Tuition Assistance
• Employee Resource Groups

We offer competitive compensation with bonus opportunity tied to company performance, along with room to enhance your skills through ongoing learning and broad technological opportunities. Achieving work‑life balance is a priority, complemented by team activities, fostering an environment rooted in equity, inclusion, and collaboration, that is reflected in both our culture and our work.

At Trend Micro, we embrace change, empower people, and encourage innovation in a connected world. Our diversity and multicultural workforce are key contributing factors to our success across the globe. Trend Micro welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.