Associate Network Security Researcher

Software Engineering Institute | Carnegie Mellon University; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute invites applications for a network security researcher on the Network Situational Awareness team. You will research network threats, develop detection methods, and tailor these for partner environments.

You will work with NetSA data sources (netflow, metadata) and publish findings, contributing to training and requirements for our NetSA Security tool suite.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's, MS, or PhD in CS with relevant work experience.
• Willingness to travel domestically to support SEI's mission.
• Background check and DoD security clearance required.

Responsibilities

• Research network threats and develop detection methods.
• Translate threat intel into research requirements for NetSA tool suite.
• Publish findings and provide customer-specific training.

Skills

Threat detection

Network fundamentals

Scripting languages

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

MS in Computer Science

PhD in Computer Science

Job description

What We Do

Our team, within the Cyber Risk and Resilience Directorate researches, designs, and develops software tools for the collection, storage, and analysis of network data to provide security insights. We provide both the core network tools to facilitate this capability, and prototypes of new methods to present the data most effectively. We work with data at a scale generally not experienced by most organizations, handling record counts in the tens of billions per day.

What We Do

Our team, within the Cyber Risk and Resilience Directorate researches, designs, and develops software tools for the collection, storage, and analysis of network data to provide security insights. We provide both the core network tools to facilitate this capability, and prototypes of new methods to present the data most effectively. We work with data at a scale generally not experienced by most organizations, handling record counts in the tens of billions per day. Developing security insights at this scale requires creativity, efficiency, and contemporary knowledge of modern computing platforms. In some cases, the computing has outpaced the methods, and it is incumbent upon us to generate novel views of both the entire data collection, and of focused datasets tailored to specific analyst needs. Our network situational awareness security tools are published here: https://tools.netsa.cert.org/

Position Summary

As a network security researcher on the Network Situational Awareness team, you will research network threats to develop methods of detection and tailor these for partner environments. Transition of this research will take the form of developing detection capabilities, providing new requirements and feature requests for our NetSA Security tool suite, writing publications, and providing customer‑specific training. The primary network data source for the team is netflow combined with application layer metadata, with an expanding focus on host‑based (e.g., EDR) and cloud telemetry. You will be responsible for gaining insights from data to facilitate detections, working with partners to help them to better understand their data and researching new data sources to expand the expertise of the team.

Requirements: (education/travel/background ONLY)

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or a relevant technical discipline with three (3) years of relevant work experience; or a MS in Computer Science or a relevant technical discipline with one (1) year of relevant work experience; or a PhD in Computer Science or other relevant technical discipline.
• Movement between buildings within the SEI and CMU community required.
• Willingness to travel to various locations to support the SEI’s overall mission. This may include national travel to sponsor sites, conferences, and offsite meetings on occasion.
• You will be subject to a background check and will need to obtain and maintain a Department of War security clearance.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

• Exposure to translating threat intelligence to avenues for research, prototyping, and curation of detection capabilities.
• Solid knowledge of network fundamentals, common application layer protocols, and network-based telemetry.
• Proficiency in at least one scripting or programming language such as Python, Go, Ruby, C, Java, or Scala.
• Solid problem-solving and analytical skills, detailed research, and ability to document and communicate ideas and findings to diverse audience.

Desired Experience

• Hands‑on experience in a security research, threat hunting, detection engineering, or SOC Analyst role.
• Some experience analyzing network telemetry such as netflow, application metadata, or PCAP from network sensors such as YAF, Zeek, Suricata, etc;
• Exposure to cybersecurity data science methods and practices
• Awareness of open‑source and / or commercial Internet intelligence telemetry and datasets
• Awareness of the threat landscape and experience researching and investigating threats
• Experience presenting technical topics

Location

Arlington, VA, Pittsburgh, PA

Job Function

Software/Applications Development/Engineering

Position Type

Staff – Regular

Full time/Part time

Full time

Pay Basis

Salary

More Information

• Please visit “Why Carnegie Mellon” to learn more about becoming part of an institution inspiring innovations that change the world.
• Click here to view a listing of employee benefits
• Carnegie Mellon University is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran.
• Statement of Assurance