Lead Threat Hunter

Allstate Insurance Co.; Illinois; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

Allstate Insurance Co. is seeking a Lead Threat Hunter to guide hypothesis-driven, intelligence-led hunts across enterprise, cloud, and OT/IoT environments.

You will transform hunt findings into durable detections, signatures, and SOAR playbooks while mentoring junior hunters and collaborating with Threat Intelligence, IR, and Detection Engineering teams. You will leverage MITRE ATT&CK, AI-assisted tooling, and advanced telemetry to reduce dwell time and strengthen enterprise defenses across

Qualifications

• 7+ years in security operations with 4+ years dedicated to threat hunting.
• Deep experience hunting in large, complex enterprise environments.
• Demonstrable experience executing MITRE ATT&CK-aligned hunts with documented outcomes and detection handoffs.
• Hands-on experience with modern SIEM (Splunk, Sentinel, Elastic) and EDR/XDR (CrowdStrike, Defender, SentinelOne, Tanium).
• Demonstrated experience using AI/LLM-assisted tooling (e.g., Security Copilot, custom GPTs, agentic workflows, embeddings-based analytics).
• Knowledge of MITRE ATLAS framework, OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications, and AI-specific threats.

Responsibilities

• Lead hypothesis-driven, intelligence-led hunt campaigns from formulation through reporting, mapped to MITRE ATT&CK.
• Perform identity-centric hunting across Entra ID, Active Directory, and SaaS platforms—token theft and MFA bypass.
• Conduct cloud-native hunting across AWS, Azure, M365, and SaaS control planes.
• Convert hunt findings into durable detections, signatures, and SOAR playbooks with Detection Engineering.
• Develop and tune deception-generated activity signals and thresholds.
• Produce post-hunt reports with explicit evidence and measurable outcomes tied to exposure reduction.
• Mentor junior hunters and contribute to hunt libraries and training.

Skills

MITRE ATT&CK

Python scripting

PowerShell

EDR/XDR

SIEM

Tools

Splunk

Sentinel

Elastic

CrowdStrike

Defender

SentinelOne

Tanium

Job description

At Allstate, great things happen when our people work together to protect families and their belongings from life’s uncertainties. And for more than 90 years, our innovative drive has kept us a step ahead of our customers’ evolving needs. From advocating for seat belts, air bags and graduated driving laws, to being an industry leader in pricing sophistication, telematics, and, more recently, device and identity protection.

We are seeking a Lead Threat Hunter to lead hypothesis-driven, intelligence-led hunts across enterprise, cloud, and OT/IoT environments. This role proactively identifies adversary tradecraft that evades existing detections, operationalizes findings into durable detection logic, and partners with Threat Intelligence, Detection Engineering, IR, Exposure Management, and REM to reduce dwell time and shrink the enterprise exposure plane. The hunter will leverage MITRE ATT&CK, the Pyramid of Pain, and the Diamond Model to drive measurable risk reduction.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead hypothesis-driven, intelligence-led hunt campaigns from formulation through reporting, mapped to MITRE ATT&CK Design and execute custom analytics against large-scale security telemetry (SIEM, EDR/XDR, identity, cloud, network) to uncover adversary tradecraft that evades existing detections.
• Perform identity-centric hunting across Entra ID, Active Directory, and SaaS platforms - token theft, session hijacking, MFA bypass, OAuth abuse, and conditional access circumvention.
• Conduct cloud-native hunting across AWS, Azure, M365, and SaaS control planes, including audit logs, identity events, and workload telemetry.
• Convert hunt findings into durable detections, signatures, and SOAR playbooks in partnership with Detection Engineering, closing the hunt-to-detect loop.
• Perform Deception Operations by defining adversary-aligned use cases, authoring detection requirements for deception-generated activity, and tuning signal vs. noise thresholds.
• Leverage AI and LLM-assisted tooling to accelerate hunting - including query generation, log summarization, entity pivoting, anomaly clustering, and large-scale pattern discovery across disparate telemetry sources.
• Hunt within AI and LLM environments - including enterprise copilots, internal/external LLM deployments, AI agents, RAG pipelines, model endpoints, and AI/ML infrastructure - for threats such as prompt injection, model abuse, data exfiltration via AI channels, agent hijacking, supply-chain compromise of models, and unauthorized model access.
• Produce post-hunt reports with explicit evidence and measurable outcomes tied to exposure reduction.
• Partner with Threat Intelligence to operationalize finished intel into targeted hunt missions and feed collection requirements upstream.
• Support purple team exercises and validate detection efficacy against adversary emulation campaigns (Atomic Red Team, CALDERA, Stratus Red Team).
• Develop and maintain custom tooling and automation to support hunting, investigation, and analyst efficiency.
• Mentor junior hunters; contribute to internal knowledge bases, hunt libraries, and team training.
• Support Incident Response, Forensics, and Insider Threat/Fraud investigations as a senior technical resource when adversary expertise is needed.
• Serve as a liaison for Threat Services across Cyber Operations, communicating findings clearly to technical peers and executive leadership.
• Identify needs, drive solutions, and operate autonomously within strategic priorities.
• Identify visibility and telemetry gaps discovered during hunts and partner with engineering teams to improve enterprise collection coverage.
• Develop behavioral, anomaly-based, and baseline-deviation hunt methodologies beyond known ATT&CK tradecraft.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in security operations with 4+ of those years dedicated to threat hunting
• Deep experience hunting in large, complex enterprise environments
• Demonstrable experience executing MITRE ATT&CK-aligned hunts with documented outcomes and detection handoffs
• Hands-on experience with modern SIEM (Splunk, Sentinel, Elastic) and EDR/XDR (CrowdStrike, Defender, SentinelOne, Tanium)
• Demonstrated experience using AI/LLM-assisted tooling (e.g., Security Copilot, custom GPTs, agentic workflows, embeddings-based analytics) to accelerate hunting, triage, and analytic development.
• Working knowledge of hunting in AI/LLM environments - familiarity with the MITRE ATLAS framework, OWASP Top 10 for LLM Applications, and common AI-specific threats (prompt injection, model theft, training data poisoning, agent abuse, sensitive data leakage through AI channels)
• Working knowledge of threat intelligence frameworks: Diamond Model, Kill Chain, and the Pyramid of Pain
• Strong scripting and automation skills in Python, PowerShell, GO, and/or Bash
• Deep understanding of common network and application stack protocols: TCP/IP, DNS, TLS, HTTP, SMTP, etc.
• Experience with signature and analytic development: CQL/KQL/SPL analytics, Sigma, YARA, Snort/Suricata
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with a research mindset and a passion for puzzles
• Strong written and verbal communication, including the ability to produce executive-ready summaries of technical findings
• Demonstrated leadership and mentorship capability
• Strong motivation to understand and train in new technologies, techniques, and a self-starter
• Demonstrated ownership of end-to‑end hunting programs, including hypothesis generation, data source evaluation, hunt execution, findings analysis, stakeholder communication, and measurement of outcomes

Desirable Criteria

• Proficiency in KQL/CQL/SPL; comfortable building complex queries and analytics across large datasets
• Experience hunting in cloud environments (AWS, Azure, M365) using native telemetry such as CloudTrail, Azure Activity, M365 Unified Audit Log, and identity provider logs
• Adversary emulation experience using Atomic Red Team, CALDERA, Stratus Red Team, or equivalent
• Recent experience with malware analysis and reverse engineering
• Hands‑on experience securing or hunting within AI/ML pipelines, model registries, vector databases, and agentic systems
• Hands‑on experience with vulnerability research, penetration testing, or exploit development (offensive mindset)
• Experience with container and Kubernetes security telemetry (Falco, runtime security, cloud workload protection)
• Experience consuming deception technology outputs as a hunting data source
• Familiarity with threat hunting maturity models (e.g., Hunting Maturity Model - HMM) and capability of advancing program maturity
• Experience with insider threat or fraud‑adjacent hunting use cases
• Published research, conference talks, CTF participation, or contributions to open‑source detection content (Sigma rules, Atomic Red Team, hunt libraries)
• Familiarity with OT/ICS or IoT environments
• Relevant certifications such as: GIAC: GCTD, GCTI, GCFA, GCFE, GNFA, GREM, GDAT, GCIA
• Offensive: OSCP, OSCE, CRTO
• Cloud: AWS Security Specialty, AZ-500, SC-200
• AI Security: AI/ML security certifications, MITRE ATLAS training, AI red‑team credentials
• Foundational: CISSP, CEH
• Tool‑specific certifications in Splunk, Sentinel, CrowdStrike, or similar platforms

Skills

• Analytical Research
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Cybersecurity Operations
• Cyber Threat Hunting
• Cyber Threat Intelligence
• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
• IT Automation
• Large Language Models (LLMs)
• Mentorship
• MITRE ATT&CK Framework
• Project Leadership
• Scripting
• Security Incident Response
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Compensation

Compensation offered for this role is $120,000 - 175,000 annually and is based on experience and qualifications.

The candidate(s) offered this position will be required to submit to a background investigation.

Joining our team isn’t just a job — it’s an opportunity. One that takes your skills and pushes them to the next level. One that encourages you to challenge the status quo. One where you can shape the future of protection while supporting causes that mean the most to you. Joining our team means being part of something bigger – a winning team making a meaningful impact.

Allstate generally does not sponsor individuals for employment‑based visas for this position.

Effective July 1, 2014, under Indiana House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1242, it is against public policy of the State of Indiana and a discriminatory practice for an employer to discriminate against a prospective employee on the basis of status as a veteran by refusing to employ an applicant on the basis that they are a veteran of the armed forces of the United States, a member of the Indiana National Guard or a reserve component.

This poster provides information concerning the laws and procedures for filing complaints of violations of the laws with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

It is the Company’s policy to employ the best qualified individuals available for all jobs. Therefore, any discriminatory action taken on account of an employee’s ancestry, age, color, disability, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual and reproductive health decision, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, race (include traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles), religion (including religious dress), sex, or sexual orientation that adversely affects an employee's terms or conditions of employment is prohibited. This policy applies to all aspects of the employment relationship, including, but not limited to, hiring, training, salary administration, promotion, job assignment, benefits, discipline, and separation of employment.

Allstate provides a comprehensive technology setup, including a laptop, monitors, headset, keyboard, and mouse. Employees eligible to work from home also receive a monthly connectivity reimbursement to help offset internet costs. When working from home, you must have a dedicated, private workspace free from distractions, along with appropriate desk and seating. Reliable internet is required, with minimum speeds of 50 MB download and 5 MB upload. To help create a more personal and engaging experience, we ask that you join with your camera on if your interview is virtual. Please also have a Valid Photo Identification available at the start of your interview. If you require any accommodations or have questions ahead of your interview please reach out to your recruiter. Note: Internal candidates are only asked to join on video; a Valid Photo Identification is not needed for the interview.

At Allstate, we work hard to help people live a good life every day. Allstaters are dedicated to serving clients, customers, and communities, which allows employees to find meaning and value in their work. Allstate offers an environment that fosters innovative thinking where you’ll be able to explore your ideas and feel proud of the work you do. Allstate helps protect nearly 16 million households with auto, home, life, and retirement products. We want every professional connected to Allstate to be committed to giving our customers the best and that means finding the best talent. We want you to be our next great addition.