Malware Analyst

TikTok USDS Joint Venture; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 89,000 - 176,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits

401(k) with company match

Paid parental leave

Disability coverage

Life insurance

Wellbeing benefits

Paid time off

Job summary

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is seeking a Senior Analyst to lead DFIR investigations across endpoints, servers, mobile devices, data platforms and cloud infrastructure. You will triage, analyze artifacts, and document findings to drive containment and response.

Join a team that collaborates with Security, Legal, HR, IT, and Engineering to mitigate insider threats and protect people, data, and systems. On-site in Washington, DC with a strong emphasis on process and evidence handling.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of malware analysis, cybersecurity operations, digital forensics, or incident response experience.
• Foundational understanding of Windows and Linux OS, processes, services, file systems, permissions, and persistence mechanisms.
• Basic scripting in Python, PowerShell, Bash, or JavaScript.
• Ability to document findings clearly and communicate with technical and nontechnical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead forensic investigations across endpoints, servers, mobile devices, data platforms and cloud infrastructure.
• Triage and analyze suspicious files and artifacts; extract indicators of compromise.
• Support incident response with analysis of endpoint and network activity and maintain investigation notes.
• Develop basic scripts for triage, data enrichment, and repetitive analysis tasks.
• Map observed behavior to MITRE ATT&CK and assist in creating detection content.

Skills

Malware analysis

Digital forensics

Incident response

Windows

Linux

Python

PowerShell

Education

Bachelor's degree in cybersecurity, computer science, digital forensics, or related field

Security+ or equivalent certifications

Tools

Ghidra

IDA Free

x64dbg

Process Monitor

Wireshark

Job description

Responsibilities

About the Team The USDS JV Threat Detection and Response team is responsible for protecting TikTok’s people, data, and systems from threats that originate within the organization. We partner across Security, Legal, HR, IT, and Engineering to detect, investigate, and mitigate insider risks ranging from data exfiltration and policy violations to fraud and unauthorized access.

About the Role As a Senior Analyst on the USJV Forensics & Response team, you will be at the forefront of our organization's digital investigations and incident response (DFIR) efforts. In this critical position, you will lead complex forensic investigations across a diverse technical landscape, including enterprise endpoints, servers, mobile devices, data platforms, and cloud infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Malware Triage & Analysis: Perform initial triage and basic static and dynamic analysis of suspicious files, scripts, and executables under the guidance of senior analysts to identify malicious capabilities and behavior.
• Artifact & Indicator Extraction: Extract and validate indicators of compromise, including file hashes, domains, IP addresses, URLs, registry changes, and persistence mechanisms to support investigations and detection.
• Incident Investigation Support: Assist incident responders by analyzing suspicious artifacts, reviewing endpoint and network activity, and documenting findings relevant to incident scope and containment.
• Reverse Engineering Support: Use disassemblers, debuggers, and script analysis tools to investigate basic program logic, encoded content, and execution flows. Escalate complex samples for advanced analysis.
• Threat Intelligence & Detection Support: Research malware families and related techniques, map observed behavior to MITRE ATT&CK, and assist with developing and validating YARA rules and other detection content.
• Evidence Handling & Preservation: Collect, label, hash, and securely store malware samples and related evidence in accordance with evidence handling, chain-of-custody, and data protection procedures.
• Reporting & Documentation: Prepare clear analysis reports describing methods, observed behavior, indicators, limitations, and recommended the next steps. Maintain accurate investigation notes and sample records.
• Lab & Tool Maintenance: Assist with maintaining isolated analysis environments, virtual machines, snapshots, and analysis tools. Follow approved procedures for safely handling and executing malware.
• Scripting & Automation: Develop and maintain basic scripts for sample triage, indicator extraction, data enrichment, and repetitive analysis tasks with guidance and code review.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications 2+ years of relevant experience in malware analysis, cybersecurity operations, digital forensics, or incident response. Relevant internships, coursework, independent projects, and practical lab experience may satisfy this requirement.

Foundational understanding of Windows and Linux operating systems, including processes, services, file systems, permissions, and common persistence mechanisms. Basic understanding of networking concepts and protocols, including TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP, and TLS.

Familiarity with static and dynamic analysis concepts, including file identification, hashing, strings extraction, and behavioral monitoring. Ability to read and modify basic scripts in Python, PowerShell, Bash, or JavaScript.

Ability to document technical findings clearly, distinguish observed facts from assumptions, and communicate results to technical and nontechnical stakeholders. Understanding of safe malware handling and isolated analysis practices, with the ability to follow established procedures and recognize when to seek assistance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hands‑on exposure to malware analysis tools such as Ghidra, IDA Free, x64dbg, Process Monitor, Wireshark, or equivalent tools. Familiarity with executable file formats, particularly Windows Portable Executable (PE) files, and introductory knowledge of x86/x64 assembly.
• Exposure to analyzing malicious scripts, phishing attachments, or document-based threats, including encoded or obfuscated content. Experience creating basic YARA rules or using detection rules to identify suspicious files and behavior.
• Familiarity with MITRE ATT&CK and researching malware families through approved threat intelligence sources. Exposure to endpoint detection and response tools, sandbox reports, memory analysis, or network traffic analysis.
• Experience using Git and scripting to automate analysis or organize technical work. Bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, computer science, digital forensics, or a related field; or equivalent practical experience and training. Relevant certifications such as Security+, GFACT, GCIH, GREM, or equivalent.

About USDS

TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC is dedicated to the safety and security of millions of Americans who create, discover, and connect with what they love on the apps we operate. The Joint Venture has been established in compliance with the Executive Order signed by President Trump on September 25, 2025. Our foundation is a comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program we operate under defined safeguards to protect national security and secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm. We safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem, holding decision‑making authority for trust and safety policies and moderation. USDS Joint Venture helps ensure Americans can continue to express their creativity, discover new hobbies and interests, and build thriving communities and businesses on a global scale.

On‑site presence across teams allows the company to operate with greater speed, alignment, and agility — especially in areas like real‑time decision‑making, team development, and integrated execution. As such, the company is shifting from a hybrid work model to a fully in‑person schedule up to 5 days a week.

Why Join Us

Inspiring creativity is at the core of TikTok's mission. Our innovative product is built to help people authentically express themselves, discover and connect – and our global, diverse teams make that possible. Together, we create value for our communities, inspire creativity and bring joy - a mission we work towards every day.

We strive to do great things with great people. We lead with curiosity, humility, and a desire to make impact in a rapidly growing tech company. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and innovate as one team. We're resilient and embrace challenges as they come. By constantly iterating and fostering an "Always Day 1" mindset, we achieve meaningful breakthroughs for ourselves, our company, and our users. When we create and grow together, the possibilities are limitless. Join us.

Diversity & Inclusion

TikTok is committed to creating an inclusive space where employees are valued for their skills, experiences, and unique perspectives. Our platform connects people from across the globe and so does our workplace. At TikTok, our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. To achieve that goal, we are committed to celebrating our diverse voices and to creating an environment that reflects the many communities we reach. We are passionate about this and hope you are too.

USDS Reasonable Accommodation

USDS is committed to providing reasonable accommodations in our recruitment processes for candidates with disabilities, pregnancy, sincerely held religious beliefs or other reasons protected by applicable laws. If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at https://tinyurl.com/USDS-RA

Job Information

【For Pay Transparency】 Compensation Description (Annually) - Washington, DC

The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $ 88920 - $ 176400 annually.

Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate’s qualifications, skills, competencies and experience, and location. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work, and this role may be eligible for additional discretionary bonuses/incentives, and restricted stock units.

Benefits may vary depending on the nature of employment and the country work location. Employees have day one access to medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) savings plan with company match, paid parental leave, short‑term and long‑term disability coverage, life insurance, wellbeing benefits, among others. Employees also receive 10 paid holidays per year, 10 paid sick days per year and 17 days of Paid Personal Time (prorated upon hire with increasing accruals by tenure).

The Company reserves the right to modify or change these benefits programs at any time, with or without notice.