Malware Analyst

TikTok USDS Joint Venture; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 95,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

TikTok USDS Joint Venture is seeking a Senior Analyst for the Forensics & Response team to lead complex digital investigations and incident response across endpoints, servers, mobile devices, data platforms, and cloud infrastructure.

In this role you will perform malware triage and analysis, extract indicators, support incident response, and help develop detection content while ensuring proper evidence handling and documentation.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of relevant experience in security analysis, DFIR or incident response.
• Experience with malware analysis and forensics workflows.
• Familiarity with MITRE ATT&CK framework and detection content.
• Experience with building or tuning detection content (e.g., YARA rules).

Responsibilities

• Malware triage and basic static/dynamic analysis under guidance.
• Extract indicators of compromise and document findings.
• Assist incident responders with investigations and containment.
• Support reverse engineering and escalate complex samples.
• Research malware families and assist with detection content and artefacts.

Skills

Malware triage

DFIR

MITRE ATT&CK

YARA

Scripting

Tools

Disassemblers

Debuggers

Sample analysis tools

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