Principal Threat Architect, AI-Era Detection & Response

TrendMicro; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid Time Off

Job summary

TrendAI seeks a Principal Threat Architect to lead research at the frontier of AI-era threats and to design core detection-and-response capabilities for our platform. This senior individual-contributor role partners across threat intel, detection engineering, AI/ML, and platform teams to deliver durable architecture that scales beyond today.

You will study emerging threats, prototype defensive approaches, and converge open-ended research into concrete specifications for production use, while

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years in cybersecurity with depth in threat detection and response.
• Proven track record designing and delivering complex technical systems from concept through production deployment.
• Hands-on experience architecting scalable systems that integrate with security tooling and workflows.
• Familiar with AI/ML concepts and their application to threat detection, including AI-specific threats (MITRE ATT&CK).
• Experience in R&D or emerging-technologies functions and turning open-ended problems into concrete specs.
• Proficiency in Python or another production language.
• Strong written and verbal communication; legally allowed to work in the United States.

Responsibilities

• Threat & technology research; translate findings into defensive strategy.
• Architecture & capability design for scalable detection-and-response systems.
• Prototyping & experimentation to validate novel defensive approaches.
• Research-to-production bridge; transition prototypes into durable capabilities.
• Provide principal-level technical leadership on design decisions.
• Communicate complex concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.

Skills

Threat detection

Security research

Python

AI/ML concepts

System architecture

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering or equivalent

Master's in CS/ML/Security

Tools

MITRE ATT&CK

C/C++ or Rust

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. AI Fearlessly.

About the Team

Our Security Research & Development group sits at the frontier of AI-era cyber defense. We study how attackers are beginning to weaponize artificial intelligence, how AI is reshaping detection and response, and what durable capabilities defenders will need over the next several years. We are not a day-to-day operations team. Our charter is to research, prototype, and design the core capabilities that will anchor our platform and our customers' defenses for the next generation.

The Role

We are seeking a Principal Threat Architect to research the frontier of AI-era threats and defensive technologies and to design the core detection-and-response capabilities that will anchor our platform for the next several years. This is a senior individual-contributor role at the intersection of threat research and systems architecture. You will study emerging threats and newly viable technologies, prototype and validate novel defensive approaches, and converge open-ended research into durable, production-grade operational architecture. You will work across disciplines — threat intelligence, detection engineering, AI/ML, and platform engineering — to translate what you learn into foundational capabilities rather than point solutions. Success in this role means the architecture you design today is still the foundation defenders build on years from now.

Key Responsibilities

• Threat & technology research. Research the evolving AI-era threat landscape — including AI-enabled attacks and threats to AI systems themselves (e.g., prompt injection, model misuse, data leakage) — and translate findings into defensive strategy.
• Architecture & capability design. Design new threat operational architecture: scalable, robust detection-and-response systems that integrate with existing security tooling, data pipelines, and analyst workflows.
• Prototyping & experimentation. Envision, build, and validate prototypes that demonstrate the feasibility and impact of novel defensive approaches; converge open-ended research into concrete, supportable specifications.
• Research-to-production bridge. Partner with detection engineering, data science, and platform teams to transition prototypes from early-stage design into durable, production-grade capabilities.
• Technical leadership. Provide principal-level technical leadership on core design decisions and trade-offs; set direction that peers and adjacent teams build upon.
• Communication & influence. Communicate complex research and architectural direction clearly to technical and non-technical audiences, including leadership; contribute to thought leadership as appropriate.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years in cybersecurity, with demonstrable depth in threat detection and response.
• Proven track record designing and delivering complex technical systems from concept through production deployment.
• Hands-on experience architecting scalable systems that integrate with existing security tooling and operational workflows.
• Working familiarity with AI/ML concepts and their application to threat detection, prevention, or response, including awareness of AI-specific threats and frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK.
• Experience in a research, R&D, or emerging-technologies function, with a demonstrated ability to take ambiguous, open-ended problems and converge them into concrete specifications.
• Proficiency in at least one production programming language (e.g., Python).
• Strong written and verbal communication, including conveying complex technical concepts to varied audiences.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's in computer science, machine learning, or a security-related discipline.
• Direct experience with AI/ML security — securing ML/GenAI models, adversarial ML, or defending against AI-enabled attacks — aligned with frameworks such as the OWASP Top 10 for LLMs.
• Experience building or operating detection-and-response platforms (EDR / XDR / MDR, SIEM, SOAR) or agentic SOC architectures.
• Hands-on experience with large-scale data-processing systems and modern distributed architectures.
• Proficiency in systems languages such as C/C++ or Rust in addition to Python.
• Familiarity with cloud security across AWS, Azure, or GCP and with hybrid/multi-cloud environments.
• Publication, patent, or conference-presentation record in threat research or applied AI security.
• Experience within a vendor CTO office, security research lab, or comparable innovation function.

What We Offer You

You're important to us.

What matters to you, matters to us too.

TrendAI provides benefit options for you and your family.

• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Short & Long Term Disability
• Pre-partum, maternity, parental and medical leave
• Mental Health Wellness Program
• Adoption Assistance
• Wellness Incentive
• Pet Insurance
• 401(k) 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.

Legal & Diversity

TrendAI, Inc. provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees.

TrendAI does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy and childbirth or related medical conditions, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care leave status, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

TrendMicro, Inc. provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees.

TrendMicro does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy and childbirth or related medical conditions, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care leave status, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity.

This position does not offer sponsorship for work permit applications or renewals, either now or in the future. Candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship, both currently and moving forward. The company will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this role (including, but not limited to, H‑1B, L‑1, TN, O‑1, E‑3, H‑1B1, F‑1, J‑1, OPT, CPT, or any other employment-based visa).

At TrendAI, 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. TrendAI provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. TrendAI does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy and childbirth or related medical conditions, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care leave status, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, or gender identity. #LI-VC1 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 provides equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. Trend Micro does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy and childbirth or related medical conditions, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care leave status, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity.