Principal Threat Researcher - AI-Driven Defense Architect

Zscaler; Santa Clara (CA); Remote; USD 172,000 - 245,000; Full time

Job summary

Zscaler is recruiting a Principal Threat Researcher for a remote role reporting to the Manager Threat Research. You will serve as the definitive subject matter expert on adversary behavior across Endpoint and Cloud environments, translating complex threat research into concrete, scalable detection recommendations to guide engineering and product strategy.

You will dissect, replicate, and outmaneuver sophisticated cyber attack techniques, prioritizing robust protection for our customers and

Qualifications

• 12+ years of security research with actionable outcomes.
• Extensive security expertise in at least one operating system alongside experience with commercial EDR platforms.
• Security experience in at least one cloud service provider (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure), cloud architectures, and cloud-based detection platforms.
• Software development experience in at least one scripting language (PowerShell, Python) and one compiled language (C, C++, Rust, Go).
• Experience managing code with version control systems like git/GitHub.

Responsibilities

• Scope and continuously refine research initiatives, applying an adversarial mindset to analyze emerging attack techniques, customer impact, and detection data sources across at least one operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux) and major Cloud/SaaS providers like AWS, Microsoft 365, and Okta
• Dive deep into the technical components and detection optics underlying specific threats to fully comprehend how adversaries control and manipulate variations of a given technique
• Leverage your endpoint and cloud expertise to engineer automated attack code, write test code to validate threat coverage, and develop proofs of concept for new detections.
• Collaborate across Zscaler to develop new detection methodologies and engineering recommendations, working closely with detection engineers, intelligence analysts, and threat hunters to prioritize and refine deliverables
• Document and present your research findings and operational deliverables in an accessible, actionable manner to internal and external audiences, while serving as a technical mentor for more junior team members and colleagues pursuing research

Skills

AI/ML basics

Security research

OS expertise

Cloud security

Scripting languages

Git/GitHub

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Tools

PowerShell

Python

C

C++

Rust

Go

Git/GitHub

Job description

Zscaler is recruiting a Principal Threat Researcher for a remote role reporting to the Manager Threat Research. You will serve as the definitive subject matter expert on adversary behavior across Endpoint and Cloud environments, translating complex threat research into concrete, scalable detection recommendations to guide engineering and product strategy.

You will dissect, replicate, and outmaneuver sophisticated cyber attack techniques, prioritizing robust protection for our customers and