Research Scientist

Cogent Security; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Cogent Security is seeking a Research Scientist in San Francisco to conduct high-impact research in automated reasoning and AI-driven security. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in static/dynamic analysis and a strong publication record in top-tier conferences. The position offers a standard base salary ranging from $100,000 to $300,000 annually, depending on experience and other factors. Join a diverse team aiming to make the world's infrastructure safer through innovative AI techniques.

Qualifications

• Deep hands-on experience in automated reasoning.
• Proven experience in applying AI/ML techniques to code problems.
• Demonstrated impact through publications or significant artifacts.

Responsibilities

• Drive original research in automated reasoning and AI security.
• Develop research artifacts that impact Cogent and the research community.
• Collaborate with engineering to translate research into AI solutions.

Skills

Automated reasoning

Code analysis

AI/ML techniques

Static/dynamic analysis

Formal verification

Education

MSc or PhD in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Terraform

Pulumi

CDK

Job description

About Cogent Security

Cogent is an Applied AI Lab building the next generation of AI agents for cybersecurity. AI has fundamentally changed how attacks happen, allowing malicious actors to operate at unprecedented speed and scale. Cogent’s "AI Taskforce" assesses petabytes of enterprise data to remediate these issues before critical breaches occur.

To stay at the cutting edge, we blend frontier research with real-world execution. Alongside our core product work, Cogent Research serves as our applied AI lab, providing the research horsepower needed to make truly agentic security workflows a reality.

Since coming out of stealth, Cogent has experienced rapid growth. We partner with Fortune 500 companies to secure some of the most complex production environments in the world.

We’re backed by Greylock and we’ve built a team with the best minds in applied AI. Our team is comprised of people from:

• Top universities like Stanford, Berkeley, Penn, Duke, Carnegie Mellon, Waterloo

• Unicorn, high-growth companies like Scale AI, Databricks, Stripe, Tesla, Coinbase

• World class cybersecurity experts from Wiz, Abnormal AI, Zscaler

• Preeminent research labs like Deepmind and SAIL

About the Role

Cogent Research is the applied AI lab at the heart of Cogent's mission. As a Research Scientist, you will drive foundational and applied research at the frontier of automated reasoning and AI-driven code analysis — producing work that is both scientifically rigorous and directly impactful in the real world.

We are looking for someone who thrives in ambiguity, invents novel solutions when existing ones fall short, and has the flexibility to change course when initial ideas don't pan out. If you have deep expertise in automated reasoning, a strong publication or artifact track record, and a passion for making the world's infrastructure safer, we want to hear from you.

What You’ll Do & Achieve

• Drive original, high-impact research in automated reasoning, code analysis, and AI-driven security, from early hypothesis through publication-quality results
• Invent and apply novel AI techniques to challenges in code reasoning and code generation, advancing the state of the art
• Develop significant research artifacts, tools, or systems that have real-world impact inside Cogent and in the broader research community
• Design and execute automated testing and fuzzing strategies to validate systems under development
• Publish findings at top-tier conferences and peer-reviewed journals
• Collaborate with engineering and product teams to translate research into Cogent's core AI platform
• Stay at the cutting edge of developments in ML, program analysis, and formal methods — and help shape Cogent's research direction

What You’ll Bring

• Extensive Experience in Automated Reasoning: Deep hands-on expertise in static/dynamic analysis, formal verification, and/or automated testing and fuzzing
• AI Expertise: Proven experience developing or applying AI/ML techniques to code reasoning or code generation problems
• Education: An MSc or PhD/DPhil in Computer Science or a closely related technical field
• Proven Track Record: Demonstrated impact through publications at top-tier conferences, significant artifacts developed in a professional setting, or widely-adopted open-source contributions
• Independence: A highly self-directed, proactive, and self-starting attitude — you identify problems, propose solutions, and drive them to completion
• Mission Alignment: A genuine passion for Cogent's mission and a belief that this work matters

Bonus Points For:

• Experience in cybersecurity — knowledge of vulnerability classes, exploit techniques, or secure-by-design systems
• Familiarity with Cloud Infrastructure as Code (IaC) — tools like Terraform, Pulumi, CDK, or equivalent

For California Based Applicants

The standard base salary range for this position is $100,000 - $300,000 annually. Compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for variable compensation, equity, and benefits.

We are committed to building an inclusive and diverse company. We do not discriminate based on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, civil or family status, age, disability, or race.