Threat Hunting Researcher (Unit 42)

Palo Alto Networks; California; Remote; USD 117,000 - 189,000; Full time

Job summary

Palo Alto Networks is seeking a Threat Hunting Researcher within Unit 42. You will help multinational organizations stay ahead of adversaries by conducting core threat hunting, investigating leads from IOCs, threat intel, and detections.

You will guide customers through urgent hunting requests and respond to suspected incidents with timely escalation to leadership. You will collaborate with MDR teams, produce hunting reports, and contribute to ongoing improvement of detections and workflows

Qualifications

• 3+ years of cybersecurity experience in threat hunting, incident investigation, SOC analysis, DFIR or MDR.
• Strong understanding of evolving threat landscape, attack tools, techniques and networking basics.
• Experience investigating suspicious activity, security incidents, or targeted threats across endpoints, networks, identity and cloud.
• Ability to work independently and elevate findings for review.
• Experience handling customer-facing security requests with clear communication and summaries.
• Understanding attacker behaviors including vectors, execution, persistence, privilege escalation, lateral movement and exfiltration.
• Background in writing or executing detections, hunting queries or log-based investigations.
• Familiarity with protective tools, response actions and remediation techniques.
• Excellent written and oral English communication with attention to investigation logic.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a critical line of defense by providing coverage for core threat hunting activities.
• Collaborate with and guide customers by responding to urgent hunting-related requests and suspected security incidents.
• Execute threat hunting reports and workflows, investigate results, and support timely customer reporting.
• Investigate hunting leads based on IOCs, threat intelligence, and internal detections.
• Monitor the threat landscape and prepare initial context for emerging campaigns for deeper investigations.
• Ensure timely escalation of major or high-impact security events to leadership.
• Provide support to the MDR team for hunting-related activities.
• Provide ongoing feedback on findings, reports, queries, and workflows to support continuous improvement.

Skills

3+ years cybersecurity experience

Threat hunting

Incident investigation

SOC analysis

Detection engineering

DFIR

MDR

Customer-facing security requests

Investigation reporting

Written/oral English communication

Understanding attacker behaviors

Tools

Python

SQL

Job description

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks®, we’re united by a shared mission—to protect our digital way of life. We thrive at the intersection of innovation and impact, solving real-world problems with cutting-edge technology and bold thinking. Here, everyone has a voice, and every idea counts. If you’re ready to do the most meaningful work of your career alongside people who are just as passionate as you are, you’re in the right place.

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks®, we’re united by a shared mission—to protect our digital way of life. We thrive at the intersection of innovation and impact, solving real-world problems with cutting-edge technology and bold thinking. Here, everyone has a voice, and every idea counts. If you’re ready to do the most meaningful work of your career alongside people who are just as passionate as you are, you’re in the right place.

Who We Are

In order to be the cybersecurity partner of choice, we must trailblaze the path and shape the future of our industry. This is something our employees work at each day and is defined by our values: Disruption, Collaboration, Execution, Integrity, and Inclusion. We weave AI into the fabric of everything we do and use it to augment the impact every individual can have. If you are passionate about solving real-world problems and ideating beside the best and the brightest, we invite you to join us!

This role is remote, but distance is no barrier to impact. Our hybrid teams collaborate across geographies to solve big problems, stay close to our customers, and grow together. You will be part of a culture that values trust, accountability, and shared success where your work truly matters.

Job Summary

As a Threat Hunting Researcher in Unit 42, you will help multinational organizations stay one step ahead of adversaries and cyber threats. You will serve as a critical line of defense by providing coverage for core threat hunting activities and investigating hunting leads based on IOCs, threat intelligence, and internal detections. By collaborating with and guiding customers through urgent hunting-related requests, you will play a vital role in responding to suspected security incidents and ensuring timely escalation of high-impact events.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as a critical line of defense by providing coverage for core threat hunting activities.
• Collaborate with and guide customers by responding to urgent hunting-related requests and suspected security incidents.
• Execute threat hunting reports and workflows, investigate results, and support timely customer reporting.
• Investigate hunting leads based on IOCs, threat intelligence, and internal detections.
• Monitor the threat landscape and prepare initial context for emerging campaigns to enable deeper investigations.
• Ensure timely and appropriate escalation of major or high-impact security events to leadership.
• Provide support and assistance to the Managed Detection and Response (MDR) team for hunting-related activities.
• Provide ongoing feedback on findings, reports, queries, and workflows to support continuous improvement.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• 3+ years of relevant cybersecurity experience in threat hunting, incident investigation, SOC analysis, detection engineering, DFIR, or MDR.
• Strong understanding of the evolving threat landscape, attack tools, tactics, techniques, and networking/security fundamentals.
• Experience investigating suspicious activity, security incidents, or targeted threats across endpoints, networks, identity, and cloud.
• Ability to work independently, make sound investigative decisions, and elevate findings requiring additional review.
• Experience handling customer‑facing security requests, including clear written communication, investigation summaries, and recommendations.
• Understanding of attacker behaviors, including attack vectors, execution, persistence, privilege escalation, lateral movement, and exfiltration.
• Background in writing, modifying, or executing detections, hunting queries, or log‑based investigations.
• Familiarity with organizational cybersecurity measures, including protective tools, response actions, and remediation techniques.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, with strong attention to detail for documenting investigation logic.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in an Incident Response environment.
• Proficiency in Python and SQL.
• Familiarity with malware analysis.
• Experience writing technical reports, investigation summaries, or customer‑facing security analysis.
• Ability to analyze and understand the infrastructure, behaviors, and objectives of malicious campaigns.

Compensation Disclosure

The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and work location. For candidates who receive an offer at the posted level, the starting base salary (for non-sales roles) or base salary + commission target (for sales/com‑missioned roles) is expected to be the annual range listed below. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.

$117,000.00 - $189,200.00/yr

Our Commitment

We’re trailblazers that dream big, take risks, and challenge cybersecurity’s status quo. It’s simple: we can’t accomplish our mission without diverse teams innovating, together.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with a disability. If you require assistance or accommodation due to a disability or special need, please contact us at [e-mail].

Palo Alto Networks is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity in our workplace, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or other legally protected characteristics.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship? No. Please note that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.