Offensive Security Consultant – Red Team & Adversary Simulation

Protiviti•Washington, DC

2d•$138,000 - $219,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Protiviti's Attack & Penetration team is growing, and we're looking for an offensive security professional who wants to do real adversary work—not checkbox testing. You'll join a team that runs red team, purple team, and threat-led engagements for organizations across nearly every industry, and you'll have the tools, lab, and backing to push the craft forward. You'll be both a trusted advisor and a hands-on operator. You'll lead engagements from scoping through executive readout, build lasting relationships with client security teams, and help them understand not just what's broken, but how a real attacker would exploit it and what to fix first. You'll also coach and develop teammates—sharing what you know and learning from them in return.

Requirements

You love offensive security and get energized by finding the path an attacker would take.
You stay current on the threat landscape—new TTPs, tooling, vulnerabilities, and how AI is changing both attack and defense.
You thrive on the puzzle of targeting an organization, chaining weaknesses together, and evading defensive controls.
You enjoy sharing what you know—coaching teammates on engagements, building training, or debating the latest technique.
You care about the client outcome and can translate technical risk into business impact that resonates with security teams and executives alike.
You're comfortable owning work end to end—scoping, execution, reporting, and readout.
You're curious about your clients' businesses and how security risk shows up in their industries.
Red & Purple Teaming: Experience running red team engagements that emulate real-world threat actors, with a strong command of TTPs and MITRE ATT&CK.
Ability to partner with SOC and detection engineering teams to improve detection and response.
Experience designing threat intel–driven scenarios, including ransomware simulations.
Hands-on experience attacking Active Directory, cloud and identity platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP, Entra ID, Okta), and CI/CD pipelines.
Proficiency with C2 frameworks (e.g., Mythic, Sliver, Cobalt Strike) and building custom tooling in languages like C#, Go, Rust, Python, or PowerShell.
Strong OpSec and experience evading EDR and other monitoring tools.
Experience performing internal and external network penetration tests, including vulnerability discovery, exploitation, and privilege escalation.
Experience testing web applications, APIs, and mobile apps, with a solid grasp of the OWASP Top 10 and tools like Burp Suite.
Ability to look past scanner output, validate findings manually, and chain issues into real attack paths.
Understanding of attacks against LLM-enabled apps and agents (e.g., prompt injection, data leakage, tool abuse) and interest in using AI to speed up offensive work.
Ability to turn technical findings into clear, actionable reports and conversations for both technical teams and executives.
Creative problem solving—finding a way forward when the obvious path is blocked.
Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline (e.g., CS, CE, IS, MIS, EE) or equivalent hands-on experience.
5+ years of hands-on offensive security experience—red teaming, penetration testing, or adversary simulation—in consulting or in-house.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including producing clear, client-ready reports and presentations.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with DORA TLPT, TIBER-EU, or CBEST is a plus.
Exploit development or reverse engineering skills are a plus.
A track record of research, tool releases, blogs, or conference involvement (e.g., Black Hat, DEF CON, BSides) is a plus.
Certifications such as OSCP, OSEP, OSWE, OSED, CRTO/CRTL, GXPN, GPEN, BSCP, or comparable SANS 600/700-level coursework are a plus.
Cloud security certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Security – Specialty, Microsoft AZ-500, Google Professional Cloud Security Engineer, CCSK) are a plus.

Responsibilities

Plan and execute red team, purple team, and threat-led penetration testing (TLPT) engagements that emulate real-world threat actors across on-prem, cloud, identity, and SaaS environments.
Test the newest attack surface, including AI/LLM-powered applications, agentic workflows, and the identity platforms that connect them.
Use and build AI-assisted tooling and automation to move faster and go deeper during operations.
Develop new tooling, design novel attacks, and contribute to a robust lab of testing tools and equipment built to tackle hundreds of adversary simulation scenarios.
Partner with defenders to turn findings into better detections, faster response, and measurable improvement.
Help shape the future of the practice—if you have an idea for a new service and there's demand for it, we'll help you build it.

Benefits

medical, dental, and vision coverages
FSA and HSA healthcare accounts
life and accident insurance
adoption and fertility assistance
paid parental leave up to 10 weeks
short/long term disability
company 401(k) savings and investment plan with an employer match of 50% on the first 6% of your contributions
Choice Time Off (CTO) for vacation, personal needs, and sick time
up to 11 paid holidays each calendar year
annual bonus plan