Senior Security Researcher

Vectra•San Jose, MA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Vectra AI’s Security Research Team represents the core security knowledge and research capability within the company, primarily tasked with powering leading-edge technologies and aiding customers. As a member of the Vectra AI Security Research team, you will be part of a highly experienced organization and a respected authority on security threats and attack techniques. Serving in the role of Sr. Security Researcher, you will have a direct impact on the direction of the company by researching threats, understanding how they appear on the network and in the cloud, and helping to technically shape the product direction. Some of the specific responsibilities include: Perform leading-edge security research for network-based threats – systems analysis, APT threat modeling, tools assessment, network/protocol analysis, etc. Working directly with our Data Science teams, developing detection capabilities which will be incorporated into the product. Participate in on-going efficacy testing of our detection capabilities, producing gap analyses, attack samples, remediation recommendations, and document findings for broad use across the company. Vectra offers the opportunity to be on the leading edge of cyber security – helping us grow a world-renowned security research organization. As the researcher tasked with inventing and improving security detection technologies, you will be an integral part of our success. When not working on new detection technologies, as a security researcher, you are expected to research new security topics, engage in bug-hunts, develop new tactics and techniques relevant to our product areas, and contribute to the community in a way that helps grow both your personal and company brands.

Requirements

Passion for cyber security
5+ years of attack and penetration testing experience in a network environment; or 5+ years direct experience in areas of security research, malware analysis, or incident response
Knowledge of corporate security investigation and incident response processes, along with malware detection and mitigation technologies
Solid programming skills with scripting languages such as Python
Strong problem solving, troubleshooting and analysis skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Excellent inter-personal and teamwork skills
Proactive, hard-working team player with a good sense of humor
Self-driven, able to efficiently work remotely without close supervision
Attack simulation experience; Knowledgeable of the Tools, Techniques, and Procedures of advanced threat actors
Proficiency with common attacker and red team tools and frameworks: Cobalt Strike, Metasploit, Empire, Mimikatz, impacket, CrackMapExec, etc.
Ability to realistically recreate advanced threat actor TTPs within controlled environments
Network experience: Knowledgeable in network and application protocols, and traffic analysis (network forensics)
Proficiency with network traffic analysis and network forensics tools such as Wireshark and tcpdump
Proficiency with host forensics and memory analysis tools to study advanced threat actor activities
Strong knowledge of networking and network application concepts: TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, TLS, FTP, RPC, DNS, SMB, Kerberos, etc.

Nice To Haves

Professional or academic research in advanced security threats
Operational experience in infosec as an incident handler/responder, red teamer, administrator, or internal consultant
Experience with big data technologies
Participation in the broader infosec community with requisite contacts and access to external intelligence sources
Understanding the lifecycle and economics of modern malware and advanced threats

Responsibilities

Research and understand attacker TTPs to remain current as a subject matter expert within Vectra
Research new threat detection technologies and investigate innovative approaches to finding attackers operating within customer environments
Collaborate across Vectra to identify, research, and develop new detection models – working hand-in-hand with members of data science, consulting services, and other product teams
Replicate attacker techniques and tooling to produce samples for use during detection development and for detection validation and gap identification
Pursue security research topics that contribute to the knowledge and enumeration of new threats, tactics, and techniques in network, cloud, and hybrid environments
Provide an attackers-eye-view to the evidence presented by Vectra products and educate customers to the technical nature of the threat