Senior Threat Researcher, FTR

Trend Micro

About The Position

TrendAI's Forward Looking Threat Research team (FTR) is a global team of Senior Researchers tasked with "Scouting the Future of Threats" — looking at the next 1–3 years of likely future risk in security. We research the cutting edge of cybercriminal techniques and business models today (Underground, Targeted Attacks, Threat Actor tracking), how attackers actually get in, move, and stay hidden, and what technologies are emerging now and in the near future, and how both attackers and defenders will adapt to them. We are looking for a Senior Threat Researcher who has stood on both sides of the intrusion — someone who has either broken into networks as part of a red team, or hunted and tracked the people who do it for real, and who understands the other discipline well enough to speak its language fluently. The primary goal of our research is not to hunt for vulnerabilities in isolation, but to demonstrate and showcase real-world business impact of attacker tradecraft, of cybercrime business models, and of the gaps between how defenders think attackers behave and how they actually behave. Findings feed directly into research publications, threat actor tracking, and product/mitigation proposals.

Requirements

6+ years of experience in at least one of the following, with meaningful working exposure to the other: Offensive security / red teaming — adversary emulation, attack path development, breach-and-attack simulation, or offensive tooling development OR Threat investigation / threat hunting, specifically involving tracking and profiling real-world cyber threat actors (APT, cybercrime, or both)
Demonstrated ability to think and operate on both sides of the intrusion lifecycle — you don't need to be equally deep in both, but you need to have done real work in both and be conversant enough to design research that crosses the line between them
A "hacker mentality": the ability to quickly identify security weaknesses in design, architecture, process, and implementation — and equally, the instinct to ask "how would a defender ever catch this?"
Practical AI usage on automating tasks, connecting data sets, and unique use cases to achieve efficiency, speed, and scale
Strong understanding of the MITRE ATT&CK framework and adversary tradecraft mapping, from either the attacking or the detection side
Track record of independent research — self-directed, curious, comfortable operating with ambiguity and limited prior art.
Comfortable working in a globally distributed team spanning multiple time zones
Willing to travel regularly for global team meetings and conferences
Able to work independently on long-horizon research with limited day-to-day oversight, while staying connected to a distributed squad.
Candidates must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship, both currently and moving forward. The company will not sponsor applicants for U.S. work visa status for this role (including, but not limited to, H-1B, L-1, TN, O-1, E-3, H-1B1, F-1, J-1, OPT, CPT, or any other employment-based visa).

Nice To Haves

Prior published research, conference talks, or CTF/competition track record
Experience with underground/deep web research, malware analysis, or cybercrime business model research
Familiarity with emerging technology risk areas: AI/LLM security, cloud/OT/IoT, blockchain/Web3, mobile, or automotive
Bachelor's degree or higher in Computer Science, Electronics/Communication Engineering, Physics, or a related discipline — or a strong self-taught, proven skillset and equivalent hands-on experience. We hire capability first.

Responsibilities

Research and profile cyber threat actors: their tradecraft, infrastructure, motivations, and business models, with the rigor of someone who has actually tracked a campaign end to end
Translate hands-on offensive findings into defensive research: detection opportunities, hunting hypotheses, and mitigation guidance that a blue team can act on
Publish external-facing research (blogs, whitepapers, conference talks) that moves the industry's understanding forward. FTR researchers regularly present at BlackHat, FIRST, HITB, and RSA
Partner with Law Enforcement (Interpol, Europol, FBI, NCA, and others) where research surfaces actionable intelligence
Represent TrendAI at external conferences, as an attendee or speaker
Work cross-functionally with product and detection engineering teams to turn research into (product) ideas and mitigation proposals

Benefits

Competitive compensation with bonus opportunity tied to company performance
Room to enhance your skills through ongoing learning and broad technological opportunities
Achieving work-life balance is a priority
Team activities, fostering an environment rooted in equity, inclusion, and collaboration
Comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance
Life insurance
Short & Long Term Disability
Pre-partum, maternity, parental and medical leave
Mental Health Wellness Program
Adoption Assistance
Wellness Incentive
Pet Insurance
401(k) with company match
Paid Time Off
14 Annual Holidays
Tuition Assistance
Employee Resource Groups