Staff Security Research Engineer

We are the leader in human-centric cybersecurity. We’re driven by a mission to stay ahead of bad actors and safeguard the digital world. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.
At Proofpoint, you’ll be part of a global team that breaks barriers to redefine cybersecurity, guided by our BRAVE core values Bold in how we dream and innovate, Responsive to feedback, challenges, and opportunities, Accountable for results and best-in-class outcomes, Visionary in future-focused problem-solving, Exceptional in execution and impact.
Proofpoint is a leading cybersecurity company protecting organizations’ greatest assets and biggest risks vulnerabilities in people. With an integrated suite of cloud-based solutions, Proofpoint helps companies around the world stop targeted threats, safeguard their data, and make their users more resilient against cyber-attacks. Leading organizations of all sizes, including more than half of the Fortune 1000, rely on Proofpoint for people-centric security and compliance solutions mitigating their most critical risks across email, the cloud, social media, and the web. We are singularly devoted to helping our customers protect their greatest assets and biggest security risk their people. That’s why we’re a leader in next-generation cybersecurity. Protection Starts with People.
Staff Security Research Engineer
Design and develop software using a variety of languages, primarily Python, with little external guidance, while providing technical leadership to guide other software engineers on the team
Some skill in modifying existing web-based UI for internal tools is needed to maintain and extend the sandbox submission and report UI for Proofpoint threat researchers to use
Some work requires skill in writing C or C++ for low level interactions with the OS
Develop and maintain web browser interaction capabilities using Chrome web driver
Analyze and Reverse Engineer JavaScript that fingerprints web browser artifacts to identify sandbox web browsers or instrumentation, and innovate solutions to defeat those checks
Familiarity with analyzing web front-end and the Document Object Model (DOM)
Develop and maintain software for processing network traffic, including TLS decryption and processing PCAP files
Work closely with threat analysts and detection engineers who research threat actors and write detection rules which run on the systems you develop
As needed, create new detection languages and systems that allow threat researchers to develop detection rules
Add features to existing threat detection languages to allow greater flexibility by threat researchers to automate interactions with websites and detect threat patterns
Make use of AI Large Language Models as appropriate to enhance threat detection pipelines, produce samples to test evasion countermeasures, and make sound decisions about when applying AI is a benefit vs. Design and develop automation pipelines to turn manual tasks into automated scripts
As needed, provide expert assistance and support to threat researchers and analysts as they analyze phishing websites, threat detection evasion techniques, and security research or red team demonstrations of new evasion techniques
As needed to support sandbox countermeasure development, reverse engineering malware executable files for Windows (note primary malware reverse engineering responsibilities rest on other job roles and are not expected regularly for this role).
Work effectively as part of a remote team using chat, video chat and conference calls
As a Security Research Engineer on Proofpoint’s Threat Research team, you’ll be part of an amazing, collaborative, industry-leading team focused on tracking threat actors, malware, phishing, and TTPs and responding to the quickly changing threat landscape with innovative software that detects and prevents threats from reaching Proofpoint customers. If you enjoy keeping abreast of and analyzing attacker techniques, malware and phishing campaigns, and using that knowledge to counteract those threats with innovative software solutions, then this is the role for you.
A passion for threat research and a well-rounded yet deep understanding of the security threat landscape and actor TTPs, especially understanding how to develop countermeasures for threat actor evasions and sandbox detection techniques
Ability to write production-grade, reliable Python code with instrumentation that supports observability and monitoring of performance and errors is required
Experience developing software using Docker containers is required
Experience developing web browser automation is required
Experience analyzing network traffic for threat detection and a solid understanding of TLS, and other network protocols used by malware is required
Willing and able to work independently and collaboratively as part of a distributed team of industry-leading security researchers
Ability to perform the above in a fully remote work environment
Experience with C and C++ is a plus
Experience developing Windows API hooks and knowing how to research undocumented Windows API internal functions is a plus
Experience writing malware behavior signatures
Ability to accurately interpret the forensic output of dynamic analysis (sandbox) environments
Travel 1% - 10% (flexible) mainly for team collaboration or security conferences
Location Canada (Remote), US (Remote), Argentina (Remote), UK (Remote), Ireland (Remote), Germany (Remote), France (Remote), Switzerland (Remote)
Must be able to work during business hours local to your time-zone
At Proofpoint, we believe that an exceptional career experience includes a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Competitive compensation
Learning & Development We are committed to the growth and development of our team members, offering a range of programs including leadership and professional development workshops, stretch project assignments, and mentoring opportunities to help employees reach their full potential.
Flexible work environment [Remote options, hybrid schedules, flexible hours, etc.].
Annual wellness and community outreach days
Global collaboration and networking opportunities
If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to accessibility@proofpoint.Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.This role may be eligible for variable compensation and/or equity. We offer a competitive benefits package, including flexible time off, a comprehensive well-being program with two paid Wellbeing Days and two paid Volunteer Days per year, plus a three-week Work from Anywhere option.