Staff Security Research Engineer

Proofpoint is a leader in human-centric cybersecurity, protecting organizations' greatest assets against digital threats. The Staff Security Research Engineer will design and develop innovative software solutions to enhance threat detection and respond to evolving cyber threats, while collaborating closely with threat analysts and engineers.

Responsibilities

• 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. a detriment to achieving goals
• Design and develop automation pipelines to turn manual tasks into automated scripts
• Stay abreast of a constantly evolving threat landscape
• Understand the latest tactics, techniques, and procedures used by threat actors to bypass detection environments, especially URL sandbox fingerprinting / detection / evasion techniques used by threat actors
• 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)
• Apply critical thinking skills to identify the most efficient and effective way to mitigate threats and evasions
• Work effectively as part of a remote team using chat, video chat and conference calls
• Work with other engineering teams, defining requirements, for continuous improvement of critical detection capabilities

Skills

• 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. a detriment to achieving goals
• Design and develop automation pipelines to turn manual tasks into automated scripts
• Stay abreast of a constantly evolving threat landscape
• Understand the latest tactics, techniques, and procedures used by threat actors to bypass detection environments, especially URL sandbox fingerprinting / detection / evasion techniques used by threat actors
• 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)
• Apply critical thinking skills to identify the most efficient and effective way to mitigate threats and evasions
• Work effectively as part of a remote team using chat, video chat and conference calls
• Work with other engineering teams, defining requirements, for continuous improvement of critical detection capabilities
• 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, HTTP, 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
• Some experience analyzing malware using a debugger, and willingness to learn is a plus
• Experience with statically reverse engineering malware using IDA Pro, Ghidra, Binary Ninja, or other reverse engineering tools is a plus, although being an expert is not required
• Ability to accurately interpret the forensic output of dynamic analysis (sandbox) environments
• Experience with a variety of publicly-available malware sandboxes (for example Cuckoo, Joe Sandbox, Any Run, Triage, etc.)

Benefits

• Competitive compensation
• Comprehensive benefits
• 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
• Always on recognition for your contributions
• Global collaboration and networking opportunities
• 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.

Company Overview

• Proofpoint provides cloud-based email security, e-discovery, and compliance solutions for companies to protect sensitive business data. It was founded in 2002, and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, USA, with a workforce of 1001-5000 employees. Its website is http://www.proofpoint.com.

Company H1B Sponsorship

• Proofpoint has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships, with 42 in 2025, 52 in 2024, 47 in 2023, 103 in 2022, 71 in 2021, 54 in 2020. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role.