Sr. Security Research Engineer

Job description

About Us:
We are the leader in human-centric cybersecurity.

Half a million customers, including 87 of the Fortune 100, rely on Proofpoint to protect their organizations.

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.

How We Work:
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.

**Corporate Overview**

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.

Proofpoint.

**Company Overview**

At Proofpoint, people are at the heart of our award-winning lineup of cybersecurity solutions, and the people who work here are the key to our success, and to that of our customers.

We’re customer-focused, collaborative and committed to excellence.

Through a culture of diversity, honesty and initiative, we deliver meaningful innovation that helps manage today’s biggest threats.

With opportunities in all functions, we offer many exciting reasons to join our team.

**The Role**

This highly technical role has a direct and real-time impact protecting Proofpoint customers.

As a Senior 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 in order to develop static and dynamic (behavioural) signatures that detect and prevent threats on a massive scale.

If you enjoy keeping abreast of and analysing attacker techniques, malware and phishing campaigns, and using that knowledge to counteract those threats on a broad scale, then this is the role for you.

This role has an absolute and direct impact on the efficacy of Proofpoint products, the quality of Proofpoint’s intelligence, and the protection of Proofpoint customers.

**Your day-to-day**

• Stay abreast of a constantly evolving threat landscape including the credential phishing landscape

• Analyse malware, malicious documents, and malicious URLs provided by internal and external sources

• Conduct in-depth analysis of email messages to detect and classify threats such as business email compromise (BEC), phishing, and other malicious campaigns.

• Apply critical thinking skills to identify the most efficient and effective way to mitigate the analysed threat

• Develop, test, and deploy appropriate static and/or behavioural signatures to mitigate the analysed threat

• Identify, prioritize, and fill coverage gaps for relevant threats to minimize customer impact • Be on the rotation for on-call to respond customer FN/FP escalations that cannot be addressed by customer support

• Work effectively as part of a remote team using chat, video chat and conference calls

• Work with engineering teams, defining requirements, for continuous improvement of critical detection capabilities

**What you bring to the team**

• A passion for threat research and a well-rounded yet deep understanding of the security threat landscape

• Demonstrable understanding of the malware and credential phishing landscape, TTPs, and experience overcoming bypass techniques

• Experience proactively identifying, responding to, and defending against malware and credential phishing threats in production environments

• Familiarity with browser internals and the Document Object Model

• Broad and demonstrable understanding of document formats commonly used for malicious purposes (e.g. OLE, CDFv2, PDF, OpenOffice, RTF)

• Experience parsing and analysing malicious documents

• Experience leveraging sandbox environments as an analysis tool

• Critical thinking: Able to develop high quality detection signatures based on analysis of malicious behaviour

• Experience creating YARA and/or ClamAV signatures used in production environments • Regular expression wizardry

• Intermediate-level Python experience

• Interest in learning sandbox engineering concepts and contributing ideas to extend capabilities a plus

• Interest in creating synthetic malicious samples to test capabilities a plus

• Willing and able to work independently and collaboratively as part of a distributed team of industry-leading security researchers

• A hard-working, self-directed team player fully capable of working remotely Additional Information

• Travel: 10%

• Location: Work from home in United States

• Must be able to work during business hours local to your time-zone

Why Proofpoint
Protecting people is at the heart of our award-winning lineup of cybersecurity solutions, and the people who work here are the key to our success.

We’re a customer-focused and a driven-to-win organization with leading-edge products.

We are an inclusive, diverse, multinational company that believes in culture fit, but more importantly ‘culture-add’, and we strongly encourage people from all walks of life to apply.

We believe in hiring the best and the brightest to help cultivate our culture of collaboration and appreciation.

Apply today and explore your future at Proofpoint! #LifeAtProofpoint

Why Proofpoint?

At Proofpoint, we believe that an exceptional career experience includes a comprehensive compensation and benefits package.

Here are just a few reasons you’ll love working with us:

• 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

Our Culture:

Our culture is rooted in values that inspire belonging, empower purpose and drive success-every day, for everyone.

We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.

If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to accessibility@proofpoint.com .

How to Apply Interested?

Submit your application here https://www.proofpoint.com/us/company/careers .

We can’t wait to hear from you!

Consistent with Proofpoint values and applicable law, we provide the following information to promote pay transparency and equity.

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets as set out below.

Pay within these ranges varies and depends on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

The actual offer will be based on the individual candidate.

The range provided may represent a candidate range and may not reflect the full range for an individual tenured employee.

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.

**Base Pay Ranges:**

SF Bay Area, New York City Metro Area:

Base Pay Range: 161,625.00 - 237,050.00 USD

California (excludes SF Bay Area), Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Washington DC Metro, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and Alaska:

Base Pay Range: 132,225.00 - 193,930.00 USD

All other cities and states excluding those listed above:

Base Pay Range: 120,525.00 - 176,770.00 USD

Proofpoint has been honored with six Best Places to Work Awards in 2024 by workplace culture leader Comparably, including Best Company Career Growth, Best Company Outlook, Best Global Culture, Best Engineering Teams, Best Sales Teams, and Best HR Teams.

We are the leader in human-centric cybersecurity.

Half a million customers, including 87 of the Fortune 100, rely on Proofpoint to protect their organizations.

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.

Our BRAVE Values:

At Proofpoint, we are BRAVE in everything we do, and our values aren’t just words—they shape how we work, collaborate, and grow.

We seek people who are bold enough to challenge the status quo, responsive in the face of ever-evolving threats, and accountable for delivering real impact.

We value those with a visionary mindset who anticipate what’s next and push cybersecurity forward, and we celebrate exceptional execution that ensures we continue to defend data and protect people.

Proofpoint is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability.

Find your network, your allies, and your biggest fans.

We know that work is simply better when you’re surrounded by people who inspire you—who share ideas, cheer you on, and genuinely want to see you succeed.

That’s why we offer social circles, sponsored networks, and connection points across teams and time zones—to help you find your people, build your community, and thrive together.

This isn’t just a job—it’s a mission to protect people and defend data in a world that never slows down.

We’re building the future of human-centric cybersecurity, and that future belongs to all of us.

We take ownership, move fast, and hold ourselves accountable—because that’s what it takes to stay ahead.

And we do it together, winning as one.

Be empowered to reach your full potential through meaningful challenges and personalized support—designed around you and your goals.

Whether you're growing as a leader or leveling up from great to exceptional as an individual contributor, we’re here to help you get there.
Proofpoint is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability.

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