Microsoft Corporation is actively seeking an exceptional professional to join our organization as a Senior Security Researcher within the Security Research division. Positioned at the core of Microsoft’s technological innovation, this role offers direct involvement in mission-critical engineering initiatives, planetary-scale cloud services, and next-generation product architectures.

Role Overview & Strategic Impact

As a Senior Security Researcher based in Sydney, Australia, you will play an integral role in architecting, engineering, and delivering transformative technology solutions. Operating within Microsoft’s Security Research practice, your efforts will directly shape the scalability, performance, and security of software systems and platforms trusted by billions of users worldwide.

Microsoft’s enduring mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Team members thrive within an inclusive culture grounded in a growth mindset, cross-team empathy, and uncompromising customer focus. In this position, you will collaborate with industry-leading engineers, researchers, and product leaders to solve complex technical problems at unprecedented scale.

Technical Domain: Hyperscale Cloud Architecture & Frontier AI Integration

Operating at the nexus of planetary-scale cloud infrastructure, Microsoft Azure powers the foundation for enterprise digital transformation and generative AI breakthroughs. Engineers and architects in this domain design, deploy, and optimize highly resilient, multi-region cloud services, intelligent API pipelines, and secure data topologies. Leveraging deep integrations with Azure OpenAI, foundational LLMs, and distributed microservices, team members accelerate production-grade intelligence while upholding strict standards for reliability, zero-trust security, and operational latency.

Professionals in this specialization combine strong computer science fundamentals with practical, real-world systems engineering. Whether delivering distributed microservices, designing custom silicon interconnects, managing physical datacenter infrastructure, or scaling AI-powered customer workflows, you will operate within a mature engineering ecosystem supported by Microsoft’s global technical community.

Key Responsibilities & Scope of Work

In this capacity, your daily priorities and core technical contributions will center on the following key operational deliverables:

• Investigation support. Providing threat intelligence support to proactive security research and reactive incident response engagements across both internal and customer-facing investigations.
• Attribution and actor modeling. Ingesting, modeling, attributing, and documenting intelligence collected during engagements. Owning the attribution lane while investigation partners lead forensics and customer response.
• Supporting Partner Teams: Providing attribution analysis and intelligence support to Microsoft Security partner teams investigating and responding to threats.
• Product Improvements: Ensuring observations of threat actor exploitation of Microsoft products and services translate into product improvements.
• Emerging threats. Discovering untracked clusters of activity with novel capabilities, developing them into tracked threat groups through in-depth research across the Diamond Model and multiple Microsoft telemetry sources, and helping Microsoft stay on top of the latest and newest threats.
• Briefing and delivery. Delivering threat intelligence briefings to external customers and internal stakeholders. Supporting notifications to customers regarding imminent or ongoing attacker activity.
• Feedback loop. Ensuring intelligence collected during reactive investigations— novel capabilities, infrastructure, targeting, or tradecraft — is promptly collated and surfaced back to Microsoft’s actor tracking teams in MSTIC.
• Maintain rigorous code quality, comprehensive automated test coverage, and security compliance throughout all phases of software delivery.
• Participate actively in technical design reviews, operational post-mortems, and architectural discussions across global engineering cohorts.

Candidate Profile & Experience Requirements

Candidates for the Senior Security Researcher position are evaluated based on their practical experience, technical depth, and demonstrated track record of problem-solving:

• Professional Background: Minimum of 3 years (36 months) of verified experience directly relevant to security research or related technical specializations.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or equivalent practical industry experience.
• Minimum of 3 years of verified professional experience in software engineering, technical architecture, or enterprise technology operations.
• Proven technical problem-solving capabilities, cross-team collaboration skills, and expertise with modern distributed systems or enterprise frameworks.
• Technical Competence: Demonstrated mastery of programming environments, distributed systems, modern cloud infrastructure, or specialized analytical methodologies relevant to the domain.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Strong written and verbal communication skills, with an established ability to articulate complex technical architectures clearly to engineering peers and executive stakeholders.
• Culture & Values: Demonstrated alignment with Microsoft’s core values of respect, integrity, and accountability, alongside a proactive dedication to diversity and inclusion.

Work Environment, Workplace Schedule & Location Structure

This position is designated with an official location in Sydney, Australia. Work arrangements for this role are structured as Onsite Model (Sydney, Australia). Microsoft provides modern, accessible work environments equipped with state-of-the-art developer tooling, ergonomic facilities, and collaborative hybrid infrastructure.

Compensation, Total Rewards & Comprehensive Benefits

Microsoft offers a comprehensive, highly competitive total rewards framework designed to support employees’ personal, professional, and financial well-being:

• Estimated Annual Base Salary: AUD 145,000 – AUD 240,000 per annum (exact compensation determined based on verified qualifications, technical evaluation, specialized experience, and local market benchmarks).
• Incentive & Equity Rewards: Eligibility for annual performance-based cash bonuses and Microsoft restricted stock units (RSUs).
• Comprehensive Healthcare: Premium medical, dental, and vision coverage, including mental health support programs and wellness reimbursements.
• Retirement & Financial Security: Robust 401(k) / national retirement savings plans with generous company matching contributions, alongside financial planning resources.
• Time Off & Work-Life Harmony: Generous paid time off, comprehensive parental leave programs, public holiday allowances, and caregiver leave support.
• Growth & Learning: Unlimited access to Microsoft Learn, internal technical conferences, tuition assistance, and structured career mobility pathways across worldwide business units.

Application Process & Requisition Reference

This position is actively open and monitored by Microsoft Talent Acquisition. In alignment with corporate hiring policies, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis with no rigid pre-determined closing deadline until a qualified candidate is formally selected (Open Until Filled).

To submit your application, select the Apply Now button on this listing to navigate directly to the official Microsoft Careers requisition portal. When submitting your candidacy, reference Requisition ID 200055788. Ensure your resume and supporting documentation highlight your relevant technical deliverables, system achievements, and professional qualifications.