About the Role
Palo Alto Networks® is seeking a Senior Threat Hunting Researcher to join our Unit 42 Managed Services team. In this role, you will proactively hunt for threats, malware, and suspicious activity across diverse datasets to protect organizations from cyberattacks. As a Senior Threat Hunting Researcher, you’ll work closely with Incident Response, Threat Intelligence, and cybersecurity leadership teams, helping customers improve defenses and stay ahead of evolving threats. This role blends advanced research, hands-on technical skills, and collaboration to drive meaningful impact in the cybersecurity landscape.
Why Join as a Senior Threat Hunting Researcher
As a Senior Threat Hunting Researcher, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping the future of cybersecurity. You’ll analyze malware, advanced persistent threats (APTs), and cybercrime operations while providing actionable insights to customers and internal teams. This is a unique opportunity to apply your expertise in threat detection and help organizations proactively defend against attacks.
Key Responsibilities
-
Conduct proactive threat hunting across networks, endpoints, cloud, and third-party data sources.
-
Investigate malware, APTs, and other sophisticated cyber threats.
-
Collaborate with Incident Response, Threat Intelligence, and customer teams to share findings and coordinate defenses.
-
Develop and execute new hunting methodologies, hypotheses, and queries.
-
Analyze malicious campaigns to identify root causes and threat actor techniques.
-
Create detailed reports, blog posts, and technical documentation on threat findings.
-
Use Python, SQL, and reverse engineering tools to support advanced research efforts.
Qualifications & Skills
-
6+ years in cybersecurity research, threat hunting, or incident response, with experience in APTs or cybercrime investigations.
-
Deep understanding of attack tools, tactics, and techniques, including lateral movement, persistence, and data exfiltration.
-
Strong networking and security fundamentals.
-
Experience writing detections, hunting queries, and analyzing malware behavior.
-
Excellent communication, documentation, and presentation skills.
-
Self-starter with the ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.
-
Proficiency in Python, SQL, and familiarity with reverse engineering is a plus.
What You’ll Gain
-
Exposure to cutting-edge cybersecurity research and tools.
-
Opportunities to influence industry practices and share knowledge with a global community.
-
Hands-on experience across network, endpoint, cloud, and third-party threat datasets.
-
Collaborative environment with world-class experts in threat hunting and cybersecurity.
-
Competitive compensation: $128K–$209K base, plus bonuses and potential stock units.
About Palo Alto Networks
At Palo Alto Networks®, our mission is to be the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life. We value disruptive innovation, collaboration, integrity, and inclusion. Our employees enjoy personalized learning, FLEXBenefits wellbeing accounts, and resources supporting mental and financial health. Joining our team means working with some of the brightest minds in cybersecurity to make the digital world safer.