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Principal Security Researcher – EDR (Windows)

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Remote from
USA
Salary
USD 200k–230k / yr
Department
Cybersecurity
Employment
Full Time
Experience
Senior
Published
Apply before
15 Nov 2026
Listing views
33
Application actions
3
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AI Summary

The role, at a glance.

Huntress is seeking a principal-level security researcher to advance Windows EDR detection and sensor capabilities for a remote US cybersecurity platform. The role focuses on Windows internals, kernel and driver work, endpoint telemetry, reverse engineering, EDR evasion research, and detection coverage strategy. This researcher will collaborate closely with Product, Engineering, Detection, and Threat Operations teams to operationalize high-impact security capabilities. The position also includes incident-driven investigations, technical documentation, mentoring, and external thought leadership. Practical use of AI for research, analysis, prototyping, and reusable workflows is an explicit expectation.

Role DNA

A quick view of the complexity, pace, ownership and collaboration implied by the job description.

Job Complexity

5/5
EasyHard

Pace & Pressure

4/5
RelaxedFast-paced

Autonomy Level

5/5
GuidedFull ownership

Communication Load

5/5
IndependentCollaborative
AI insightThis is a principal cybersecurity research role requiring deep expertise in Windows kernel internals, device drivers, reverse engineering, EDR bypass techniques, and detection engineering. Success also depends on independently setting technical direction while translating complex research into production capabilities and clear communications for diverse stakeholders.

Salary analysis

Estimated compensation compared with the broader US market for similar roles.

Estimated job median (per year)Market rate
$215,000
US market range (per year)$190k–$250k
AI insightThe yearly pay period is inferred from the job context; it was not explicitly stated by the employer. The employer discloses a base compensation range of $200,000–$230,000 USD, plus bonus and equity. Although no cadence is stated, yearly pay is inferred from the amount, US-only remote eligibility, full-time status, and principal-level cybersecurity research scope. The estimated US market range for comparable principal Windows EDR research roles is $190,000–$250,000 per year; this is an AI estimate, not verified salary research.

Core skills

Skills and capabilities most closely associated with this opportunity.

Sample interview questions
How would you evaluate a new Windows telemetry source for inclusion in an EDR sensor?

I would first map the telemetry to concrete attacker behaviors and MITRE ATT&CK techniques, then assess fidelity, collection cost, evasion resistance, privacy implications, and compatibility across supported Windows versions. I would prototype collection and analytics, test against benign and malicious workloads, measure false-positive and false-negative behavior, and present a prioritized implementation recommendation.

Describe your approach to researching an EDR bypass or evasion technique responsibly.

I would reproduce the technique in an isolated lab, identify the underlying assumptions or visibility gap, and document the conditions required for success. I would then develop detections or sensor improvements, validate them against realistic adversary emulation and normal activity, coordinate confidentially with relevant teams, and ensure the final documentation emphasizes defensive outcomes.

What considerations matter when developing Windows kernel or device-driver capabilities for a security product?

Reliability and system safety come first: careful memory handling, synchronization, IRQL awareness, performance profiling, signing requirements, and compatibility testing across Windows releases are essential. I would minimize kernel footprint, prefer stable supported interfaces where possible, build robust telemetry validation, and use staged rollouts with monitoring and rollback plans.

How do you reduce false positives while preserving useful detection coverage?

I start by understanding the detection’s behavioral intent and collecting representative benign and malicious samples. I tune using contextual signals, process lineage, user and host context, allowlisting only when justified, and confidence scoring rather than simply weakening the rule. I monitor production outcomes and continuously feed analyst investigations back into detection improvements.

How would you use AI in day-to-day product security research while maintaining quality?

I would use AI to accelerate literature review, summarize telemetry experiments, generate prototype queries or test cases, and standardize research templates. I would verify all outputs against primary technical evidence, lab results, and peer review, because the researcher remains accountable for correctness, security impact, and the final recommendation.

This analysis is generated from the job description. Salary estimates, role characteristics and sample answers are guidance, not employer-provided facts.
Opportunity details

About this role.

What We Do:

Cybercrime is growing, and more businesses are getting hit by threats that used to target only the biggest organizations. That pushes defenders like us to operate at the highest level, and it deepens our need for good people who want to make a meaningful impact.

Founded in 2015 by former NSA cyber operators, Huntress is a remote-first team working to make enterprise-grade cybersecurity accessible to businesses of all sizes. We work closely with security teams and service providers protecting complex environments, often without the time or headcount to handle it all. That’s why we build our technology in-house and back it with a 24/7 human-led Security Operations Center (SOC). As a result, our platform is never disconnected from the experts who manage it, ensuring our customers’ protection.

Huntress now secures more than 5M endpoints and 16M identities worldwide. Those numbers keep growing because more businesses rely on us to help carry the load and operate with more confidence. Every day, you can see that commitment in how we stand with our customers and how we show up for each other.

Reports to: Manager, Product Research

Location: Remote, US

Compensation Range: $200,000 to $230,000 base plus bonus and equity

What You’ll Do:

The Huntress Product Research team has the unique honor of waking up every morning knowing we’re going to make hackers regret targeting our partners and customers. As a Principal Product Researcher, we’re looking for someone who wants to pour all of their creativity into building and implementing simple solutions that are disproportionately effective at countering these constantly evolving threats. Competitive candidates have experience managing, deploying, and securing SMB environments utilizing a wide variety of security software, best practices, and automation tools. Familiarity with product management, incident response, social engineering, psychology, education, and managed service provider tools is an additional way to differentiate yourself.

As you can imagine, success doesn’t happen in a vacuum. An effective Product Researcher fosters highly collaborative environments between the Product, Engineering, and Security teams to accelerate our mission and secure the 99% of businesses that fall below the enterprise poverty line. This collaboration is needed to produce and prioritize a unified technical vision that ultimately delivers our most impactful features and capabilities.

We defend over 5M endpoints for 225,000+ mid-sized and small-business customers, and that number continues to grow each month. Given this market’s tighter budget, it’s not financially feasible to assign human analysts to each client. The Security Operations team addresses this challenge head-on by building and scaling highly automated efficiencies—often lightly augmented by our SOC — that make intruders earn every inch of their access while maintaining affordability and healthy gross margins.

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Identify innovative ways to detect Windows OS threats
  • Develop cross-platform features that leverage telemetry from common OS subsystems such as file system, memory, process, and network activity
  • Research and development of sensor capabilities to provide visibility and detection support for attack techniques across supported Windows OS versions
  • Work collaboratively with internal engineering and detection teams to implement detection logic
  • Identify and evaluate new telemetry opportunities
  • Identify and address gaps in product coverage
  • Respond to product escalations
  • Perform False Positive and False Negative investigations
  • Lead product research initiatives to develop and evaluate security product strategies and technologies
  • Coordinate with Product and Engineering teams to integrate and operationalize solutions developed by Threat Operations teams
  • Applies AI as a practical part of day-to-day product research work to improve the speed, quality, and impact of research outputs
  • Uses AI to support information gathering, analysis, prototyping, and production of clear, decision-useful work products while maintaining accountability for the final output
  • Builds and reuses lightweight prompts, templates, or workflows for recurring research tasks rather than relying on one-off use
  • Develop internal and external technical documentation to educate customers and communicate research findings to adjacent teams about security risks and opportunities
  • Mentor and teach technical expertise to advance the broader community
  • Promote Huntress’ reputation through media interaction, public speaking, CFPs, CTFs, and blogs

Qualifications:

  • Expert in Windows OS internals, components, APIs, and design
  • Prior experience with Windows OS kernel coding and device drivers
  • Experience testing EDRs, bypasses, and evasion techniques
  • Comfortable with reverse engineering and using debuggers
  • Proficiency in multiple programming/scripting languages, such as C/C++/C#, PowerShell, and Python
  • Applies AI to improve research quality, speed, and outputs in day-to-day work
  • Commitment to clear documentation of research findings
  • Experience with MITRE ATT&CK matrix, SIGMA, Yara, and Elasticsearch/Kibana

What We Offer:

  • 100% remote work environment – since our founding in 2015
  • Generous paid time off policy, including vacation, sick time, and paid holidays
  • 12 weeks of paid parental leave
  • Highly competitive and comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits plans
  • 401(k) with a 5% contribution regardless of employee contribution
  • Life and Disability insurance plans
  • Stock options for all full-time employees
  • One-time $500 reimbursement for building/upgrading home office
  • Annual allowance for education and professional development assistance
  • $75 USD/month digital reimbursement
  • Access to the BetterUp platform for coaching, personal, and professional growth

Huntress is committed to creating a culture of inclusivity where every single member of our team is valued, has a voice, and is empowered to come to work every day just as they are.

We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, genetic information, marital status, or any other legally protected status.

We do discriminate against hackers who try to exploit businesses of all sizes.

Accommodations:

If you require reasonable accommodation to complete this application, interview, or pre-employment testing or participate in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to accommodations@huntresslabs.com. Please note that non-accommodation requests to this inbox will not receive a response.

Huntress uses artificial intelligence tools to assist in reviewing and evaluating job applications, including resume screening, skills assessment, and candidate matching and comparisons. These AI tools support our human recruiters in the initial review process, but do not make final hiring decisions without human involvement. By submitting your application, you acknowledge this use of AI in our recruitment process. Please review our Candidate Privacy Notice for more details on our practices and your data privacy rights.

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This job listing has been manually reviewed by the Jobicy Trust & Safety Team for compliance with our posting guidelines, including verification of the company's legitimacy, accuracy of job details, clarity of remote work policy, and absence of misleading or fraudulent content.

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