Principal Security Researcher (AI-Assisted Vulnerability Research)
Palo Alto Networks · Posted Sep 15, 2026
- Santa Clara, California, United States
- On-site
- Full-time · Senior
- $172K–$278K per year
- 7+ years
- Visa sponsorship
Lead AI-assisted vulnerability research, designing and building secure AI harnesses to discover, validate, and report high-impact software vulnerabilities.
Compensation
$172,100.00 - $278,300.00/yr
Responsibilities
- Design, build, and improve AI/security harnesses for vulnerability research
- Produce high-quality research artifacts and technical reports
- Conduct deep technical analysis across real-world software and open-source projects
- Build reusable research infrastructure and automation pipelines
- Analyze large-scale harness outputs to identify new research opportunities
Requirements
- Master's degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or related field
- Nice to have: PhD in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, AI/ML, Systems, Programming Languages
- Nice to have: experience building AI agent harnesses
- Nice to have: experience handling real vulnerabilities end-to-end
- Nice to have: knowledge of Web Security, OS & Kernel Security, Browser Security, Software Supply Chain Security, OT/IoT Security, Network/Protocol Security, Cloud Security, Application Security