Research Manager

The Role

As a Research Manager, you will drive the evolution of our identity security platform by leading a team of cutting-edge security researchers with robust engineering practices. You'll work at the intersection of security domain expertise and software development, translating novel research findings into production-ready systems that protect our customers from sophisticated identity-based threats. This role offers the opportunity to lead a team while shaping the future of identity security through innovative research, scalable engineering solutions, and thought leadership in the security community.

What You’ll Do

Research & Innovation

• Lead a team of researchers who identify emerging identity attack vectors and develop novel detection methodologies while also performing your own research.
• Design and implement advanced analytics including rule-based systems, behavioral analysis, and machine learning models for threat detection
• Expand and optimize our large-scale entitlement graph systems that map privilege escalation paths across customer environments
• Develop proactive recommendation engines that identify security misconfigurations before they become attack vectors

Engineering & Implementation

• Build production-grade security systems with emphasis on scalability, reliability, and performance optimization
• Design custom data representations (graphs, time-series, etc.) to support advanced analytical capabilities
• Establish engineering best practices including comprehensive unit testing, automation, and CI/CD pipelines

Data Analysis & Optimization

• Explore large-scale customer datasets using Spark and Databricks to validate detection hypotheses and uncover new threat patterns
• Collaborate with data science teams to integrate machine learning models into production detection systems
• Optimize system performance to handle massive data volumes efficiently

Leadership & Knowledge Sharing

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to product and engineering teams
• Present research findings at industry conferences and security forums
• Publish technical blogs and research papers to establish thought leadership
• Collaborate and establish relationships with cross-functional teams to translate research insights into product roadmap priorities

What You’ll Bring

• Engineering background with proven experience developing and maintaining production security systems
• Strong Python programming skills with experience in large-scale data processing and/or equivalent AI skills
• Knowledge of adversarial tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and corresponding defensive strategies
• Experience leading individuals at a high individual contributor level (senior staff/principal).

Nice To Have

• Big data processing experience with Apache Spark, Databricks, or similar distributed computing platforms
• Background in security research with published findings or conference presentations
• Knowledge of cloud security, containerization, and modern infrastructure technologies
• Experience with graph databases and ne