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Member of Technical Staff (Offensive Security Engineer)

Perplexity· Security
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Hybrid (San Francisco), Hybrid (Remote (United States)), Hybrid (London), Hybrid (Belgrade), Hybrid (New York City)$220k - $405k + equityFull-timePosted 6mo ago

About the role

Perplexity is seeking an experienced Offensive Security Engineer to perform red team operations, penetration testing, and attack simulations across cloud infrastructure, web/mobile apps, AI/ML pipelines, and corporate environments. The role focuses on finding real vulnerabilities, driving remediation with engineering teams, and strengthening CI/CD, supply chain, and AI security postures.

Responsibilities

  • Plan and execute red team and purple team engagements simulating advanced threat actors across cloud infrastructure (AWS, Kubernetes), endpoints, and application surfaces
  • Conduct continuous penetration testing of web applications, APIs, mobile clients, browser extensions, cloud infrastructure, and internal services
  • Assess AI/ML-specific attack surfaces including prompt injection, model exfiltration, agent abuse, tool-use exploitation, and MCP security boundaries
  • Develop and maintain custom offensive tooling, exploits, and automation to improve the efficiency and coverage of security testing
  • Perform open-scope adversary simulations that test detection and response capabilities end to end, collaborating closely with the defensive security team
  • Drive threat modeling sessions with engineering teams to identify and prioritize attack vectors in new features and architectures
  • Deliver clear, actionable findings to both technical and executive audiences; partner with engineering to validate remediations
  • Contribute to the security of CI/CD pipelines, supply chain integrity, and secrets management through offensive assessment
  • Stay current on emerging attack techniques, vulnerability research, and adversary tradecraft; bring external perspective into Perplexity's security strategy

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of hands-on experience in offensive security, red teaming, or penetration testing
  • Deep technical expertise in at least two of: cloud security (AWS/GCP/Azure), web/API application security, Kubernetes and container security, macOS/Linux endpoint security, network penetration testing, or CI/CD pipeline security
  • Track record of discovering impactful vulnerabilities or developing novel attack techniques in production environments
  • Strong programming and scripting skills in Python, Go, or similar languages; comfortable writing custom tooling and exploits
  • Experience with industry-standard offensive tools (Burp Suite, Cobalt Strike / Sliver / Mythic, Metasploit, BloodHound, nuclei, etc.) and ability to operate beyond them
  • Excellent written and verbal communication; able to translate complex technical findings into clear risk narratives
  • Experience assessing AI/ML systems, LLM applications, or agentic workflows for security vulnerabilities
  • Bonus: Published security research, conference talks (DEF CON, Black Hat, BSides), CVE credits, or meaningful bug bounty contributions

Skills

Required:Cloud securityWeb/API securityKubernetes and container securityProgramming in Python/GoOffensive security toolsCommunication

Benefits

  • Full-time U.S. benefits including equity, health, dental, vision, retirement, fitness, commuter and dependent care accounts
  • International benefits tailored to region of residence
Last updated Oct 7, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Perplexity

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