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We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Security Research Engineer to join our Vulnerability Detection Signature Research team. In this role, you will research, develop, and deliver advanced vulnerability detection libraries for VMDR scanning products. You will partner closely with cross-functional teams to solve complex challenges and ensure our customers receive accurate, high-quality vulnerability coverage.
If you have a strong foundation in vulnerability research, hands-on security engineering, and solid coding experience and you enjoy diving deep into technologies, this role is for you. Exposure to AI/ML, or an interest in exploring how it can accelerate security research, is a strong plus.
Responsibilities
Research, design, and develop new vulnerability detection libraries (signatures), or enhance existing ones, for Qualys Scanner product suite.
Build detection logic for a wide range of technologies including databases, applications, operating systems, TCP/IP protocols, and network devices.
Continuously research emerging technologies and collaborate with customers, vendors, and internal stakeholders to extend detection coverage.
Automate recurring research, development, and validation of tasks.
Explore, where valuable, how AI/ML techniques can accelerate research, development, and validation such as automated signature generation, false positive/negative reduction, anomaly detection, and triage of emerging vulnerabilities.
Work closely with Customer Support and Research teams to troubleshoot and resolve customer issues such as false positives/negatives.
Contribute to high-quality detection content through strong documentation and collaboration.
Qualifications
4+ years of experience in network and systems security.
Deep understanding of common protocols: TCP/IP, HTTP, FTP, SSH, SSL/TLS.
Strong knowledge of common security vulnerabilities and mitigation techniques.
Hands-on experience with Python and Bash scripting.
Hands-on working experience with containers and orchestration tools (Docker, Kubernetes).
Familiarity with network analysis tools and packet capture analysis.
Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
System administration experience on Windows or Unix/Linux platforms.
Strong understanding of VPNs, Firewalls, and IDS/IPS technologies.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Additional Plus Competencies
Exposure to applying AI/ML to security problems - e.g., using machine learning for detection, classification, anomaly detection, or pattern recognition, or leveraging LLMs to automate research, code, or content-generation workflows.
Knowledge of Lua (preferred) or Java.
Experience with virtualization platforms such as VMWare, VirtualBox, XEN, etc.
Understanding of cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Oracle Cloud).
Experience using or developing vulnerability scanners, IDS/IPS, and other security tools.
Prior experience building security-related tools or automation.
Industry certifications such as OSCP, CISSP, and GIAC.
Ability to lead projects independently and work with minimal supervision.
Why Join Us?
Work on cutting-edge security research with a talented, collaborative engineering team.
Directly influence the security posture of thousands of customers.
Opportunities for professional development, certifications, and continuous learning.
Inclusive culture that values innovation, ownership, and customer impact.
Skills Required
- 4+ years of experience in network and systems security.
- Deep understanding of TCP/IP, HTTP, FTP, SSH, SSL/TLS protocols.
- Strong knowledge of common security vulnerabilities and mitigation techniques.
- Hands-on experience with Python.
- Hands-on experience with Bash scripting.
- Hands-on working experience with containers and orchestration tools (Docker, Kubernetes).
- Familiarity with network analysis tools and packet capture analysis.
- System administration experience on Windows or Unix/Linux platforms.
- Strong understanding of VPNs, Firewalls, and IDS/IPS technologies.
- Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Exposure to applying AI/ML to security problems (e.g., detection, anomaly detection, LLMs).
- Knowledge of Lua or Java.
- Experience with virtualization platforms such as VMWare, VirtualBox, XEN.
- Understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Oracle Cloud).
- Experience using or developing vulnerability scanners, IDS/IPS, and other security tools.
- Prior experience building security-related tools or automation.
- Industry certifications such as OSCP, CISSP, or GIAC.
- Ability to lead projects independently and work with minimal supervision.
Qualys Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Qualys and has not been reviewed or approved by Qualys.
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Affordable Benefits — Benefits costs are widely viewed as low for employees and dependents, with healthcare often described as almost fully paid for. Feedback suggests this affordability helps offset perceptions of lower base pay in some roles.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare offerings are broad, including multiple medical plan options, dental and vision coverage, mental health support, and disability insurance. Benefits are described as “pretty amazing” or “great,” reinforcing perceived quality and coverage depth.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity participation is accessible through company stock plans and an employee stock purchase plan. Compensation packages commonly include equity alongside salary and bonus, which some consider a meaningful part of total rewards.
Qualys Insights
What We Do
Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS) is a pioneer and leading provider of disruptive cloud-based security, compliance and IT solutions with more than 10,000 subscription customers worldwide, including a majority of the Forbes Global 100 and Fortune 100. Qualys helps organizations streamline and automate their security and compliance solutions onto a single platform for greater agility, better business outcomes, and substantial cost savings. The Qualys Cloud Platform leverages a single agent to continuously deliver critical security intelligence while enabling enterprises to automate the full spectrum of vulnerability detection, compliance, and protection for IT systems, workloads and web applications across on premises, endpoints, servers, public and private clouds, containers, and mobile devices. Founded in 1999 as one of the first SaaS security companies, Qualys has strategic partnerships and seamlessly integrates its vulnerability management capabilities into security offerings from cloud service providers, including Amazon Web Services, the Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure, along with a number of leading managed service providers and global consulting organizations. For more information, please visit http://www.qualys.com
