Member of Technical Staff (Offensive Security Engineer)
At its midpoint, $313k/yr, this role pays more than the $200k/yr midpoint for Penetration Testing & Red Team openings today (usual band $169k–$320k/yr).
The full posting
Perplexity is seeking a highly skilled, experienced and hands-on Offensive Security Engineer to join our dynamic security team, taking an adversarial approach to hardening Perplexity's infrastructure, applications, and AI systems. You'll plan and execute red team operations, penetration tests, and attack simulations across our cloud infrastructure, web and mobile applications, AI/ML pipeline, and corporate environment - finding real vulnerabilities before adversaries do and working directly with engineering teams to drive remediation.
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
Where you can work
This role is 100% remote, for applicants located in United States.
Text as Perplexity published it; last compared with the original on 11 Nov 2026.
The application
Your details and CV, then 5 questions (2 written).
- 1.Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status in the United States?Yes or no
- 2.Are you able to come into the office four days per week?Yes or no
- 3.What are the most interesting aspects of Perplexity that you are excited to work on?Written answer
- 4.How do you use AI in your day-to-day work? What are some of the underappreciated benefits and/or pain points of your favorite AI tools?Written answer
- 5.Exercise Submission (Shared URL)Link
Taken from Perplexity's application form as it stood on 11 Nov 2026.
The employer: Perplexity
Perplexity runs an AI answer engine and the Comet browser; its security hiring covers software security, offensive testing and GRC.
Pay and benefits: Roles with equity in a fast-growing AI search company, across San Francisco, New York, London and Belgrade.
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