Security Research Engineer – AI & Emerging Cybersecurity / Toronto, ON (Hybrid) FTE

Role: Security Research Engineer – AI & Emerging Cybersecurity

Location: Toronto, ON

Work Model: Hybrid

Job Summary

We are seeking a Security Research Engineer with strong hands-on expertise in cybersecurity research, software engineering, AI/GenAI security, Agentic AI, and emerging security technologies.

The ideal candidate will combine the mindset of a security researcher, software engineer, and emerging-technology evaluator. This role requires someone who can move from a research hypothesis to working code, proof-of-concept, technical evaluation, and ultimately an enterprise-ready recommendation.

The candidate will research and prototype emerging cybersecurity capabilities, build AI-driven security solutions, evaluate cybersecurity products and startups, and help transition successful innovations into operational environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Research and evaluate emerging cybersecurity technologies, including AI Security, Agentic AI, Application Security, vulnerability research, quantum security/PQC, blockchain security, and cloud/infrastructure security.
• Design and build AI security harnesses, autonomous security agents, prototypes, proof-of-concepts, and experimentation environments.
• Develop and integrate LLMs, AI agents, tool calling, APIs, security tools, automation frameworks, and cloud/containerized environments.
• Conduct hands-on research in AI red teaming, agent security, autonomous penetration testing, adversarial testing, and AI-native security tooling.
• Perform technical evaluations, benchmarking, proof-of-concept testing, and technical due diligence of cybersecurity products, platforms, and emerging startups.
• Validate vendor claims and assess security effectiveness, scalability, architecture, integration complexity, operational readiness, and enterprise applicability.
• Design experiments and measurable evaluation frameworks to compare emerging security technologies and capabilities.
• Identify promising research outcomes and help transition successful prototypes into production or operational security capabilities.
• Collaborate with security engineering, architecture, software engineering, and leadership teams to translate research findings into actionable recommendations.
• Present technical findings, research outcomes, product evaluations, and recommendations to engineering leadership, cybersecurity executives, and investment/venture stakeholders.
• Produce high-quality technical documentation, research reports, architecture assessments, and presentations.

Required Technical Skills

• Strong hands-on software development/programming experience in one or more of:
• Python
• Java
• Node.js
• Go
• C/C++
• Strong knowledge of cybersecurity research and security engineering, including:
• Application Security
• AI/GenAI Security
• Vulnerability Research
• Threat Modeling
• Secure Software Development
• Network Security
• Infrastructure/Cloud Security
• Security Architecture
• Hands-on experience with LLMs, AI agents, agent orchestration, tool calling, APIs, and AI automation.
• Experience working with cloud platforms, containers, APIs, automation frameworks, and security tooling.
• Demonstrated ability to design experiments, develop working prototypes, build POCs, and evaluate emerging technologies.
• Strong understanding of security testing methodologies and the ability to assess new technologies from both technical and enterprise perspectives.
• Strong technical writing, documentation, communication, and presentation skills.

Preferred / Highly Valued Experience

• Experience with AI red teaming, autonomous penetration testing, Agentic AI security, or AI-native cybersecurity products.
• Research or practical experience in quantum computing security, Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC), blockchain security, or other emerging technologies.
• Published research papers, technical articles, conference presentations, or presentations at recognized cybersecurity, AI, or systems forums.
• Cybersecurity startup, founder, early-stage product development, accelerator, or innovation-lab experience.
• Experience evaluating or conducting technical due diligence on cybersecurity startups and emerging security products.
• Experience presenting or pitching technical solutions to venture capital, corporate venture, investment, accelerator, or executive stakeholders.
• Patents, open-source cybersecurity projects, vulnerability research, CVEs, exploit research, or other demonstrated technical innovation.
• Experience building security research platforms, experimentation frameworks, or automated security testing environments.

Education & Certifications

• Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• PhD is highly desirable, particularly in Cybersecurity, AI, Computer Science, or a related research field.
• Preferred certifications include CISSP, OSCP, CSSLP, or equivalent cybersecurity certifications.