Security Researcher Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
Security researchers are in high demand from U.S. employers willing to sponsor H-1B visa, O-1 visa, and EB-1 visas for candidates with the right technical background. Roles in vulnerability research, threat intelligence, and penetration testing consistently qualify as specialty occupations under USCIS guidelines. For detailed occupation requirements, see the O*NET profile.
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Get Access To All JobsTitle: Product Security Research Engineer
Duration: Long term
Location: San Jose, CA (Remote) (ONLY W2)
Job Description:
About the Role
As a Senior Member of Technical Staff, you will focus on the proactive discovery and technical validation of complex attack paths within the Nutanix product ecosystem. This is a deeply technical, engineering-centric role designed for a practitioner who excels at deconstructing the logic of an exploit. Working closely with our Security Architects, you will move beyond identifying individual flaws to demonstrate how vulnerabilities can be linked to create significant exposure. Your mission is to provide the offensive insight needed to build stronger, preventative defense and to leverage AI-driven engineering to stay ahead of sophisticated threats.
About the Team
The Client PSIRT is a growing center of excellence dedicated to the security of our products and the trust of our customers. We focus on “doing the right thing” by our users, investing in proactive defense and technical excellence. Our team values collaborative engineering and the pursuit of operational integrity. As we scale to meet new challenges, we are looking for engineers who are passionate about understanding how systems fail and building the technical intelligence required to protect them.
Responsibilities
- Attack Path Discovery: Partner with Security Architects to identify and technically validate potential exploit sequences. You will engineer proofs-of-concept to demonstrate how individual vulnerabilities can be linked to create significant product exposure.
- Impact Analysis: Perform deep-dive technical research to determine the exact “blast radius” of a vulnerability. You will be responsible for identifying exactly which products and versions are impacted and what specific data or services are at risk.
- Proactive Defense: Translate offensive research into preventative measures, providing Engineering teams with the technical evidence and architectural guidance needed to implement robust, long-term mitigations.
- AI-Enhanced Security Engineering: Explore and implement AI-driven automation to enhance our discovery and analysis capabilities. You will use emerging technologies to scale the identification of complex vulnerability patterns across the Nutanix stack.
- Technical Advocacy: Serve as a senior technical subject matter expert during high-stakes triage, helping stakeholders understand the practical reality of threat through evidence-based technical analysis and exploit modeling.
Qualifications
What you’ll bring to the team:
- Technical Research Background: 6-9 years of experience in Product Security Engineering, Vulnerability Research, or Offensive Security, with a focus on deconstructing complex software systems.
- Architectural Mindset: A talent for “Attack Path Thinking”, you can look at a complex architecture and identify how a minor logic flaw could lead to a major compromise.
- Technical Depth: A strong understanding of software vulnerabilities (logic flaws, memory corruption, auth bypasses) and how they manifest in cloud-native and hybrid-cloud environments.
- AI/ML Curiosity: Experience or a strong interest in using AI-driven tools to scale security engineering and automate the discovery of sophisticated vulnerability patterns.
- Collaborative Inquiry: An ability to work as peer with Architects and Developers, using technical data and research to build consensus on remediation paths.
Bonus points if you have:
- Experience with reverse engineering or high-level exploit development in a research-focused environment.
- Familiarity with “Graph-based” security analysis (mapping relationships between assets, permissions, and vulnerabilities).
- Contributions to the security community, such as tool development, technical whitepapers, or responsibility disclosed CVEs.
- Experience in a distributed engineering environment where technical evidence is the primary driver of security prioritization.
Title: Product Security Research Engineer
Duration: Long term
Location: San Jose, CA (Remote) (ONLY W2)
Job Description:
About the Role
As a Senior Member of Technical Staff, you will focus on the proactive discovery and technical validation of complex attack paths within the Nutanix product ecosystem. This is a deeply technical, engineering-centric role designed for a practitioner who excels at deconstructing the logic of an exploit. Working closely with our Security Architects, you will move beyond identifying individual flaws to demonstrate how vulnerabilities can be linked to create significant exposure. Your mission is to provide the offensive insight needed to build stronger, preventative defense and to leverage AI-driven engineering to stay ahead of sophisticated threats.
About the Team
The Client PSIRT is a growing center of excellence dedicated to the security of our products and the trust of our customers. We focus on “doing the right thing” by our users, investing in proactive defense and technical excellence. Our team values collaborative engineering and the pursuit of operational integrity. As we scale to meet new challenges, we are looking for engineers who are passionate about understanding how systems fail and building the technical intelligence required to protect them.
Responsibilities
- Attack Path Discovery: Partner with Security Architects to identify and technically validate potential exploit sequences. You will engineer proofs-of-concept to demonstrate how individual vulnerabilities can be linked to create significant product exposure.
- Impact Analysis: Perform deep-dive technical research to determine the exact “blast radius” of a vulnerability. You will be responsible for identifying exactly which products and versions are impacted and what specific data or services are at risk.
- Proactive Defense: Translate offensive research into preventative measures, providing Engineering teams with the technical evidence and architectural guidance needed to implement robust, long-term mitigations.
- AI-Enhanced Security Engineering: Explore and implement AI-driven automation to enhance our discovery and analysis capabilities. You will use emerging technologies to scale the identification of complex vulnerability patterns across the Nutanix stack.
- Technical Advocacy: Serve as a senior technical subject matter expert during high-stakes triage, helping stakeholders understand the practical reality of threat through evidence-based technical analysis and exploit modeling.
Qualifications
What you’ll bring to the team:
- Technical Research Background: 6-9 years of experience in Product Security Engineering, Vulnerability Research, or Offensive Security, with a focus on deconstructing complex software systems.
- Architectural Mindset: A talent for “Attack Path Thinking”, you can look at a complex architecture and identify how a minor logic flaw could lead to a major compromise.
- Technical Depth: A strong understanding of software vulnerabilities (logic flaws, memory corruption, auth bypasses) and how they manifest in cloud-native and hybrid-cloud environments.
- AI/ML Curiosity: Experience or a strong interest in using AI-driven tools to scale security engineering and automate the discovery of sophisticated vulnerability patterns.
- Collaborative Inquiry: An ability to work as peer with Architects and Developers, using technical data and research to build consensus on remediation paths.
Bonus points if you have:
- Experience with reverse engineering or high-level exploit development in a research-focused environment.
- Familiarity with “Graph-based” security analysis (mapping relationships between assets, permissions, and vulnerabilities).
- Contributions to the security community, such as tool development, technical whitepapers, or responsibility disclosed CVEs.
- Experience in a distributed engineering environment where technical evidence is the primary driver of security prioritization.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Security Researcher Jobs
Lead with your technical specialization
Employers sponsoring security researchers want depth, not breadth. Highlight whether you specialize in malware analysis, reverse engineering, red teaming, or exploit development. A focused specialization strengthens your H-1B specialty occupation case and differentiates you from generalist applicants.
Target employers with established security teams
Companies with dedicated security operations centers, bug bounty programs, or government contracts are far more likely to sponsor visas. They have existing immigration counsel, defined job requirements, and budget allocated for the H-1B process, which makes approval faster and smoother.
Align your degree to the role
USCIS expects a direct connection between your field of study and the security researcher position. Computer science, cybersecurity, and electrical engineering degrees are the strongest fits. If your degree is in a different field, documented work experience becomes critical evidence for your petition.
Document certifications as supporting evidence
Certifications like OSCP, CISSP, or CEH are not substitutes for a qualifying degree but meaningfully strengthen your petition file. They demonstrate specialized knowledge, signal employer confidence in your skills, and support the argument that your role requires more than general IT knowledge.
Research your target employer's visa history
Not all companies that post security researcher roles will sponsor visas. Check whether a company has filed Labor Condition Applications for similar positions before applying. Prioritizing sponsors with a proven track record saves time and reduces the risk of late-stage offer withdrawal.
Browse sponsored roles on Migrate Mate
Migrate Mate filters job listings specifically to employers open to visa sponsorship, which removes the guesswork of identifying which companies will support your petition. Searching by role and location helps you find security researcher openings matched to your visa situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a security researcher role qualify for H-1B sponsorship?
Yes, security researcher positions generally qualify as H-1B visa specialty occupations because they typically require at minimum a bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, information systems, or a related field. USCIS evaluates whether the specific job duties require that theoretical and practical application of specialized knowledge. Roles focused on vulnerability research, reverse engineering, or threat intelligence tend to meet this threshold more clearly than broad IT support positions.
What degree do I need to get sponsored as a security researcher?
A bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, electrical engineering, or a closely related field is the standard requirement for H-1B sponsorship. USCIS requires that the degree field directly relates to the job duties. If your degree is in an unrelated field, three years of specialized work experience can substitute for each year of missing education, though this route requires stronger employer documentation.
Are security researcher roles easier to get sponsored for than other tech jobs?
Security research is a genuinely specialized field with a shortage of qualified candidates, which works in your favor when negotiating sponsorship. Employers often have stronger justification to sponsor because the talent pool is narrower than for general software engineering roles. Positions requiring active clearances or specific offensive security skills face even less competition, which can make an employer more willing to invest in the visa process.
Can I get an O-1 visa as a security researcher?
Yes, O-1A visas are a realistic path for security researchers with a documented record of extraordinary ability. Published CVE discoveries, conference presentations at Black Hat or DEF CON, peer-reviewed research, high compensation relative to peers, or recognition from industry organizations all serve as qualifying evidence. The O-1 bypasses the H-1B lottery entirely and is worth exploring if your track record is strong, even early in your career.
Where can I find security researcher jobs that sponsor visas?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for candidates who need sponsorship, filtering listings to employers that have demonstrated willingness to support visa petitions. General job boards mix sponsored and non-sponsored postings with no way to filter, which wastes time and can lead to late-stage offer complications when a company confirms it does not sponsor. Searching on Migrate Mate by the security researcher title lets you focus your effort on employers already set up for the process.
What is the prevailing wage requirement for sponsored Security Researcher jobs?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.