Security Researcher Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
Security researchers are in high demand from U.S. employers willing to sponsor H-1B, O-1, 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 JobsAbout The Team
Security is at the foundation of OpenAI’s mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. Codex Security is OpenAI’s first security agent, built to scan GitHub Cloud repositories, validate real vulnerabilities, and integrate with Codex to help generate fixes.
About The Role
Lead an effort to map, characterize, and prioritize cross-layer vulnerabilities in advanced AI systems – spanning data pipelines, training/inference runtimes, system and supply chain components. You’ll drive offensive research, produce technical deliverables, enhance the Codex Security product line, and serve as OpenAI’s primary technical counterpart for select external partners (including potential U.S. government stakeholders).
What You’ll Do
- Conduct deep security research on real-world software systems to discover complex vulnerabilities across large codebases and distributed architectures.
- Investigate and validate vulnerabilities discovered by AI-driven security agents, including building proofs-of-concept and exploit demonstrations.
- Partner with engineering teams to improve automated vulnerability discovery, validation, and remediation workflows as part of product development.
- Build high quality security datasets and evals that will help advance model’s cybersecurity capabilities.
- Train and improve AI models used for vulnerability discovery, validation, and automated remediation by developing datasets, evaluations, and feedback loops grounded in real-world security research.
- Publish technical writeups, research insights, and vulnerability analyses that advance the state of application security.
You May Thrive If You
- Have strong experience in vulnerability research, exploit development, or offensive security.
- Have deep experience with cutting edge offensive-security techniques.
- Are fluent across AI/ML infrastructure (data, training, inference, schedulers, accelerators) and can threat-model end-to-end.
- Operate independently, align diverse teams, and deliver on tight timelines.
- Communicate clearly and concisely with experts and decision-makers.
- Care deeply about improving the security of widely used software and open-source infrastructure.
- Are a strong developer who can work in a small energetic team.
Goals & Impact
- Build AI-driven systems that can discover high-impact vulnerabilities in widely deployed systems and open-source software before attackers do.
- Improve the precision and effectiveness of AI-driven security agents by grounding them in real-world vulnerability research.
Key Technical Challenges
- System-level vulnerability discovery — identifying complex vulnerabilities that span multiple services, trust boundaries, or components.
- High-confidence validation — distinguishing real exploitable vulnerabilities from speculative or theoretical issues.
- Scaling security research with AI agents — guiding automated systems to analyze millions of commits while maintaining research-level rigor.
- Automated exploit and proof-of-concept generation — building reproducible demonstrations of vulnerabilities within sandboxed environments.
- Building large systems that work within OpenAI's enterprise architecture.
About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.
Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.
To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.
OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy
At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.
Compensation Range: $325K - $405K
About The Team
Security is at the foundation of OpenAI’s mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. Codex Security is OpenAI’s first security agent, built to scan GitHub Cloud repositories, validate real vulnerabilities, and integrate with Codex to help generate fixes.
About The Role
Lead an effort to map, characterize, and prioritize cross-layer vulnerabilities in advanced AI systems – spanning data pipelines, training/inference runtimes, system and supply chain components. You’ll drive offensive research, produce technical deliverables, enhance the Codex Security product line, and serve as OpenAI’s primary technical counterpart for select external partners (including potential U.S. government stakeholders).
What You’ll Do
- Conduct deep security research on real-world software systems to discover complex vulnerabilities across large codebases and distributed architectures.
- Investigate and validate vulnerabilities discovered by AI-driven security agents, including building proofs-of-concept and exploit demonstrations.
- Partner with engineering teams to improve automated vulnerability discovery, validation, and remediation workflows as part of product development.
- Build high quality security datasets and evals that will help advance model’s cybersecurity capabilities.
- Train and improve AI models used for vulnerability discovery, validation, and automated remediation by developing datasets, evaluations, and feedback loops grounded in real-world security research.
- Publish technical writeups, research insights, and vulnerability analyses that advance the state of application security.
You May Thrive If You
- Have strong experience in vulnerability research, exploit development, or offensive security.
- Have deep experience with cutting edge offensive-security techniques.
- Are fluent across AI/ML infrastructure (data, training, inference, schedulers, accelerators) and can threat-model end-to-end.
- Operate independently, align diverse teams, and deliver on tight timelines.
- Communicate clearly and concisely with experts and decision-makers.
- Care deeply about improving the security of widely used software and open-source infrastructure.
- Are a strong developer who can work in a small energetic team.
Goals & Impact
- Build AI-driven systems that can discover high-impact vulnerabilities in widely deployed systems and open-source software before attackers do.
- Improve the precision and effectiveness of AI-driven security agents by grounding them in real-world vulnerability research.
Key Technical Challenges
- System-level vulnerability discovery — identifying complex vulnerabilities that span multiple services, trust boundaries, or components.
- High-confidence validation — distinguishing real exploitable vulnerabilities from speculative or theoretical issues.
- Scaling security research with AI agents — guiding automated systems to analyze millions of commits while maintaining research-level rigor.
- Automated exploit and proof-of-concept generation — building reproducible demonstrations of vulnerabilities within sandboxed environments.
- Building large systems that work within OpenAI's enterprise architecture.
About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.
Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.
To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form. No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link.
OpenAI Global Applicant Privacy Policy
At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.
Compensation Range: $325K - $405K
How to Get Visa Sponsorship in Security Researcher
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.
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Get Access To All JobsFrequently Asked Questions
Does a security researcher role qualify for H-1B sponsorship?
Yes, security researcher positions generally qualify as H-1B 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.
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