Member of Technical Staff (Secure Intelligence Institute)

at Perplexity AI

📍 San Francisco, United States

USD 220,000-405,000 per year

MIDDLE

✅ On-site

Tech Stack
Tag name is followed by "@" symbol and proficiency level value. About proficiency levels:

1-2 — basic awareness. Minimal hands-on experience, and a rudimentary understanding of the technology's purpose;

3-6 — daily use. Comfortable and regular usage, capable of handling common tasks and challenges related to the technology;

7-9 — you are an expert, you can teach others, you know all the pitfalls and tricks;

10 — exceptional knowledge, comprehensive understanding, and adeptness in all aspects of the technology, including advanced problem-solving. Think twice before claiming or demanding such level.

AI @ 3 Agentic Systems @ 3 Communication @ 3 Go @ 1 Leadership @ 3 Python @ 1 Rust @ 1 Security @ 3 TypeScript @ 1

Details

Perplexity is seeking energetic researchers and engineers to join its Secure Intelligence Institute (SII), the flagship research center for advancing security, privacy, and trust in frontier intelligence. SII aims to advance frontier AI security research, translate those advances into improvements in Perplexity's systems, and share knowledge and resources that strengthen the broader AI ecosystem.

As a member of SII, you will conduct original research on improving the security and privacy of frontier intelligence systems. The work should be rigorous in theory and practical enough to improve general-purpose AI systems used by millions of people and thousands of enterprises. You will translate your research and advances from the broader community into practical improvements that protect and defend Perplexity's users.

Responsibilities

Develop threat models for emerging attack surfaces in AI-native products, including browsers, search, and autonomous agents.
Identify and analyze security and privacy threats across AI systems, infrastructure, and user-facing products.
Develop novel defenses, mitigations, and detection mechanisms for security and privacy in AI-native products.
Build security evaluation frameworks, benchmarks, and datasets to measure the effectiveness of different defense mechanisms.
Partner with Perplexity's Security Engineering team to translate state-of-the-art research into shipped security features and hardened system architectures.
Collaborate with academic and industry researchers in SII's external research network.
Publish findings at premier venues and contribute to the broader security research community.

Requirements

PhD or equivalent research experience in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field, with a primary focus on security and/or privacy.
Experience publishing original, impactful research at top security conferences, including IEEE S&P, USENIX Security, ACM CCS, or NDSS.
Deep expertise in one or more of the following areas: security of agentic systems, systems security, web and application security, program analysis, or software security.
Proficiency in Python; experience with TypeScript, Go, and/or Rust is a bonus.
Ability to work independently, take ownership, and operate effectively in a fast-paced environment where research directly informs products.
Clear and concise communication skills, including the ability to translate complex attack narratives into actionable insights for engineering and leadership.

Benefits

Full-time U.S. employees receive a comprehensive benefits program including equity, health, dental, vision, retirement, fitness, commuter, and dependent care accounts. International employees receive a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region of residence.