Senior Applied Scientist, AWS Security

Do you have a passion for GenAI, machine learning, and/or cybersecurity?! If so, join us in building innovative AI/ML services that protect our cloud from advanced security threats!

As a Senior Applied Scientist on our team, you’ll analyze data using GenAI and other AI/ML techniques to build new services that detect and automate the mitigation of cybersecurity threats across Amazon’s infrastructure, including advanced persistent threats. You’ll work with software development engineers, security engineers, and other applied scientists across multiple teams to develop innovative security solutions at a massive scale. Our services protect the AWS cloud for all customers, helping preserve our customers’ trust in us. You’ll get to use the full power and breadth of AWS technologies to build services that proactively protect every single AWS customer, both internally and externally, from security threats – not many teams can say that!

A successful candidate is one who is passionate about utilizing big data, machine learning, and GenAI to solve real business problems. This role gives you the opportunity to lead technical innovation and drive the future direction of automation within threat detection and mitigation. Candidates are expected to have a track record of delivering high-quality results in a fast-moving environment. We need someone who’s comfortable mentoring, leading by example, and independently delivering.

We have a team culture that encourages innovation and for every team member to have a high degree of ownership for their program, vision, and execution of ideas. We’re looking for someone who is enthusiastic, empathetic, curious, motivated, reliable, and able to work effectively with a diverse team of peers and partner teams. We want someone who will help us amplify the positive and inclusive team culture we’ve been building.

Key job responsibilities
- Design, build, and deploy AI/ML systems that process threat data at scale, running over petabyte-scale security logs with real-time inference
- Conduct thorough data analyses and develop prototypes for detecting otherwise-unknown security problems
- Independently frame ambiguous problems, and then define and deliver a research agenda with limited guidance
- Seek out, develop, and advocate for new technologies to solve scientifically-complex security problems
- Build consensus on scientific approaches, balancing analytic rigor with the operational urgency inherent to security
- Mentor and develop teammates both technically and professionally
- Publish patents and peer-reviewed articles, and present your research both internally and externally

About the team
This team is part of the larger ‘Amazon Active Defense’ organization, focused on bringing automation – at scale – to AWS Security. Teams within Amazon Active Defense consist of security engineers, data/applied scientists, and software developers, all working together to launch big data analytics able to automatically detect and mitigate threats within AWS in near-real-time. This team, in particular, is focused on both detecting and automatically stopping advanced actor activities in internal AWS resources.

Review these blogs for example past projects you could have led!
- https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/how-aws-uses-active-defense-to-help-protect-customers-from-security-threats/
- https://www.amazon.science/blog/how-amazon-uses-agentic-ai-for-vulnerability-detection-at-global-scale
- https://www.amazon.science/blog/how-amazon-uses-ai-agents-to-anticipate-and-counter-cyber-threats

Diverse Experiences
Amazon Security values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don’t let it stop you from applying.

Why Amazon Security?
At Amazon, security is central to maintaining customer trust and delivering delightful customer experiences. Our organization is responsible for creating and maintaining a high bar for security across all of Amazon’s products and services. We offer talented security professionals the chance to accelerate their careers with opportunities to build experience in a wide variety of areas including cloud, devices, retail, entertainment, healthcare, operations, and physical stores.

Inclusive Team Culture
In Amazon Security, it’s in our nature to learn and be curious. Ongoing DEI events and learning experiences inspire us to continue learning and to embrace our uniqueness. Addressing the toughest security challenges requires that we seek out and celebrate a diversity of ideas, perspectives, and voices.

Training & Career Growth
We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, training, and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.

Work/Life Balance
We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why flexible work hours and arrangements are part of our culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve.

Basic qualifications

- PhD, or Master's degree and 6+ years of applied research experience
- Experience leading engineering teams as a mentor or tech lead
- 3+ years of non-internship experience building machine learning models for business applications
- Experience deploying AI/ML models into production systems with direct, verified customer impact
- Non-internship experience of programming and/or scripting to solve real-world problems (e.g., in Python)

Preferred qualifications

- Experience with large scale distributed systems such as Hadoop, Spark etc.
- Experience using AI/ML to solve problems in cybersecurity, fraud, or related areas
- Experience building and deploying new GenAI applications
- Experience with AWS or other cloud services (e.g., SageMaker, Bedrock, EMR, Glue, Lambda, S3, etc.)

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visithttps://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits athttps://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.