About Us:
Proofpoint is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity. We protect how people, data, and AI agents connect across email, cloud, and collaboration tools. Over 80 of the Fortune 100, 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations trust Proofpoint to stop threats, prevent data loss, and build resilience across their people and AI workflows. Our mission is simple: safeguard the digital world and empower people to work securely and confidently. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.
How We Work:
At Proofpoint you’ll be part of a global team that breaks barriers to redefine cybersecurity guided by our BRAVE core values:
Bold
in how we dream and innovate
Responsive
to feedback, challenges and opportunities
Accountable
for results and best in class outcomes
Visionary
in future focused problem-solving
Exceptional
in execution and impact
Role Overview
We are seeking a
Principal ML Architect
to lead the design and development of
next-generation AI systems for cybersecurity
, leveraging
state-of-the-art LLMs/SLMs and advanced machine learning techniques
.
This role requires
deep expertise in model architecture, training, fine-tuning, and distillation
, combined with a strong understanding of
security domains such as threat detection, anomaly detection, data protection, and AI safety
.
You will drive the development of
intelligent, security-focused AI systems and agents
capable of operating at scale across
high-volume, adversarial, and sensitive environments
, while ensuring
robustness, explainability, and compliance
.
Key Responsibilities
AI Architecture for Security Systems
Design and lead architecture for
AI-driven security platforms
, including:
Threat detection and behavioral analytics
Data loss prevention (DLP) and insider risk detection
AI usage monitoring and policy enforcement (GenAI security)
Build systems that process
high-volume, high-velocity security telemetry
in real time
Model Development & Innovation
Lead development of
state-of-the-art SLMs/LLMs
tailored for security use cases:
Log analysis, alert triage, threat intelligence, policy reasoning
Drive experimentation with
modern architectures
(Transformers, MoE, retrieval-augmented systems, hybrid models)
Balance trade-offs between
model accuracy, latency, interpretability, and cost
Training, Fine-Tuning & Distillation
Architect pipelines for:
Domain adaptation and instruction tuning on
security-specific datasets
Model distillation and compression
for efficient deployment in enterprise environments
Design and execute experiments for:
Alignment (RLHF/RLAIF) in
security-sensitive contexts
Red-teaming and adversarial robustness of models
AI Agents for Security Workflows
Design and oversee
AI agents
that:
Automate security operations (SOC workflows, triage, investigation)
Integrate with enterprise tools (SIEM, EDR, SaaS platforms)
Define architectures for
tool use, reasoning, memory, and policy-aware decision making
Experimentation & Evaluation
Establish rigorous evaluation frameworks for:
Detection accuracy, false positives/negatives
Model robustness under adversarial conditions
Safety, hallucination, and misuse risks
Lead
deep experimentation cycles
to continuously improve model performance and reliability
Productionization & Scale
Guide deployment of models into
enterprise-scale, real-time environments
Optimize inference systems for
low latency, high throughput, and cost efficiency
Collaborate with platform teams on
ML infrastructure, data pipelines, and observability
Security, Governance & Responsible AI
Ensure models and systems meet
enterprise security standards (SOC2, ISO, GDPR, etc.)
Establish best practices for:
Secure model development and deployment
Data privacy and protection in training pipelines
Responsible AI and model safety in adversarial environments
Required Qualifications
Experience
10+ years in ML/AI systems, with significant focus on
deep learning and production ML
Proven experience in:
Building or scaling
LLMs/SLMs or advanced ML systems
Applying ML/AI in
security, fraud, risk, or adversarial domains
Track record of delivering
production-grade AI systems at scale
Technical Expertise
Deep understanding of:
Transformer architectures and modern LLM techniques
Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and hybrid AI systems
Model training dynamics, scaling laws, and optimization
Hands-on experience with:
Training, fine-tuning, and
distilling models
Efficient inference (quantization, pruning, batching)
Distributed training frameworks (PyTorch, DeepSpeed, FSDP, etc.)
Security Domain Knowledge
Strong understanding of one or more:
Security telemetry (logs, network traffic, endpoint data)
Threat detection and anomaly detection systems
Identity, access, and data protection systems
Familiarity with security tooling ecosystems (SIEM, EDR, CASB, etc.)
Systems & Engineering
Experience designing
high-throughput, low-latency ML systems
Strong programming skills in
Python
, with production experience
Understanding of
data pipelines, feature engineering, and MLOps practices
Preferred Qualifications
Experience building
AI systems for SaaS security or GenAI security platforms
Familiarity with
multi-agent systems for security automation
Experience with
synthetic data generation for security use cases
Contributions to
AI/ML research, open-source, or security tooling
Background in
AI safety, adversarial ML, or model interpretability
Success Metrics
Development of
high-precision, low-noise security AI models
Successful deployment of
AI agents automating security workflows
Measurable improvements in
detection accuracy and operational efficiency
Robustness of models against
adversarial and real-world attack scenarios
Strong adherence to
enterprise security, privacy, and compliance standards
Why This Role Matters
This role is central to building
intelligent, AI-native security systems
that can operate at
enterprise scale and under adversarial conditions
. The Principal ML Architect will define the technical foundation for
secure, reliable, and high-performance AI systems
, enabling the organization to lead in
next-generation cybersecurity powered by AI
.
Why Proofpoint?
At Proofpoint, we believe that an exceptional career experience includes a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Here are just a few reasons you’ll love working with us:
Competitive compensation
Comprehensive benefits
Career success on your terms
Flexible work environment
Annual wellness and community outreach days
Always on recognition for your contributions
Global collaboration and networking opportunities
Our Culture:
Our culture is rooted in values that inspire belonging, empower purpose and drive success-every day, for everyone.
We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to
[email protected]
.
How to Apply
Interested? Submit your application along with any supporting information- we can’t wait to hear from you!
Consistent with Proofpoint values and applicable law, we provide the following information to promote pay transparency and equity. Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets as set out below. Pay within these ranges varies and depends on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The actual offer will be based on the individual candidate. The range provided may represent a candidate range and may not reflect the full range for an individual tenured employee. This role may be eligible for variable compensation and/or equity. We offer a competitive benefits package, including flexible time off, a comprehensive well-being program with two paid Wellbeing Days and two paid Volunteer Days per year, plus a three-week Work from Anywhere option.
Base Pay Ranges:
SF Bay Area, New York City Metro Area:
Base Pay Range: 254,000.00 - 349,250.00 USD
California (excludes SF Bay Area), Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Washington DC Metro, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and Alaska:
Base Pay Range: 208,800.00 - 287,100.00 USD
All other cities and states excluding those listed above:
Base Pay Range: 187,000.00 - 257,180.00 USD