Senior Threat Context Analyst

Overview

The Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) is looking for a Senior Threat Context Analyst with proficiency in Arabic and experience in investigating influence and/or AI threats emanating from the Middle East. MTAC is part of Microsoft Global Affairs within Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs (CELA), from which we inform Microsoft executives and customers on influence and AI threats overlaid with a deep understanding of geopolitical events in the Middle East.

 

The Senior Threat Context Analyst will contribute to MTAC’s mission to detect, assess, and disrupt digital threats to Microsoft, its customers, and democracies worldwide. The analyst will leverage their language skills and geopolitical knowledge to research and develop reports on malicious nation-state influence and cyber-enabled and AI-enabled influence operations from the Middle East.

 

In this role, the analyst will leverage Arabic language and regional, cultural, and geopolitical knowledge to inform attribution analysis and develop assessments about how influence and occasionally cyber operations fit into security policies of nations or groups based in the Middle East. This will require collecting and analyzing social media press content in Arabic, as well as other open-source information, to quickly and efficiently capture the most relevant findings. The analyst will also synthesize data/intelligence from multiple sources to draw conclusions about Middle East-based AI threats to write and brief for executive audiences. The position will require effective written composition ability, professional briefing skills, and rigorous attention to detail.

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Responsibilities

• Investigate, research, and assess Arabic-language malign influence threats at tactical and strategic levels by drawing on information from social media accounts, foreign policy priorities and perspectives from open-source reporting, and the activity of other Middle East-based actors.
• Quickly and efficiently write reports based on those findings for executive audiences.
• Develop engaging presentations and brief various stakeholders under tight deadlines. 

• Follow innovative, non-intrusive, law-abiding methods for detecting and assessing the most advanced and prolific threats in the information environment.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Mathematics, Analytics, Engineering, Computer Science, Marketing, Business, Economics or related field AND 1+ year(s) experience in data analysis and reporting, business intelligence, or business and financial analysis
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Statistics, Finance, Mathematics, Analytics, Engineering, Computer Science, Marketing, Business, Economics or related field AND 2+ years experience in data analysis and reporting, business intelligence, or business and financial analysis
  • OR equivalent experience. 

 

Preferred Experience:

• 4+ years of work experience tracking Middle Eastern geopolitical issues and producing analytic products on the region.
• Proficiency in reading and listening in Arabic (both Modern Standard and at least one dialect).
• Experience in using AI platforms and applications to automate workstreams. 
• Experience in common database query languages (e.g. SQL, KQL). 
• Ability to read and write code in at least one language such as: PowerShell, Bash, Python, Ruby, Java etc.
• Experience living, studying, and/or working in the Middle East.
• Reading and listening proficiency in additional languages particularly Turkish, Persian, or Kurdish. 
• Experience tracking Middle East threat capabilities, infrastructure, or operational techniques from groups based in the Levant, Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, or Iran.
• Experience leveraging language skills for open-source research, particularly social media research and analysis on platforms frequently used by Middle Eastern actors. 
• Proven writing skills and proficient in Microsoft PowerPoint for presentations for executive audiences. 
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel. 
• Professional analytic experience working on influence, cyber, or AI threats in the Middle East.
• Ability to quickly and efficiently sift through data to identify trends, shifts, or key issues to incorporate into synthesized analysis for executive-level customers or decisionmakers.
• Proven cross-group collaboration with experience building relationships.

 

Other Requirements:

• Citizenship & Citizenship Verification: This position requires verification of citizenship due to citizenship-based legal restrictions. Specifically, this position supports United States federal, state, and/or local government agency customers and is subject to certain citizenship-based restrictions where required or permitted by applicable law. To meet this legal requirement, and as a condition of employment, the successful candidate’s citizenship will be verified with a valid passport.

Business Analytics IC3 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $85,100 - $169,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $112,000 - $185,300 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

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Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.