Detection Engineer Intern

Detection Engineer

Proofpoint is looking for a skilled Detection Engineer to join our Account Takeover Protection team. This position is at the forefront of detecting and mitigating account takeover threats for cloud applications like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and more.

In this role, you will be responsible for designing and maintaining advanced threat detection logic to identify suspicious activities, risky behaviors, and malicious actions that attackers are performing as part of account takeover attacks. This is a unique opportunity to combine engineering, data analysis, and cybersecurity threats to shape the future of account takeover prevention.

Please note - This is a 12 month Placement Internship starting in June 2026

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop, test, and deploy threat detection logic to detect suspicious or risky activities.
• Continuously improve detection logic to minimize false positives/negatives and ensure high accuracy.
• Collaborate with peer Threat Researchers to incorporate new attack techniques and indicators of compromise (IOCs) into detection capabilities.
• Work closely with Product Management to align detection capabilities with broader security goals and customer needs.

Key Skills and Qualifications:

• Hands-on experience using Python, Pandas and big data querying (AWS Athena preferred) for analyzing and parsing large data sets.
• Strong investigative skills to troubleshoot for debugging issues, like false positives/negatives and enhance detection accuracy.
• Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams, including threat intelligence, product management, and engineering.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience in a threat research or detection engineering role.
• Familiarity with cybersecurity fundamentals, especially threat detection, behavioral analysis, and cloud account security.
• Prior experience working with Data Science tools (Spark, PySpark, AWS Sagemaker Notebook, Jupiter Notebook) building supervised and unsupervised Machine Learning models for anomaly detection and data classification.

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 accessibility@proofpoint.com.