Junior Malware Analyst ( 1 year contract)

Malware Analyst – Palo Alto Networks (Cortex XDR, Tel Aviv )

Contract Type: 12-month contract assignment (contractors will not be employed directly by Palo Alto Networks but through staffing partners).

Location: Tel Aviv, Israel

# of Positions: 1 Full-Time

Budget: 23,000 ILS per month

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Role Overview

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR research is looking for a Malware Analyst for its Tel Aviv R&D center. The team is responsible for developing and improving anti-malware detection and prevention capabilities. The role includes top-notch knowledge about the latest malware families in the wild, OS internals, and different attack frameworks. Analysts also investigate customer issues to prevent malicious activities in customer networks and contribute to product improvements.

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Key Responsibilities

• Content creation and maintenance for the Anti-Malware flow features over the Cortex agent.

• Analyze malware samples using reverse engineering, static and dynamic analysis.

• Research the latest malware families, obfuscation techniques, and attack frameworks.

• Create detection content such as Yara rules, Snort rules, and signatures for malware families.

• Work closely with product managers and engineers to improve detection capabilities.

• Investigate escalations from customer environments to ensure product robustness.

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Requirements

• 2–4 years of hands-on experience in malware research / reverse engineering.

• Strong knowledge of OS internals (Windows/Linux).

• Proficiency in Python, scripting, and automation.

• Hands-on experience with Yara, Git, BigQuery, and additional detection/analysis tools.

• Experience in reverse engineering obfuscated code using tools like IDA Pro, x64dbg, WinDbg, GDB.

• Ability to handle static and dynamic malware analysis.

• Familiarity with network protocols, cryptography, and C2 infrastructure.

• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate in a cross-functional R&D environment.