Research Team Lead

We are looking for a Research Team Lead to establish and lead a cross-product research team focused on horizontal, high-impact initiatives that influence multiple offerings.
Unlike product-embedded research roles, this team drives foundational and strategic research projects across networking, security, identity, automation, and AI-driven capabilities. Examples include large-scale reasoning systems, autonomous policy frameworks, cross-domain detection and response concepts (xOps), and platform-wide intelligence capabilities.
You will combine deep technical expertise with strong leadership and execution skills -identifying impactful research directions, building a high-performing team, and turning advanced research into real platform capabilities used by thousands of customers worldwide.
Responsibilities
Technical Vision & Strategy:
Define and execute the roadmap for cross-product research initiatives.
Identify high-leverage research opportunities that impact multiple domains and products.
Drive long-term architectural thinking and influence platform evolution.
Balance innovation, experimentation, and production-readiness.
Team Leadership:
Recruit, mentor, and grow a multidisciplinary team of researchers (AI, data, algorithms, networking, security).
Establish high standards for research rigor, experimentation methodology, and engineering quality.
Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, and technical excellence.
Research & Execution:
Lead complex, ambiguous research initiatives from ideation through validation and productionization.
Design large-scale experiments and validation methodologies using our data platform.
Drive innovation in areas such as:
Autonomous policy systems
Cross-domain detection and response frameworks
Large-scale reasoning and decision systems
Data-driven optimization and automation capabilities
Ensure research outcomes are measurable, scalable, and aligned with business impact.
Cross-Functional Collaboration:
Work closely with Product, Engineering, Architecture, and Product Research teams to translate research into shipped capabilities.
Provide technical guidance and influence cross-organizational decisions.
Act as a bridge between exploratory research and production systems.
Communication & Influence:
Present research findings and strategic recommendations to senior leadership.
Produce clear technical documentation, design proposals, and internal position papers.
Represent Platform Research as a center of excellence for cross-product innovation.