Senior Penetration Tester

Job description

Packetlabs is launching its first international security team in Australia. This role exists to ensure that our Australian practice operates at the same standard as our global organization, while helping define how we scale penetration testing across regions. We are a passionate team of highly trained, proactive, ethical hackers. We provide expert-level penetration testing services that are thorough and tailored to help foster a safe digital space where everyone has the right to privacy and security. Packetlabs consultants find weaknesses others overlook and continuously learn new ways to evade controls. We hold ourselves to a very high standard. If you want to do excellent technical work and influence how a distributed security team collaborates, documents, and scales, this role is for you. What You’ll Be Building You’ll be one of the first security hires in Australia and a key contributor to Packetlabs’ global penetration testing practice. From day one, you’ll work closely with teammates in Canada and Australia to ensure a single, unified methodology, culture, and quality bar. This role includes: Owning the technical and cultural integration of the Australian security team into Packetlabs’ global practice Mentoring intermediate and junior pentesters locally Setting and enforcing documentation, workflow, and tooling standards used across regions Acting as a cultural and technical bridge between regions Our Canadian Security leadership is actively invested in the success of our Australian team. You will not be expected to operate in isolation or “figure things out alone.” Support includes: Direct access to leadership for technical, process, and escalation decisions Shared ownership of methodologies, tooling, and quality standards across regions A structured onboarding and buddy system with experienced team members in Canada Clear escalation paths for high-impact findings and client-sensitive situations Regular cross-region planning, review, and knowledge-sharing sessions While this role has significant autonomy, success is built on collaboration, transparency, and shared accountability across regions. What You’ll Be Doing Collaboration & Integration Work closely with teammates across Australia and North America Participate in cross-region projects (you will not be siloed to “APAC-only” work) Communicate findings clearly in both written and verbal formats Contribute to shared documentation and knowledge bases Support structured handoffs across time zones when needed Core Technical Work Your primary role is to perform penetration testing of web applications, mobile applications, thick clients, APIs, and infrastructure when ready. Chain application flaws to other areas, such as cloud and on-prem AD infrastructure. Opportunities for lateral movement into the infrastructure teams are limited and given at the manager's discretion. Develop detailed reports on findings and remediations for impactful findings. You will learn to debrief these findings at both a technical and executive level. Experience in using scanners and knowledge of validation and elimination of false positives. A strong understanding of OWASP in Web, API, Mobile, and AI/LLM is necessary, but you will be asked to go beyond. Team Development Mentor intermediate and junior pentesters Lead or co-lead internal knowledge-sharing sessions Help set the standard for technical quality, communication, and professionalism Surface integration or process issues early and proactively What Success Looks Like in the First 6 Months Australian engagements consistently meet or exceed Packetlabs’ global quality bar Junior and intermediate pentesters operate with increasing autonomy under your guidance Cross-region handoffs occur without friction or rework Documentation and methodology improvements reduce review cycles and escalations Leadership has confidence in delegating responsibility for regional delivery to you Who We Are Looking For Applicants must have the legal right to work in Australia. Core values: You have a customer-first mentality. Is a great communicator with clients, project managers, and teammates. Rapid responses and on time. You deliver work that you take pride in. Your work is an autograph of your excellence. You dig deeper into every finding. Doesn't stop until impact is proven. You are comfortable being uncomfortable. Goes towards obstacles, not away from them. Consulting isn't your typical job and requires adapting to rapidly changing environments. You are always learning. Cybersecurity is changing every day, and you need to keep up or want to keep up. Be deeply aware of your skill set and be willing to improve. Demonstrates the ability to collaborate effectively in peer review and client-facing engagements Education and experience: We are looking for an experienced application security tester to join our team: Solid working knowledge of programming languages, including C, C#, Python, Objective-C, Java, JavaScript, SQL, and frameworks like AngularJS. Familiarity with web services and data exchange formats such as XML, JSON, SOAP, REST, and AJAX. Understanding of AI/LLM weaknesses and flaws in applications. Extensive experience/expertise in using an attack proxy (e.g. Burp Suite) Preferred if you have 3 - 5 years of experience working in penetration testing and consulting A graduate of a post-secondary college or university degree program. Has at least two years of experience dealing with information security-related tasks. Has professional qualifications (one or more preferred): OSCP, OSWE, BSCP. How We Work Remote-first, with intentional overlap between regions Strong emphasis on documentation and knowledge sharing Structured onboarding and buddy system Regular local meetups in Australia High autonomy paired with high accountability Why Packetlabs Be a founding member of our Australian Security practice Influence how a global security team is built and scaled Work with talented, pragmatic security professionals Clear growth paths into technical leadership or broader advisory roles Support for ongoing learning and certifications Competitive compensation aligned to the Australian market Packetlabs is an equal opportunity employer and evaluates applicants based on skills, experience, and role requirements. Packetlabs was built by an ethical hacker after seeing vulnerability assessments presented as penetration tests. Our sloga n "Ready for more than a VA scan?" drives at the importance of not providing our clients with a false sense of security. We are a passionate team of highly trained, proactive, pentesters. We provide expert-level penetration testing services that are thorough and tailored to help foster a safe digital space where everyone has the right to privacy and security. Packetlabs consultants find weaknesses others overlook and continuously learn new ways to evade controls. We hold ourselves to a very high standard. To do so, we only hire individuals with the same drive and passion. Note: While the position is based in Australia, initial onboarding and collaboration may involve some after-hours work to align with our Eastern Time Zone (Canada/US) team. Flexible scheduling options will be supported as the role transitions to standard local hours.