CoStar Group

Senior Penetration Tester

CoStar Group$100K — $140K *
Information Technology
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or related field from an accredited institution.
  • 6 years of technical experience, 3 years focused on penetration testing or offensive security.
  • Proven experience in web application and API penetration testing with comprehensive understanding of complex application logic.
  • Strong report writing skills to convey vulnerability risks and remediation paths to technical and senior audiences.
  • Experience with secure code review, identifying flaws in authentication, authorization, and business logic.
  • Proficient in scripting/programming with Python or PowerShell, and able to read code in languages like C#, Java, JavaScript, or Go.
  • In-depth knowledge of defense-in-depth principles and layered mitigation strategies.

Responsibilities

  • Lead penetration testing of web applications and infrastructure to identify vulnerabilities.
  • Develop comprehensive test plans to validate vulnerabilities and demonstrate exploitability for various teams.
  • Collaborate with detection engineering on purple team exercises to assess security controls against real-world techniques.
  • Enhance pentesting capabilities in infrastructure and cloud-native technologies including AWS and Kubernetes.
  • Recommend remediations addressing root causes through code changes, architectural improvements, and control adjustments.
  • Keep abreast of current adversary techniques and mentor peers on offensive security practices.
  • Communicate findings effectively to technical teams and senior leadership, translating risks into business impacts.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive healthcare coverage including Medical, Vision, Dental, and Prescription Drug plans.
  • Life, legal, and supplementary insurance benefits available.
  • Virtual and in-person mental health counseling services for individuals and their families.
  • 401(K) retirement plan with matching contributions, promoting long-term financial wellness.
  • Employee stock purchase plan enhancing investment opportunities for employees.
  • On-site fitness center or reimbursement for fitness center memberships, promoting health and wellness.
  • Generous paid time off policy supporting work-life balance.
  • Tuition reimbursement for continued professional or academic education.
Full Job Description
Senior Penetration Tester


Job Description


Overview

Evolve our security pentesting capabilities to test our internal and external facing processes, infrastructure, and applications. This position will be tasked with developing test plans to validate identified vulnerabilities and demonstrate the exploitation of the vulnerabilities. The ability to explain the exploit to senior level management is key to success in this role. Stay current with trends, techniques, and tools used by adversaries.

This position is located in Arlington, VA and is in office Monday through Thursday with work from home on Friday.

Responsibilities

  • Lead penetration tests on web applications and underlying infrastructure for vulnerabilities using both manual and automated techniques.
  • Develop test plans that validate identified vulnerabilities and demonstrate exploitability to engineering teams, security peers, and senior leadership.
  • Collaborate with detection engineering and incident response on purple team exercises, validating that preventative and detective controls behave as expected against realistic adversary techniques.
  • Grow the team's pentesting capabilities in infrastructure and cloud-native domains, including CI/CD pipelines, Active Directory, AWS, and Kubernetes.
  • Recommend remediations that address root causes, including code changes, architectural improvements, and control adjustments.
  • Stay current with attacker tradecraft. Share knowledge with the broader security team and mentor engineers on offensive techniques and how to think like an attacker.

Basic Qualifications

  • Bachelor's Degree required from an accredited, not for profit, in person university or college (preferably in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or related field).
  • A track record of commitment to prior employers.
  • 6 years of total experience in a technical role such as security, software development, or systems engineering, with at least 3 years focused on penetration testing or offensive security.
  • Demonstrated experience with web application and API penetration testing, including identifying and exploiting attack chains across complex application logic, authentication, and authorization flows.
  • Experience writing reports that clearly demonstrate vulnerability risk, business impact, and remediation paths to developers and senior leadership.
  • Ability to perform secure code review and identify vulnerabilities in source code, including authentication, authorization, injection, and business logic flaws.
  • Scripting and programming proficiency in Python, PowerShell, or similar, with the ability to read and understand application code in languages like C#, Java, JavaScript, or Go.
  • Understanding of defense-in-depth principles and ability to recommend layered mitigations beyond fixing individual findings.
  • Security certifications such as OSCP, OSWE, OSEP, GPEN, GXPN, or similar.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

  • In-depth experience with offensive security tools such as Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP, Nmap, Bloodhound, and Metasploit.
  • Familiarity with Active Directory exploitation tools and techniques.
  • Familiarity with C2 frameworks such as Cobalt Strike, Sliver, or Mythic.
  • Experience planning and executing red team and purple team scenarios.
  • Experience with adversary emulation methodologies and frameworks (MITRE ATT&CK).
  • Experience testing modern applications in cloud-native tech stacks.
  • Experience with mobile application penetration testing.
  • Familiarity with AI and LLM security testing, including prompt injection, indirect prompt injection, agentic system risks, and MCP server assessment.
  • Hands-on experience implementing security tools into CI/CD pipelines.
  • Working knowledge of network, system, and database administration concepts as they relate to attack surface analysis.
  • Strong communication skills with both technical teams and senior leadership, particularly translating technical exploits into business risk.
  • Experience coordinating with application teams to drive security by design principles.
  • Ability to mentor and train team members on offensive techniques and risk prioritization.
  • A self-starter who follows ideas through to completion and drives offensive security work forward independently.

What’s in it for You

When you join CoStar Group, you’ll experience a collaborative and innovative culture working alongside the best and brightest to empower our people and customers to succeed.

We offer you generous compensation and performance-based incentives. CoStar Group also invests in your professional and academic growth with internal training, and tuition reimbursement.

Our benefits package includes (but is not limited to):

  • Comprehensive healthcare coverage: Medical / Vision / Dental / Prescription Drug
  • Life, legal, and supplementary insurance
  • Virtual and in person mental health counseling services for individuals and family
  • Commuter and parking benefits
  • 401(K) retirement plan with matching contributions
  • Employee stock purchase plan
  • Paid time off
  • Tuition reimbursement
  • On-site fitness center and/or reimbursed fitness center membership costs (location dependent), with yoga studio, Pelotons, personal training, group exercise classes
  • Access to CoStar Group’s Employee Resource Groups
  • Complimentary gourmet coffee, tea, hot chocolate, fresh fruit, and other healthy snacks

We welcome all qualified candidates who are currently eligible to work full-time in the United States to apply. However, please note that CoStar Group cannot provide visa sponsorship for this position.

#LI-KW1


About CoStar Group

CoStar Group is a provider of information, analytics and marketing services to the commercial property industry in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Spain. Founded in 1987 by Andrew C. Florance, the company has grown to include online database CoStar and many online marketplaces, including Apartments.com, LoopNet, Lands of America, and BizBuySell. CoStar Group was founded in 1987 by Andrew C. Florance in Washington, D.C. In 1998, the company became a public company via an initial public offering on the NASDAQ, raising $22.5 million. In 2004, CoStar Group, Inc. v. LoopNet, Inc. became a landmark case in copyright law. In October 2009, the company acquired a building in Washington, D.C., now its headquarters, from the Mortgage Bankers Association for $41.3 million. The building had sold 2 years earlier for $79 million and the company claims it used its analytics data to know the right time to buy. In April 2012, CoStar Group acquired LoopNet for $860 million. In April 2014, the company acquired Apartments.com for $585 million. In April 2015, the company acquired Apartment Finder for $170 million. In July, the company acquired Belbex an online marketplace and information provider for commercial property based in Spain. In February 2017, the company acquired Westside Rentals. In February 2018, the company acquired ForRent.com from Dominion Enterprises for $350 million in cash and $35 million in stock. In October, the company acquired Realla.co an online marketplace for commercial property based in the United Kingdom. In November, the company acquired Cozy Services for $68 million.
Learn more about CoStar Group
Size
4,742 employees
Market Cap
$31.3 billion
Industry
Net Income
$227.1 million
Founded
1987
5 Year Trend
+18.3%
Revenue
$1.6 billion
NASDAQ

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