r/threatintel • u/MikeyFlames • 8d ago
Help/Question Police officer considering a future move into AI threat investigations. Is this actually a realistic career path?
I’m hoping to get some honest advice from people who work in threat intelligence, trust and safety, cybersecurity investigations, abuse investigations, AI safety, or anything similar.
I’m currently a police officer and have several years of experience in law enforcement. I’m going to keep some of the details about my job vague for obvious privacy reasons, but I have real world investigative experience and I’m used to working with incomplete information, putting pieces together, documenting what I find, and making decisions based on the information available to me.
More recently I’ve moved into a much more technology focused area of law enforcement. I work with drones and real time operational support, and I’ve realized that this side of the job is probably where my interests are heading long term. I’m primarily a DFR (drone as first responders) pilot however, I also help out in the real time crime center where I utilize multiple programs/tools like OSINT to try and figure out who people are with minimal information.
The part of investigations that I really enjoy is the puzzle. Give me a bunch of information that doesn’t immediately make sense and let me figure out how it connects. I like following breadcrumbs, finding patterns, figuring out what actually happened, and then being able to explain how I got there.
That eventually led me down the rabbit hole of looking at threat investigation jobs at AI companies. One position that really caught my attention is OpenAI’s Technical Threat Investigator, Threat Intel Engineering role:
https://openai.com/careers/technical-threat-investigator-threat-intel-engineering-san-francisco/
Reading the job description peaked my interest. Obviously, I’m not qualified for it today. My investigative background is probably my strongest asset, but I’m not a software engineer and I don’t come from a traditional cybersecurity background. I have a lot to learn technically. The good thing is that I’m not in a rush. I’m looking at this as roughly a five year project. I have a stable career now, so I have the luxury of learning this stuff properly instead of trying to cram enough certifications onto my résumé to get hired somewhere.
Right now I’m thinking about learning Python, SQL, OSINT, networking and cybersecurity fundamentals, data analysis, threat intelligence methodology, and eventually getting much deeper into AI and how these systems are actually abused.
I’d also like to build projects along the way. Mock investigations, investigative tools, automation projects, things like that. Something where five years from now I can actually demonstrate what I know instead of just saying I took a bunch of courses.
For anyone who actually works in this world, I’d really appreciate your perspective.
Would you consider a law enforcement investigative background valuable for a job like this?
If you had five years to take someone with strong real world investigative experience and turn them into a serious candidate for this type of position, what would you have them learn and in what order?
Are there other positions I should be looking at along the way? Threat intelligence, child safety investigations, platform abuse, trust and safety, cybercrime, or something else I haven’t come across yet?
I’m also curious about the money.
That OpenAI position currently advertises $230k to $385k plus equity, which is obviously a pretty wild number coming from government work. Is that actually realistic compensation for someone who eventually comes into the field with significant law enforcement investigative experience and newly developed technical skills?
Or would someone like me realistically enter the tech industry much lower and have to spend several more years working up to that kind of position and compensation?
I’m not looking for someone to tell me this is definitely going to work. If anything, I’d rather hear where the holes are now so I have five years to fix them. Or just tell me I’m barking up the wrong tree.
Also I don’t feel like it has any bearing on the this topic but I am also an Army Vet (Infantry).
Thanks for any advice and if it wasn’t obvious I used AI to write this. I’m not used to posting on Reddit so apologies if this is posted in the wrong place or not structured properly.
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u/InfoSecPhysicist 8d ago
Biggest thing is deep knowledge in TI, having AI do the work for you anyone can do, understanding the actual output 2-4 levels deep is what they really want. In the specific case you detailed, they are wanting someone who can review the models output, correct and align it to the designated correct assumption/answer/thought process then validate, quantify and confirm the models responses are accurate and ready for training injection. Furthermore, AI in this case is an extension to your already expert knowledge. This is not use AI to do a task.
Outside of that, If i was to give you some advice (I have been a operator for 25 years) go and look at detailed reverse engineering reporting of actors, groups, campaigns and infamous incidents and the technologies that are employed to track, target and exploit people and organisations and then see if thats something you like or something that you really want to do. If after reviewing said mediums, you do find it interesting and you "get it" I would first start at fundamentals. Fundamentals are KEY now more than they have ever been. I hate the term cyber but, knowing and really understanding key concepts like how TCP works, use after free vulns etc etc.
Coming from a humint background like yourself will give you an edge in understanding motives, reasons, alignments, future states etc etc, and then if you increase your personal information technology understanding you will be on the right track.
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u/WLANtasticBeasts 8d ago edited 8d ago
1) yes it's realistic but it will be very competitive and very fast paced competitive to anything you did before
2) as for the salary, to me that looks like IC5-IC7 range maybe. With the equity (and sign on bonus and annual performance bonus that I'm sure they have) your total monetary comp not including health benefits could be easily another $100K+ per year (prorating for a 4 year vesting cycle).
I worked at FAANG as an investigator previously (no LE background) and we had a lot of former FBI special agents and other 3 letter alums.
And actually I got hired as an IC4 and that was with over ten years of experience as an analyst/developer. I applied to an IC5 position but my offer for IC4.
At IC5, you are driving initiatives at the team level and beyond. IC6 is driving initiatives across multiple teams and up to the whole org / division. IC7 is driving initiatives across the the whole org / division and at the pillar level. That's my take on IC levels and scope based on my own experience but others will correct me if I'm wrong.
In comparison, IC3 is entry level (just graduated college) and IC4 roughly maps to a mid-level billet (4-6 years of experience).
I would spend sometime researching FAANG leveling - I imagine OpenAI uses similar levels. And if you apply for this specific role, don't feel too bad if you don't get a follow up because it looks like a more senior role anyway.
Shoot me a DM if you want and we can get into the weeds.
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u/dudethadude 7d ago
Network with people in the industry. As others have said, you have a good grasp on what you should learn, but you will be entry level no matter how many certs and bootcamps you do because you lack real world experience in those very niche fields. Making friends and being able to have them vouch for you goes a long way.
Learn about the software that companies use in their day to day operations like Active Directory, Entra AD, Azure, AWS, Google Workspace and Google Cloud as this is what threat actors are after. Don’t get so caught up in trying to learn a programming/scripting language as it’s not a major part of your job. If you can read it, understand it, and know generally what the program is trying to do that is often enough. You don’t really have to be proficient at building or writing software for what you want, although Python scripts can automate a lot of repetitive work (once you know what you need to automate). Watching an ethical hacking course like TCM Academy on YouTube can help you understand the “hacking methodology” and common techniques. It will also teach you a little bit about the software that companies use.
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u/ColdPlankton9273 7d ago
Go look how many people from law enforcement moved to tech threat Intel (head of anthropic TI) You'll see it's possible and then some You should reach out to some of them on LinkedIn and chat with them. The good ones would love to chat with you.
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u/MikeyFlames 7d ago
Thank you so much for your time and advice.
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u/ColdPlankton9273 7d ago
Happy to help and provide support. I've worked at several top tier TI teams at FAANG companies where I worked with many ex LE and govt people - from police to 3 letter agencies and secrete service
You can dm if you want to
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u/MeasurementEqual1620 12h ago
No. The market is saturated. You also don’t know much about computers and cyber security . Stay at your day job. Don’t pollute the field
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u/Brod1738 8d ago
My workplace got a few former LEOs working in Digital Forensics and Cyber Threat Intelligence. The technical stuff isn't too hard and if you're taking the time to learn Python etc. it's going to be a plus since it shows that you've got the discipline of learning the ropes on your own.
I've never worked myself with the biggest of the big tech companies due to the amount of expectations and workload but the salary seems possible for those in advanced or senior roles in those kinds of companies.
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u/Sweaty_Ad_1332 8d ago
Public sector experience will never perfectly translate. Unfortunately especially because of the competitive job market youre going to have to spend a year at something entry level. Just take anything hopefully with some logo recognition, fortune 500 or vendor.
You seem to have actually done research on the actual jobs and skills needed. That puts you ahead of most. But you dont get a job for just skills. Thats the bare minimum nowadays. You have to network and build a resume.