Offensive Security Consultant ZA — Intermediate

Redherd is supporting an established cybersecurity consultancy hiring an intermediate Offensive Security Consultant in Johannesburg.

You would run authorised penetration tests across web applications, APIs, internal and external infrastructure and networks with limited supervision, validating findings by hand rather than trusting scanner output, and writing reports that explain business risk and practical fixes.

It suits at least two years of hands-on offensive security and at least two recognised pentest certifications, such as OSCP, PNPT, CPTS, CRTO or CRTP. Burp Suite and Active Directory testing are expected. Portuguese is a real plus and French a bonus.

The role is office-based with flexible hours, and travel to client engagements is required, including outside South Africa. A practical technical assessment is part of the process.

The package is discussed on the clearing call.

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Employment type: Full time, permanent
Seniority: Intermediate, two years or more of hands-on penetration testing

• Hands-on penetration testing across web applications, APIs, internal and external infrastructure, and networks, delivered with limited supervision.
• At least two years of professional offensive-security work and at least two recognised penetration-testing certifications.
• Office-based with flexible hours, plus travel to client engagements, including outside South Africa.

Red Herd is a specialist cybersecurity recruitment and advisory firm. We work with consultancies, product companies, vendors and enterprise security teams across South Africa, the UK, Europe and the United States. We are recruiting this position exclusively on behalf of our client. We share their identity with you during qualification, before submitting anything. We never introduce your profile without your knowledge and consent.

Our client is an established cybersecurity consultancy that delivers offensive security and managed security services to organisations across Southern Africa and beyond. Its client base includes businesses in Portuguese- and French-speaking markets.

Engagements span varied client environments, so the work does not settle into one estate or one test type.

This is an intermediate consulting seat. You run authorised assessments with limited supervision, find and validate vulnerabilities, and explain both the technical and business risk to the people who have to fix them.

You work inside agreed scopes, methodologies, legal authorisations and client confidentiality requirements. On complex engagements, you work alongside senior consultants, and structured training supports your development.

What it is not. It is not a scanner-driven role. The client wants findings validated by hand and false positives filtered out before they reach a report. It is not a senior or lead seat, and it is not a people-management position.

• Scope-aware reconnaissance and enumeration, then exploitation and post-exploitation within the agreed rules of engagement.
• Penetration tests and vulnerability assessments across web applications, APIs, internal and external infrastructure, and networks.
• Test authentication, authorisation, session management and access control for common weaknesses.
• Validate every vulnerability by hand and demonstrate it safely, keeping operational risk to clients low.
• Use commercial and open-source tooling well, without leaning on automated scanner output.
• Keep clear, reproducible evidence and accurate engagement notes throughout.
• Write reports that cover the technical finding, the business impact, the risk rating and practical remediation.
• P…