A week ago, Google posted a new job named Senior Engineering Analyst, Search, Anti-scraper and within the week it has already been closed out. The LinkedIn page says 49 people applied (through LinkedIn) - so it is weird to me Google closed it so quickly.
The SEO community felt this job was about hiring a specialist to block people/companies trying to scrape the Google search results. I mean, it is in the title of the job listing.
But why did Google close the job listing so quickly? The listing was also closed on Google's site. Update, the job posting is now over here - so it was moved?
This was posted also on LinkedIn, 6 days ago, by Isabelle Stanton, Director of Engineering at Google.
Here is a screenshot of the job listing:
Here were the job requirements:
Minimum qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience
- 5 years of experience in data analysis, including identifying trends, generating summary statistics, and drawing insights from quantitative and qualitative data.
- 5 years of experience managing projects and defining project scope, goals, and deliverables.
- Experience with statistical analysis, data science and data analysis.
Preferred qualifications:
- Master's degree in a quantitative field (e.g., Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics, Engineering).
- 5 years of experience in a data-intensive role such as threat intelligence, data science, trust and safety, or fraud analysis.
- Experience with threat intelligence, anti-abuse, security, network analysis, fraud detection, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
- Experience with SQL, JavaScript, Python, or C++.
- Experience with machine learning systems and concepts.
- Experience in data analysis, data science, statistical analysis, abuse detection, spam, web development, project management, and fraud detection.
Responsibilities:
- Investigate and analyze complex patterns of abuse on Google Search, utilizing data-motivated insights to develop countermeasures and enhance platform security. Analyze datasets to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies that may indicate abuse within Google Search.
- Develop and track metrics to measure scraper impact and the effectiveness of anti-scraping defenses. Collaborate with engineering teams to design, test, and launch new anti-scraper rules, models, and system enhancements.
- Investigate proof-of-concept attacks and research reports that identify blind spots and guide the engineering team's development priorities. Evaluate the effectiveness of existing and proposed detection mechanisms, understanding the impact on both scrapers and real users. Contribute to the development of signals and features for machine learning models to detect abusive behavior. Develop and maintain threat intelligence on scraper actors, motivations, tactics and the scraper ecosystem.
This got a lot of attention from the SEO community earlier this week, which may be why Google closed it down?
Speaking of blocking SEO tools.... pic.twitter.com/fBAMcTmh0O
— Ryan Jones (@RyanJones) September 16, 2025
Google is at war with other LLMs pic.twitter.com/aqBHg1KlAe
— Charly Wargnier (@DataChaz) September 16, 2025
And much more...
There is obviously a lot of speculation about the purpose of this job...
Forum discussion at X.
