Mahbod Tavallaee, Ph.D.

CTO and Head of Engineering – AI & Cybersecurity Platforms at IBM

Washington DC-Baltimore Area, United States

About Mahbod Tavallaee, Ph.D.

Mahbod Tavallaee, Ph.D. is CTO and Head of Engineering – AI & Cybersecurity Platforms at IBM. Location: Washington DC-Baltimore Area, United States.

Dr. Mahbod Tavallaee is CTO and Head of Engineering for AI & Cybersecurity Platforms at IBM Cybersecurity Services.   In his role, Mahbod leads a global organization of over 120 technical product managers, software engineers, security engineers, and data scientists, driving the development of IBM’s next-generation AI and cybersecurity platforms. He oversees the architecture, automation, and integration of shared platform components that power multiple innovation squads and client-facing solutions, with a focus on secure, intelligent, and scalable AI systems.   With a foundation in software engineering and networking, Mahbod began his cybersecurity career in 2007 as the research lead for Q1 Labs while pursuing his Ph.D. on machine learning–based intrusion detection systems. He later joined Deloitte and IBM, where he served as a cybersecurity advisor and then as Global Senior Managing Consultant before moving into product and engineering leadership. A recognized innovator, Mahbod is the master inventor of IBM Threat Detection Insights (TDI), an award-winning AI-driven detection analytics platform, widely adopted by IBM’s Managed Threat Detection and Response clients.   Mahbod is sought out to deliver presentations about threat management and detection engineering at Security Conferences, and his research articles are cited by more than 9,000 security researchers. Mahbod is also the author of the book “Network Intrusion Detection and Prevention: Concepts and Techniques”, and has received several awards in IBM to recognize his work helping IBM’s clients manage extremely complicated cybersecurity threats: • IBM Tech Award, 2026. • IBM Growth Award, 2025. • IBM High Value Patent Application, 2023. • Invention Achievement Award (Invention Plateau), 2023. • IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award (OTAA), 2021. • IBM Top 1000 Performers, 2021 • Arvind’s list for strong performance, skills, and leadership, 2020 • IBM Top 20 Collaboration Super Stars in IBM Security, 2020 • IBM Solutions Excellence Award (EA), 2017 Education and Certifications: Ph.D., Computer Science, Major in Network Security Master, Computer Engineering, Major in Computer Networks Bachelor, Computer Engineering, Major in Software Engineering GIAC Public Cloud Security (GPCS), Analyst# 266 GIAC Certified Detection Analyst (GCDA), Analyst# 88 GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH), Analyst# 23740 Palo Alto Cortex XSIAM: Security Operations and Automation IBM Certified Deployment Professional - Security QRadar SIEM HP Certified ArcSight ESM Security Administrator and Analyst

Skills

  • Network Security
  • SIEM
  • Intrusion Detection

Additional experience

  • Head of Product and Engineering – Cybersecurity Services

    IBM

    August 2023 – August 2025

Education

  • Ph.D., University of New Brunswick
  • Master, University of Tehran