Microsoft Security Analyst

DIRECT CLIENT:  

Information Security Analyst

Duration: 12+months

Location: Carson City, NV OR Las Vegas, NV

Rate: $DOE/hr W2-1099

100% Onsite

Position Overview

The Security Analyst plays a key role in safeguarding the organization’s information systems by proactively identifying, investigating, and responding to threats across the enterprise security stack. This position specializes in threat hunting within Microsoft Defender XDR, Microsoft Sentinel, and Microsoft Security for Copilot, leveraging advanced telemetry, analytics, and automation capabilities to detect and mitigate cyber threats. The analyst will collaborate closely with IT, security operations, and leadership to enhance detection capabilities, strengthen security posture, and support continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct proactive threat hunting across Defender XDR, Sentinel, and Microsoft Security for Copilot.
• Analyze security events, alerts, and anomalies to identify malicious activity, suspicious behavior, or policy violations.
• Develop and refine hunting queries, detection rules, analytics, and playbooks.
• Investigate endpoint, identity, email, and cloud signals to identify patterns of compromise or emerging threats.
• Perform deep-dive analysis of incidents, prepare findings, and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Collaborate with SOC personnel, IT system owners, and leadership to coordinate response and remediation.
• Leverage SIEM, XDR, and AI-assisted security tools to improve detection accuracy and reduce false positives.
• Maintain awareness of current threat actors, TTPs, and industry trends.
• Contribute to the enhancement of dashboards, analytics, and automation used for real-time monitoring.
• Support internal security reporting, documentation, and compliance as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• At least 3 years of experience in Information Security with a strong emphasis on threat hunting and security analytics.
• Hands-on experience using Microsoft Defender XDR, Microsoft Sentinel, and/or Copilot for Security.
• Strong understanding of Windows, Linux, and cloud log sources, telemetry, and security events.
• Ability to interpret complex data, identify trends, and communicate findings clearly.
• Experience with incident response, vulnerability analysis, and threat intelligence concepts.