Security Analyst - Project Lead

Daily Duties / Responsibilities

• Continuously review and correlate security event data across SIEM, EDR, IDS/IPS, and threat intelligence sources to identify complex attack patterns, emerging threats, and security incidents.
• Perform deep-dive analysis of suspicious activity, validate incidents, determine root cause and impact, and escalate critical incidents with detailed context to Tier 3 as required.
• Create detailed incident reports, timelines, and post-incident summaries; contribute to lessons-learned documentation and recommendations for remediation and preventative measures.
• Investigate user-reported phishing, malware infections, and potential policy violations; advise users and internal/external teams on containment and recovery actions.
• Recommend updates to SOC playbooks and workflows based on real-world investigations, fine-tune detection rules, alert thresholds, and correlation logic to reduce false positives and improve threat coverage.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to ensure monitoring tools are properly configured and tuned. Integrate new threat intelligence feeds into workflows and proactively hunt for threats using up-to-date tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).
• Serve as a customer-facing SME, “selling” the value of DIS services by demonstrating capabilities and resolving issues.
• Document processes, runbooks, and troubleshooting steps related to SOC operations.
• Coordinate with engineering, SOC, and agency staff as needed to meet goals.
• Other duties as needed.

Required Skills (Rank in Order of Importance)

• 2+ years of experience with security monitoring and incident response.
• 2+ years of experience with the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
• 2+ years of experience with dashboard creation and reporting.

Preferred Skills (Rank in Order of Importance)

• Experience with the Palo Alto Cortex XSIAM/XDR platform.
• Knowledge of Linux, network administration, and network design.
• Experience in administration of firewalls, VPN technology, Active Directory, and intrusion detection/prevention systems.
• Candidate is local to Columbia, SC, or a surrounding city in South Carolina.

Required Education/Certifications

• Associate’s degree in an information technology or information security-related field.
• Four years of relevant work experience may be substituted in lieu of education.
• Two years of experience in supporting large SOC operations.

Preferred Education/Certifications

• CISSP, CISA, CISO, or equivalent advanced security certification.
• Additional relevant certifications (e.g., CEH, OSCP, GPEN).
• Vendor certifications related to information security.