Senior Detection Engineer – Enterprise Threat Detection Leader

Halian | Managed Services, Recruitment and Contract Staffing Agency; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 300,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Halian is seeking a Senior Detection Engineer in Abu Dhabi to lead the detection engineering program across our banking–focused engagements. You will design, mature, and operate detection capabilities, align with MITRE frameworks, and drive threat-informed initiatives across Enterprise security ecosystems.

You will architect detections using Microsoft Sentinel, IBM QRadar, KQL, and AQL, while mentoring a team of engineers and collaborating with Threat Intelligence, Threat Hunting, and Incident

Qualifications

• 8+ years of cybersecurity experience with at least 4 years focused on Detection Engineering or Threat Detection.
• Proven experience building or leading enterprise detection engineering functions.
• Expert knowledge of Microsoft Sentinel, IBM QRadar, Threat Detection Engineering, Security Monitoring, Threat Intelligence Integration.

Responsibilities

• Establish and develop a mature detection engineering function, operating model, and capability roadmap.
• Define standards, development processes, governance controls, and quality frameworks for detection content.
• Lead and mentor detection engineers and security analysts.
• Present detection strategies, risk-based recommendations, and coverage assessments to senior stakeholders.
• Transform threat intelligence into prioritized detection requirements.
• Develop detections aligned with current threat actors, attack campaigns, insider threats, and emerging risks.
• Collaborate with Threat Intelligence, Threat Hunting, Red Team, and Incident Response teams.
• Ensure intelligence findings are translated into operational detection capabilities.
• Design, develop, and optimize advanced detections leveraging Microsoft Sentinel, IBM QRadar, KQL, AQL.
• Build behavior-based, anomaly-based, and correlation detections.
• Develop Detection-as-Code capabilities supported through version control and CI/CD pipelines.
• Integrate detection content with automated response workflows and SOAR capabilities.
• Map detection coverage against MITRE ATT&CK, MITRE D3FEND, Cyber Kill Chain, Diamond Model, Pyramid of Pain.
• Identify detection gaps and prioritize improvements based on risk.
• Validate detections through purple teaming, adversary emulation, and attack simulation exercises.
• Continuously improve coverage, fidelity, and response effectiveness.
• Define and report detection performance metrics including Detection Coverage, Alert Fidelity, False Positive Rates, Mean Time to Detect (MTTD).
• Maintain audit-ready documentation and evidence supporting detection controls.
• Support regulatory, compliance, and audit requirements.
• Ensure critical log sources support organizational detection objectives.

Skills

Detection Engineering

Microsoft Sentinel

IBM QRadar

KQL

AQL

Python

PowerShell

Git Repositories

CI/CD Pipelines

MITRE ATT&CK

MITRE D3FEND

NIST CSF

Cyber Kill Chain

Diamond Model

Windows

Linux

Azure

Microsoft 365

Identity Services

Network Security Platforms

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Git

CI/CD Tools

Job description

Halian is seeking a Senior Detection Engineer in Abu Dhabi to lead the detection engineering program across our banking–focused engagements. You will design, mature, and operate detection capabilities, align with MITRE frameworks, and drive threat-informed initiatives across Enterprise security ecosystems.

You will architect detections using Microsoft Sentinel, IBM QRadar, KQL, and AQL, while mentoring a team of engineers and collaborating with Threat Intelligence, Threat Hunting, and Incident