Security Operations Center Analyst L1

Communicate Technology; Leeds; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

Communicate SOC is seeking a motivated L1 SOC Analyst to join our Security Operations Centre, protecting client environments through monitoring, investigation and incident response. The role includes a staggered Monday-Friday shift (08:30–17:30) and participation in an on-call rota to support continuous monitoring.

This is an excellent opportunity to build a career in cyber security, gaining hands-on experience with industry-leading security technologies while working alongside experienced

Qualifications

• Interest in cyber security and a career in a SOC.
• Understanding of core IT and networking fundamentals.
• Strong analytical and written/spoken communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Monitor security alerts across client environments and investigate suspicious activity.
• Perform initial triage and analysis to determine severity, impact and next steps.
• Correlate information from multiple security tools to identify threats and IOCs.
• Escalate incidents in line with SOPs and SLAs.
• Maintain accurate documentation of investigations within case management systems.
• Ensure incidents are prioritised and managed per customer and MSSP requirements.
• Support incident containment and response actions.
• Communicate incident status and findings to internal teams and customers.
• Contribute to post-incident reviews and lessons learned.

Skills

Cyber security

Analytical thinking

IT fundamentals

Communication

Documentation

Teamwork

Learning mindset

Independent worker

SOC monitoring

Education

Security+ or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft 365

Windows environments

Security monitoring tools

Job description

Communicate SOC is seeking a motivated and analytical L1 SOC Analyst to join our growing Managed Security Services team. Working within our Security Operations Centre (SOC), you will help protect client environments through security monitoring, alert investigation, threat detection and incident response activities.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to build a career in cyber security, gaining hands-on experience with industry-leading security technologies while working alongside experienced analysts in a fast-paced managed services environment.

This role operates in a staggered shift between Monday-Friday 0830—1730 and all team members are required to participate in an on-call rota to support continuous monitoring and incident response.

Key Responsibilities

Security Monitoring & Investigation

• Monitor security alerts across client environments and investigate potentially suspicious activity.
• Perform initial triage and analysis of alerts to determine severity, impact and appropriate next steps.
• Correlate information from multiple security tools to identify potential threats and indicators of compromise (IOCs).
• Escalate incidents in line with standard operating procedures (SOPs) and service level agreements (SLAs).
• Maintain accurate documentation of investigations, actions taken and recommendations within case management systems.
• Ensure incidents are prioritised and managed in accordance with customer and MSSP requirements.
• Support the response and containment of security incidents.
• Perform approved response actions such as endpoint isolation, account containment and IOC blocking.
• Communicate incident status and findings to internal teams and customer stakeholders.
• Maintain detailed incident records and contribute to post-incident reviews and lessons learned activities.

SOC Improvement

• Assist in the development and tuning of detection rules, alerting logic and security use cases.
• Contribute to the creation and maintenance of playbooks, runbooks and operational documentation.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives across SIEM, EDR and other security monitoring platforms.
• Identify opportunities to improve monitoring coverage, detection capability and operational processes.

Professional Development

• Maintain awareness of emerging cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and attack techniques.
• Develop knowledge across security technologies, operating systems, networking and cloud platforms.
• Participate in training, certifications, technical exercises and knowledge-sharing activities.
• Contribute to a collaborative team culture through continuous learning and professional development.

Skills & Requirements

• A genuine interest in cyber security and a desire to build a career within a Security Operations Centre environment.
• Understanding of core IT and security fundamentals, including operating systems, networking, user accounts and common cyber threats.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to follow structured investigative processes.
• Ability to prioritise tasks and manage security alerts in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with strong attention to detail.
• Ability to maintain clear and accurate records within ticketing and case management systems.
• Willingness to learn new technologies, security tools and incident response techniques.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of an operational team.
• Experience with Microsoft 365, Windows environments, IT support or security monitoring tools would be advantageous.
• Relevant qualifications, certifications, or lab experience such as Security+, SC-900, Microsoft Learn, CyberFirst, TryHackMe, Hack The Box, apprenticeships, or degree-level study are desirable but not essential.