Security Platform Engineering Manager

LT Harper Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

LT Harper Group in London (hybrid) seeks a Senior Security Platform Lead to own the day-to-day health and direction of core tooling like Microsoft Defender, Zscaler, Qualys, Abnormal Security and Axonius, ensuring proper configuration, full utilisation and measurable security outcomes.

Reporting to the Deputy Group CISO during a multi-year transformation, you’ll build roadmaps, manage licences, and foster strong vendor relationships while coordinating with the SOC to tune detection and response.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in Cyber Security with hands-on platform engineering or security operations experience.
• Deep hands-on expertise in at least two of Microsoft Defender, Zscaler, Qualys, Abnormal Security or Axonius, covering configuration, policy and tuning.
• Experience as platform or product lead for an enterprise security technology, owning baselines, licences, vendor relationships and a roadmap.
• Strong knowledge of the Microsoft security stack (Defender for Endpoint, Identity, Cloud Apps and Office 365, Sentinel integration) plus API and SIEM/SOAR integration.
• A close working relationship with a SOC, and an understanding of how configuration affects detection quality and alert fidelity.
• The ability to explain platform recommendations to engineers and executives, backed by evidence and a clear grasp of licensing

Responsibilities

• Act as the technical lead for each platform in the portfolio, keeping up with vendor roadmaps and spotting where existing capability can solve a business problem before new spend is considered.
• Maintain documented, version-controlled configuration baselines that turn Group cyber standards into enforceable product settings.
• Build and run a rolling roadmap for each platform, and lead licence, renewal and consolidation recommendations with clear evidence.
• Build strong technical and commercial relationships with vendors, escalating effectively and tracking return on investment in security terms.
• Work closely with the SOC so platforms are tuned for detection, investigation and response, and act as the escalation point for platform issues.
• Advise divisional IT and security teams deploying centrally managed tools across a federated, multi-division estate

Skills

Cyber security leadership

Security operations experience

Tools

Microsoft Defender

Zscaler

Qualys

Abnormal Security

Axonius

Job description

You’ll own the day-to-day health and direction of a FTSE-listed multinational group’s core security tooling: Microsoft Defender, Zscaler, Qualys, Abnormal Security and Axonius. The job is to make sure every platform is configured properly, used to its full capability and delivering real security outcomes, not just sitting on a licence. You’ll report to the Deputy Group CISO during a period of significant investment in a multi-year Cyber Security transformation programme.

• Location: London or Peterborough, hybrid
• Level: Senior individual contributor reporting to the Deputy Group CISO, with scope to build a small team of engineers in future

What you’ll do

• Act as the technical lead for each platform in the portfolio, keeping up with vendor roadmaps and spotting where existing capability can solve a business problem before new spend is considered
• Maintain documented, version-controlled configuration baselines that turn Group cyber standards into enforceable product settings
• Build and run a rolling roadmap for each platform, and lead licence, renewal and consolidation recommendations with clear evidence
• Build strong technical and commercial relationships with vendors, escalating effectively and tracking return on investment in security terms
• Work closely with the SOC so platforms are tuned for detection, investigation and response, and act as the escalation point for platform issues
• Advise divisional IT and security teams deploying centrally managed tools across a federated, multi-division estate

What you’ll need

• 8+ years in Cyber Security, with significant hands-on experience in security platform engineering, security operations technology or similar
• Deep hands-on expertise in at least two of Microsoft Defender, Zscaler, Qualys, Abnormal Security or Axonius, covering configuration, policy and tuning
• Experience as platform or product lead for an enterprise security technology, owning baselines, licences, vendor relationships and a roadmap
• Strong knowledge of the Microsoft security stack (Defender for Endpoint, Identity, Cloud Apps and Office 365, Sentinel integration) plus API and SIEM/SOAR integration
• A close working relationship with a SOC, and an understanding of how configuration affects detection quality and alert fidelity
• The ability to explain platform recommendations to engineers and executives, backed by evidence and a clear grasp of licensing

Nice to have:

• Experience in a large, federated organisation, ideally FMCG, food and beverage, retail or manufacturing
• Scripting and automation with PowerShell, Python, APIs or SOAR playbooks
• Identity security experience with Entra ID, conditional access and PIM
• Certifications such as SC-200, SC-100, Zscaler ZCCA or ZCCP, or CISSP

What’s in it for you

Real ownership of a well-funded tooling estate, a direct line to the Deputy Group CISO, and the chance to build a small engineering team as the remit grows. Hybrid working from London or Peterborough, Monday to Friday.