Senior Security Analyst

Xact Placements Limited; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Xact Placements Limited is seeking a Senior Security Analyst in Reading. In this hybrid role, you'll take ownership of security incidents, conducting investigations and automating security workflows across various platforms.

The ideal candidate has solid experience in a SOC environment, particularly with SIEM and EDR tools, and a strong understanding of the MITRE ATT&CK framework. This role provides a chance to develop your threat detection skills and work with advanced security technologies.

Qualifications

• Solid experience in a Security Operations or SOC environment.
• Proven detection engineering and SIEM rule-tuning experience.
• Hands-on experience with SIEM, EDR, and SOAR platforms.

Responsibilities

• Owning security incidents end-to-end.
• Running advanced investigations across SIEM, EDR, and XDR platforms.
• Building automated security workflows using tools like Logic Apps, Python, and APIs.

Skills

Security Operations experience

SIEM platforms

EDR

Detection engineering

Automation with Python

MITRE ATT&CK framework

Cloud security (Azure/AWS)

Education

CISSP or similar certification

Tools

Microsoft Sentinel

Defender XDR

CrowdStrike

Job description

Senior Security Analyst

Reading (hybrid)

£50,000 - £60,000 per annum

We're working with a well-established managed services organisation in Reading to find a Senior Security Analyst to join their growing SOC function. This is a hands-on role for someone who genuinely enjoys the detection-and-response side of security - not just monitoring alerts, but tuning the rules behind them, automating the boring bits, and hunting for the threats nobody's noticed yet.

You'll be at the sharp end of incident response, working across SIEM, EDR and XDR platforms, with real ownership over the full incident lifecycle from triage through to closure.

What you'll be doing:

• Owning security incidents end-to-end - triage, investigation, remediation, closure
• Running advanced investigations across SIEM, EDR and XDR platforms
• Designing and tuning SIEM detection rules to cut down false positives
• Mapping detection and response work against the MITRE ATT&CK framework
• Building automated security workflows using tools like Logic Apps, Python and APIs
• Proactively threat hunting using behavioural analytics and threat intelligence
• Monitoring and responding to security events across Azure, Microsoft 365 and AWS
• Investigating identity-based threats - suspicious sign-ins, privilege escalation, that kind of thing
• Supporting endpoint security (EDR, AV, patching)
• Acting as an escalation point for complex or high-risk incidents
• Supporting ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials complianceMentoring junior analysts and the wider service desk team

What you'll bring:

• Solid experience in a Security Operations or SOC environment
• Hands-on experience with SIEM, EDR and SOAR platforms
• Proven detection engineering and SIEM rule-tuning experience
• Strong grasp of MITRE ATT&CK and similar threat frameworks
• Experience automating processes with Python, Logic Apps or APIs
• Comfortable investigating incidents across cloud, identity and endpoint environments
• Experience with platforms like Microsoft Sentinel, Defender XDR, CrowdStrike or similar
• Knowledge of Azure/AWS security monitoring
• Understanding of ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials
• CISSP or similar certification desirable but not essential