SOC Analyst

Focus Group; Swinton; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

A growing cybersecurity company seeks a SOC Analyst Level 2 to investigate complex threats and mentor junior analysts. This role involves detailed alert investigations using security platforms, contributing to SOC enhancement, and developing advanced threat hunting skills. The position offers a salary of £35-38k, with a focus on career progression in a dynamic environment. Join this ambitious team and make a significant impact in cybersecurity while enjoying the flexibility of hybrid work.

Benefits

Benefits package

Structured progression pathways

Qualifications

• 2+ years in SOC, MSSP, or cyber operations with alert investigation experience.
• Familiarity with MITRE ATT&CK framework and incident response principles.
• Practical experience with security tools like RocketCyber and Bitdefender EDR.

Responsibilities

• Investigate escalated alerts and perform root cause analysis.
• Mentor Level 1 analysts and contribute to training materials.
• Tune detection logic and improve SOC operations.

Skills

Alert investigation

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Mentoring

Tools

RocketCyber

Bitdefender EDR

Microsoft 365

Job description

SOC Analyst (Level 2)

Cyber Security

Hybrid (Manchester or Shoreham)

£35-38k + Benefits

Building a career in cyber security that actually goes somewhere?

Focus Group is scaling our Security Operations Centre, and we need a SOC Analyst Level 2 who can investigate complex threats, mentor junior analysts, and help shape how we protect our growing customer base.

This isn't just another alert-closing role. You'll be the technical escalation point for our SOC team, performing deep-dive investigations across our security stack, tuning detection logic, and directly influencing how we scale our operations. If you want to develop advanced threat hunting skills and progress toward senior analyst or detection engineering roles, this is it.

What you'll actually be doing

You'll investigate escalated alerts across RocketCyber, SaaS Alerts, and Bitdefender EDR—digging into phishing-to-compromise scenarios, suspicious inbox rules, MFA attacks, and cloud identity threats. You'll correlate context across platforms, perform root cause analysis, and coordinate response actions with engineering teams and customers.

Beyond the technical work, you'll mentor Level 1 analysts, contribute to training materials, assist with alert tuning, identify detection gaps, and recommend playbook improvements. You're bridging operational delivery and service improvement—making the SOC better while building your own skillset.

You'll bring

• 2+ years in a SOC, MSSP, or cyber operations environment with hands‑on alert investigation experience
• Practical experience with security platforms like RocketCyber, SaaS Alerts, or Bitdefender EDR
• Solid understanding of Microsoft 365 threats—token hijacking, MFA fatigue, login anomalies
• Familiarity with MITRE ATT&CK framework and incident response principles
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to correlate context across multiple platforms and perform root cause analysis
• Clear communication skills for documenting investigations and explaining technical details to non‑technical stakeholders
• A mentoring mindset—you genuinely enjoy helping junior analysts develop their skills

Bonus points for

Certifications like Microsoft SC-200, CompTIA Security+, GCIH, or BTL1

Experience with alert tuning or detection rule configuration

Familiarity with scripting, APIs, or automation for investigation workflows

Threat intelligence or email security platform experience

Why Focus Group?

We're a 1,300‑person Microsoft technology partner and managed service provider backed by HG Capital. We're ambitious about growth, and our SOC is central to that strategy. You’ll get structured progression pathways toward Senior SOC Analyst, Threat Intelligence, Detection Engineering, or SOC leadership roles—with the investment and support to actually get there.

Hybrid working from our Manchester or Shoreham office. Salary £35-38k depending on experience, plus benefits package.