Cyber Defense Strategy & Operations Lead

Optimum; Bethpage, Northern (NY, KY); Hybrid; USD 134,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

Optimum in Bethpage, NY seeks Lead, Cyber Defense Operations Strategy and Coordination to drive strategic direction and coordinate across SOC, Incident Response, Threat Intelligence, and Vulnerability Management to reduce risk. You will develop playbooks, runbooks, KPIs, and lead readiness drills while partnering with IT, Legal, and business teams.

This role requires 8+ years in cyber security and a related degree, with CISSP/CISM/GIAC/PMP preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent experience
• 8+ years experience in Cyber Security or related field
• Demonstrated experience in SOC, incident response, threat intelligence, or vulnerability management leadership
• Strong knowledge of cyber defense frameworks and standards (for example, NIST CSF, MITRE ATT&CK, ISO 27001)
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional programs and influence outcomes without direct authority
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level reporting
• Preferred Qualifications: Experience in large enterprise or regulated industry environments
• Familiarity with SIEM, SOAR, EDR, case management, and vulnerability risk platforms
• Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, GIAC (GCIH/GCIA), or PMP

Responsibilities

• Define and evolve the cyber defense operations strategy, roadmap, and operating model
• Coordinate priorities and execution across SOC, IR, Threat Intelligence, Vulnerability Management, and security engineering teams
• Establish and lead oversight, including operational reviews, risk reviews, and post-incident reviews
• Drive development and standardization of playbooks, runbooks, escalation paths, and response coordination protocols
• Translate emerging threats into operational priorities, detection use cases, and control improvements
• Develop and report KPIs/KRIs such as MTTR, MTTC, detection coverage, and remediation SLA performance
• Partner with Infrastructure, IT, Legal, Privacy, and business teams during incident response and readiness efforts
• Lead improvement exercises and operational readiness drills (PTEs, Table tops, etc.) to strengthen crisis response
• Identify process and tooling gaps and coordinate automation and operational improvement initiatives

Skills

Cyber security leadership

Cross-functional program management

Executive-level reporting

Strong communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or related field

Tools

SIEM

SOAR

EDR

Job description

Optimum in Bethpage, NY seeks Lead, Cyber Defense Operations Strategy and Coordination to drive strategic direction and coordinate across SOC, Incident Response, Threat Intelligence, and Vulnerability Management to reduce risk. You will develop playbooks, runbooks, KPIs, and lead readiness drills while partnering with IT, Legal, and business teams.

This role requires 8+ years in cyber security and a related degree, with CISSP/CISM/GIAC/PMP preferred.