Cybersecurity Engineer (Virginia & North Carolina)

Kaizen Lab Inc.; Virginia (MN); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Kaizen Lab Inc. is seeking a Cyber Operations Engineer to lead daily cybersecurity operations and provide impactful solutions for clients. The role involves handling security incidents, managing ticket requests, and collaborating with IT operations for effective execution of security protocols.

The ideal candidate should have over 6 years of experience in cybersecurity operations, strong cloud security knowledge, and excellent communication skills. Join us to make a difference in the cybersecurity landscape.

Qualifications

• At least 6 years of experience in cybersecurity operations or related role.
• Hands-on experience with security events such as phishing attempts and alert triage.
• Strong understanding of infrastructure and cloud security concepts including identity management.

Responsibilities

• Own day-to-day cybersecurity operations including monitoring and incident response.
• Manage security-related ticket requests and report operational metrics.
• Coordinate incident response activities ensuring appropriate escalation.

Skills

Cybersecurity operations

Security engineering

Incident response

Cloud security concepts

Written and verbal communication

Tools

Microsoft 365

Azure

Microsoft Defender

Sentinel

Job description

Cybersecurity Engineer (Virginia & North Carolina)

Rapid Strategy is an award-winning, African‑American‑owned small business providing advanced cybersecurity, cloud engineering, and IT modernization services to federal and commercial clients. Our mission is to deliver secure, high‑impact solutions that protect and enable mission success. We are currently seeking a Cyber Operations Engineer with strong experience in day‑to‑day security operations and security engineering support.

This role focuses on owning operational security activities, working closely with IT Operations, and reliably driving work, demonstrating ownership and accountability. The ideal candidate brings hands‑on security operations experience, solid infrastructure and cloud security knowledge, and the ability to translate security requirements into practical execution within real‑world IT environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Own day‑to‑day cybersecurity operations, including monitoring, alert triage, phishing response, log review, and coordination of investigation and remediation activities across security tools and IT teams.
• Manage security‑related ticket requests and contribute to operational metrics and reporting for leadership visibility.
• Support security engineering efforts by reviewing design, integration, and implementation documentation for SaaS and platform integrations, identifying security considerations, and validating alignment with approved security patterns and requirements.
• Work closely with IT Operations to understand operational constraints and help translate security requirements into actionable and achievable execution plans.
• Coordinate incident response activities, ensuring appropriate escalation, documentation, and follow‑through.
• Demonstrate governance awareness by identifying when changes, risks, or exceptions should be escalated for review and approval prior to production deployment.
• Provide clear recommendations and technical input to security leadership for review and decision‑making.

Required Qualifications

• At least 6 years of experience in cybersecurity operations, security engineering, or a closely related role.
• Hands‑on experience responding to security events such as phishing attempts, alert triage, and log analysis across common security tooling.
• Strong understanding of infrastructure and cloud security concepts, including Microsoft 365, Azure or Entra, identity and access management, endpoint security, and how security controls function within enterprise IT environments.
• Experience collaborating closely with IT Operations teams to drive remediation and operational improvements.
• Ability to independently run tasks end to end and bring informed recommendations back for review and approval.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting Microsoft security tooling such as Defender, Sentinel, Purview, DLP, or related platforms.
• Familiarity with SaaS integrations and reviewing security considerations for third‑party platforms.
• Experience contributing to compliance or secure configuration initiatives.
• Relevant security certifications such as Security+, CompTIA Security+ or equivalent (e.g., SSCP, GSEC, SC‑200). Microsoft security certifications such as SC‑200, SC‑300, AZ‑500, or MD‑102 are highly preferred. Tool‑specific certifications in Microsoft Sentinel, Defender, CrowdStrike, or SIEM platforms are a plus.

Why Rapid Strategy

At Rapid Strategy, we partner closely with our clients to deliver practical, high‑impact cybersecurity solutions that balance security, operations, and real‑world constraints. Our engineers are trusted advisors who help organizations strengthen their security posture while enabling business and mission outcomes. If you are passionate about hands‑on security operations, collaboration with IT, and driving meaningful security improvements, we would love to work with you.