Cybersecurity Operations Lead – Azure & M365 (Hybrid)

Xerispharma; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Chicago is seeking a Manager of Cybersecurity Operations to lead day-to-day security operations with a strong emphasis on Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 Defender across endpoints, identities, and core SaaS apps.

You will direct MDR/SOC engagements, mentor the security team, and collaborate with IT, Legal, and Compliance to align security with risk management and governance frameworks.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, cybersecurity, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of progressive cybersecurity experience with leadership responsibilities.
• Hands-on with IAM, SIEM, vulnerability management in a Microsoft-centric environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the security operations function, including monitoring, triage, and response for alerts across Azure, Microsoft 365, Windows 365, endpoints, identity, email, and core SaaS applications.
• Direct and coordinate MDR and SOC partners, with clear runbooks, SLAs, and high-quality investigations.
• Manage and coach the security operations team, partnering with IT, Legal, Compliance, and business leaders.
• Establish balance between IT delivery and cybersecurity governance and controls.
• Develop and maintain runbooks and SOPs for security events and tasks.
• Oversee root cause analysis, forensics, and threat hunting across identity, email, endpoints, and cloud workloads.
• Drive incident lifecycle management with metrics, remediation progress, and lessons learned.
• Protect crown jewel assets through data classification, conditional access, and policy enforcement.
• Partner in governance activities including GRC, NIST control assessments, and security improvement tracking.
• Vendor cybersecurity due diligence and third-party risk operations with Procurement and Legal.
• Maintain inventory of security-relevant assets to support monitoring and access control.

Skills

IAM

SIEM

Incident response

Leadership

Cloud security

Microsoft 365

Defender suite

NIST CSF / ISO 27001

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, cybersecurity, or equivalent experience

Tools

Azure AD/Entra ID

Microsoft 365 Defender

MDR tools

Vulnerability scanners

Job description

Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Chicago is seeking a Manager of Cybersecurity Operations to lead day-to-day security operations with a strong emphasis on Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 Defender across endpoints, identities, and core SaaS apps.

You will direct MDR/SOC engagements, mentor the security team, and collaborate with IT, Legal, and Compliance to align security with risk management and governance frameworks.