Cybersecurity Watch Operations Subject Matter Expert IV

Invictus International Consulting, LLC; Colorado Springs (CO); On-site; USD 145,000 - 196,000; Full time

Job summary

Invictus International Consulting, LLC in Colorado Springs is seeking a Cybersecurity Watch Operations Subject Matter Expert IV to serve as the senior technical authority for SOC watch operations and to contribute to the maturation of a new DoD SOC.

The role requires leading advanced investigations, directing incident response, and mentoring staff, with TS/SCI clearance and CI polygraph eligibility, and hands-on expertise across networking, SIEM/SOAR, and defense-in-depth strategies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field; 4 years may substitute.
• Minimum eight years of relevant experience.
• Expert-level hands-on SOC operations and incident response.
• Experience leading complex investigations and establishing procedures.
• Strong knowledge of enterprise networking, SIEM/SOAR, and network security.
• Current DoD 8570 IAT II or IAM II certification.
• Active TS/SCI clearance with CI polygraph ability.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior hands-on technical authority for SOC watch operations and a founding operational SME for the establishment and maturation of a new DoD SOC.
• Lead the most complex cyber defense investigations and incident-response activities and provide technical direction when scope, impact, evidence, or response options are uncertain.
• Perform advanced forensic and security analysis of digital information, host and network telemetry, firewall and IDS/IPS data, authentication activity, intrusion artifacts, and other relevant evidence.
• Establish and continuously improve investigative methodology, triage standards, severity and escalation criteria, evidence requirements, incident workflows, case-quality standards, and shift-turnover practices.
• Provide senior technical guidance to SOC management on watch readiness, investigative quality, operational risk, staffing proficiency, capability gaps, and response considerations.
• Serve as the highest-level operational escalation point for Cybersecurity Operations Analysts and mentor senior and developing personnel through complex investigations and exercises.
• Coordinate complex incidents with government stakeholders, incident response organizations, system owners, administrators, network/security engineers, and other agencies as required.
• Partner with cybersecurity engineering personnel to translate watch-operations requirements into actionable telemetry, SIEM/SOAR, network monitoring, firewall, endpoint, enrichment, and automation capabilities.
• Identify systemic visibility, detection, workflow, tooling, and analyst-proficiency gaps and develop recommendations to improve SOC effectiveness and enterprise security posture.
• Lead development and validation of SOPs, runbooks, incident-response playbooks, analyst qualification standards, training scenarios, exercises, and lessons-learned actions.
• Conduct or direct proactive threat hunting and advanced analysis to identify malicious activity not detected by automated controls and to validate the effectiveness of existing defenses
• Analyze trends across incidents and investigations and provide technical input to operational metrics, significant-activity reporting, leadership briefings, and defensive priorities
• Apply network forensics, host analysis, malware-analysis concepts, vulnerability context, and threat-informed defense techniques as appropriate to complex investigations; advanced malware reverse engineering or penetration-testing experience is beneficial but not required

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Title: Cybersecurity Watch Operations Subject Matter Expert IV

Location: Colorado Springs, CO

Clearance: TS/SCI with the ability to obtain and maintain a CI polygraph

Job Details

• Serve as the senior hands-on technical authority for SOC watch operations and a founding operational SME for the establishment and maturation of a new DoD SOC
• Lead the most complex cyber defense investigations and incident-response activities and provide technical direction when scope, impact, evidence, or response options are uncertain
• Perform advanced forensic and security analysis of digital information, host and network telemetry, firewall and IDS/IPS data, authentication activity, intrusion artifacts, and other relevant evidence
• Establish and continuously improve investigative methodology, triage standards, severity and escalation criteria, evidence requirements, incident workflows, case-quality standards, and shift-turnover practices
• Provide senior technical guidance to SOC management on watch readiness, investigative quality, operational risk, staffing proficiency, capability gaps, and response considerations
• Serve as the highest-level operational escalation point for Cybersecurity Operations Analysts and mentor senior and developing personnel through complex investigations and exercises
• Coordinate complex incidents with government stakeholders, incident response organizations, system owners, administrators, network/security engineers, and other agencies as required
• Partner with cybersecurity engineering personnel to translate watch-operations requirements into actionable telemetry, SIEM/SOAR, network monitoring, firewall, endpoint, enrichment, and automation capabilities
• Identify systemic visibility, detection, workflow, tooling, and analyst-proficiency gaps and develop recommendations to improve SOC effectiveness and enterprise security posture
• Lead development and validation of SOPs, runbooks, incident-response playbooks, analyst qualification standards, training scenarios, exercises, and lessons-learned actions.
• Conduct or direct proactive threat hunting and advanced analysis to identify malicious activity not detected by automated controls and to validate the effectiveness of existing defenses
• Analyze trends across incidents and investigations and provide technical input to operational metrics, significant-activity reporting, leadership briefings, and defensive priorities
• Apply network forensics, host analysis, malware-analysis concepts, vulnerability context, and threat-informed defense techniques as appropriate to complex investigations; advanced malware reverse engineering or penetration-testing experience is beneficial but not required

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institute in a technical discipline applicable to the position; an additional 4 years of may be substituted in lieu of a degree
• Minimum of eight (8) years of relevant experience in addition to education level
• Expert-level hands-on experience in SOC operations, cyber defense analysis, incident investigation, and incident response in complex enterprise environments
• Demonstrated experience leading complex investigations while remaining technically hands-on.
• Demonstrated ability to establish or materially improve SOC operating procedures, investigative standards, incident workflows, or analyst qualification/training programs
• Strong knowledge of enterprise networking, network security monitoring, host/endpoint analysis, identity/authentication activity, incident response, and adversary TTPs
• Experience collaborating with SIEM/SOAR, detection, network-security, endpoint, vulnerability, and other cybersecurity engineering teams
• Experience helping establish, transform, or mature a SOC, CSIRT, or cyber defense capability is highly desired
• Must possess current DoD 8570 IAT II or IAM II certification
• Experience working in a DoD or IC environment
• Current active TS/SCI clearance, with the ability to obtain and maintain a CI polygraph

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veteran/Disabled

Salary: $170000 per year