DFIR Engineer II - Incident Response

Northwestern Mutual; Milwaukee (WI); Hybrid; USD 89,000 - 134,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Medical plan

Dental plan

Vision plan

401(k) plan

Pension program

Tuition reimbursement

PTO

Holiday pay

Professional training

Work-life balance

Flexible work schedules

Concierge service

Comprehensive benefits

Employee resource groups

Job summary

Northwestern Mutual seeks a DFIR Engineer II to join the Threat Detection & Response team in Milwaukee. You will respond to, investigate, and contain anomalous activity, stay current with cybersecurity threats, and help refine monitoring, detection, and response capabilities across networks and hosts.

The role requires hands-on incident handling, collaboration with security engineers, and participation in on-call rotations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in information security, computer science, or related field.
• Two+ years in an Incident Response or SOC role.
• IT background with emphasis on network or systems administration.
• Willingness to obtain security certifications (e.g., GCIH, GCFE, GCFA, GDAT, CISSP).

Responsibilities

• Triage, pivot and correlate across multiple network and host-based log sources.
• Analyze system artifacts and memory for evidence of compromise.
• Proactively hunt for and identify malicious activity using threat intelligence.
• Document detailed findings including timelines of events or incidents.
• continually improve incident response procedures and documentation.
• Engage with Detection Engineering and Red Team to improve monitoring and automate response.
• Keep up to date on evolving cyber threats and detection methods.
• Participate in on-call rotation with other Incident Response Engineers

Skills

SIEM

EDR

AV

CASB

Next-gen Firewalls

VPN

MITRE ATT&CK

AWS

Azure

O365

Docker

Kubernetes

PowerShell

Python

.NET

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Information Security, Computer Science, or equivalent

Tools

Scripting languages/frameworks

Job description

At Northwestern Mutual, we believe relationships are built on trust. That our lives and our work matter. These beliefs launched our company nearly 160 years ago. Today, they're just a few of the reasons why people choose to build careers at Northwestern Mutual!

We're strong and growing. In a company with such a long and storied history, this may be the most exciting and important time to be a part of Northwestern Mutual. We're strong, innovative, and growing

We invest in our people. We provide opportunities for employees to grow themselves, their career, and in turn, our business.

About The Job

As a DFIR Engineer II on the Threat Detection & Response team, your role will include responding to, investigating and containing anomalous or malicious activity that could indicate a security threat. You’ll be responsible for staying up to date on the latest cybersecurity threats and assisting in the continual development and refinement related to monitoring, detecting and responding to abnormal network and host activity.

What You'll Do

• Triage, pivot and correlate across multiple network and host-based log sources.
• Analyze system artifacts and memory for evidence of compromise.
• Proactively hunt for and identify malicious activity in various log sources using threat intelligence and other indicators of compromise.
• Document detailed findings including timelines of events or incidents
• Continually improve incident response procedures and documentation.
• Engage with Detection Engineering and Red Team to identify opportunities to better monitor/detect suspicious behavior and automate response capabilities.
• Keep up to date on evolving cyber threats and identify methods to detect them.
• Participate in an on-call rotation with other Incident ResponseEngineers

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Security, Computer Science, or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• Two or more years in an Incident Response or Security Operations Center (SOC) role.
• Background in information technology with an emphasis on network or systems administration.
• Hold or willingness to obtain certifications such as GCIH, GCFE, GCFA, GDAT, CISSP or other relevant security certifications.
• Foundational understanding of networking, Windows, Mac & Linux operating systems, and cybersecurity principles.

What Skills You'll Bring

• Experience with security tools including SIEM, EDR, AV, CASB, Next-gen Firewalls, and VPN.
• Experience with system and network artifacts.
• Working knowledge of the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
• Familiarity with various cloud environments and containerization technologies (AWS, Azure, O365, Docker, Kubernetes).
• Functional and practical experience with at least one development or scripting language/framework (e.g. PowerShell, Python, .Net) and regular expressions.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills.
• Demonstrated curiosity and passion for cybersecurity.

Our Benefits!

• We offer highly competitive compensation, including annual bonus opportunities
• Medical/Dental/Vision plans, 401(k), pension program
• We provide tuition reimbursement, PTO, and Holiday Pay
• We provide extensive Professional Training Opportunities
• We offer an excellent Work/Life Balance

Hybrid

Compensation Range

Pay Range - Start:

$89,360.00

Pay Range - End

$134,040.00

Structure 110

Geographic Specific Pay Structure:

Structure 115

We believe in fairness and transparency. It’s why we share the salary range for most of our roles. However, final salaries are based on a number of factors, including the skills and experience of the candidate; the current market; location of the candidate; and other factors uncovered in the hiring process. The standard pay structure is listed but if you’re living in California, New York City or other eligible location, geographic specific pay structures, compensation and benefits could be applicable,

Grow your career with a best-in-class company that puts our clients’ interests at the center of all we do.

Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer that welcomes talented individuals of all backgrounds. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which each employee can contribute creative ideas, seek challenges, assume leadership and continue to focus on meeting and exceeding business and personal objectives.

FIND YOUR FUTURE

We’re excited about the potential people bring to Northwestern Mutual. You can grow your career here while enjoying first-class perks, benefits, and our commitment to a culture of belonging.

• Flexible work schedules
• Concierge service
• Comprehensive benefits
• Employee resource groups