IT Cyber Security Expert

Occidental Petroleum Corporation; Houston, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Occidental Petroleum Corporation is seeking an experienced Expert IT Cyber Security professional to join the IT Cyber Security Operations team in Houston, TX. The role focuses on owning, optimizing, and scaling the Microsoft Sentinel SIEM across hybrid IT and OT environments.

You will manage end-to-end Sentinel administration, build custom analytics rules, and develop automated SOAR playbooks while collaborating with SOC to deliver rapid response and robust compliance monitoring.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or a related area of study.
• 7+ years of experience administering enterprise SIEM platforms, with 3+ years on Microsoft Sentinel.
• Strong proficiency in KQL, regex, or other SIEM query languages.
• Experience with log ingestion, parsing, and normalization from diverse sources (Windows, Linux, firewalls, cloud services, OT).
• Familiarity with MITRE ATT&CK framework and incident response workflows.
• Ability to work with sensitive information with confidentiality and professionalism.

Responsibilities

• Administer and maintain the Microsoft Sentinel SIEM platform, including log ingestion and rule tuning.
• Develop and manage custom analytics rules, dashboards, and alerts to detect threats.
• Design and maintain automated workflows using Azure Logic Apps and Sentinel playbooks.
• Integrate data sources across on-prem, cloud, and OT environments for visibility.
• Monitor workspace storage costs and data retention policies.
• Collaborate with SOC analysts and threat hunters to enhance detection and response.

Skills

KQL proficiency (Kusto)

Analytical troubleshooting

Independent work

Strong communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science/cybersecurity

Tools

Microsoft Sentinel

Azure Logic Apps

Kusto Query Language (KQL)

Job description

Oxy produces, markets and transports oil and natural gas to maximize value and provide resources fundamental to life. The company leverages its global leadership in carbon management to advance lower-carbon technologies and products. Headquartered in Houston, Oxy primarily operates in the United States, Middle East and North Africa. Oxy strives to attract and retain talented employees by investing in their professional development and providing rewarding opportunities for personal growth. Our goal is to meet the highest employer standards by ensuring the health and safety of our employees, protecting the environment and positively impacting our communities where we do business. We are looking for an experienced and motivated individual to fill the position of Expert IT Cyber Security within our IT Cyber Security Operations team group based in Houston, Texas. In this role, the candidate will serve as a Microsoft Sentinel SIEM Administrator to own, optimize, and scale our threat detection platform across hybrid IT and Operational Technology (OT) environments. The candidate will manage the end-to-end administration of Microsoft Sentinel—including data ingestion, ASIM parsing, and the engineering of custom KQL analytics rules - while building automated SOAR playbooks using Azure Logic Apps, optimizing workspace storage costs, and collaborating closely with the SOC to deliver rapid response capabilities and robust compliance monitoring.

Key Responsibilities:

• Administer and maintain the Microsoft Sentinel SIEM platform, including log ingestion, ASIM parsing, normalization, and analytical rule tuning.
• Develop and manage custom analytics rules, Workbooks (dashboards), threat hunting queries, and alerts to detect security threats.
• Design, build, and maintain automated workflows and mitigation playbooks using Azure Logic Apps and Sentinel Automation Rules.
• Integrate data sources across on-prem, cloud, and OT environments to ensure comprehensive visibility.
• Monitor system health, performance, ingestion costs, and storage utilization (retention/archive tiers) of the Log Analytics Workspaces.
• Collaborate with SOC analysts, incident responders, Security tools SMEs, and threat hunters to enhance detection.
• Conduct regular reviews of log sources and parsing accuracy to ensure data quality.
• Support compliance and audit requirements by maintaining documentation and reporting capabilities.
• Stay current with emerging threats, SIEM technologies, and best practices.
• Other security-related projects that may be assigned according to skills.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or a related area of study.
• 7+ years of experience administering enterprise SIEM platforms, with a strong preference for 3+ years of hands-on experience with Microsoft Sentinel.
• Strong proficiency in Kusto Query Language (KQL), regex, or other query languages used in SIEM platforms, along with experience building custom detection rules.
• Experience with log ingestion, parsing, and normalization from diverse sources (Windows, Linux, firewalls, cloud services, and OT systems).
• Familiarity with the MITRE ATT&CK framework and threat detection methodologies.
• Understanding of incident response workflows and integration with SOAR tools.
• Ability to work with sensitive and confidential information while maintaining the highest level of confidentiality, professionalism, and ethics.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical threats clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong analytical troubleshooting capabilities and a proven ability to work independently while maintaining standard technical documentation.
• Ability to work dynamically in a collaborative team environment utilizing structured project management frameworks (Waterfall and/or Scrum).

Desired Qualifications:

• Relevant technical certifications are highly preferred, such as Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200), CISSP, or GIAC (e.g., GCIH, GCIA).
• Hands-on experience securing Operational Technology (OT/ICS) environments.
• Knowledge of data governance and regulatory compliance frameworks governing enterprise and industrial environments (e.g., GDPR, NIST, ISO/IEC 27001 & 27019, or IEC 62443).

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, citizenship status or any other basis as protected by federal, state, or local law.

Oxy has bold ambitions to achieve net zero and help others do the same. To get there, we’ll need great minds ready to unleash big ideas, strong leaders ready to inspire and team players ready to make it happen.

Oxy produces energy and essential products to sustain and improve life on our planet. Our experienced teams, located in the United States, Middle East and Africa, are committed to safe and efficient operations and products, and to reducing our carbon footprint and helping others do the same. We are busy developing the big ideas and broad solutions we will need to achieve net zero. Every day, we get closer. And we won’t stop until we’re there.