Senior SOC Analyst

KeenLogic; Merrifield (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health/dental/vision benefits

PTO

401k

Life Insurance

Job summary

KeenLogic seeks a Senior SOC Analyst & Incident Responder to join the DEA-facing 24/7/365 Security Operations Center. The role includes advanced investigations, threat hunting, and operational leadership within enterprise IT, cloud, and OT environments.

The position is onsite in Merrifield, VA, with a 7 AM to 3 PM schedule and Fortune 500‑level benefits including health/dental/vision, PTO, 401k and life insurance.

Qualifications

• Active Secret or Top Secret clearance is required.
• Master’s degree with 8 years or Bachelor's degree with 11 years in Information Systems, Cybersecurity, or related field.
• One of the following certifications or equivalents is required (examples listed in ad).

Responsibilities

• Lead advanced incident detection, investigation, and analysis.
• Coordinate and direct complex incident response activities with SOC, forensics, and engineering teams.
• Mentor and train SOC analysts to improve investigative capabilities.
• Develop and refine SOC processes, playbooks, and detection capabilities.
• Perform threat intelligence collection, analysis, and dissemination.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to strengthen cybersecurity posture.
• Maintain documentation and reporting for SOC operations.

Skills

Clearance awareness

Mentoring & leadership

Incident response

Threat hunting

Education

Master’s degree + 8 years

Bachelor’s degree + 11 years

Tools

SIEM/SOAR platforms

Forensics tooling

Threat intelligence platforms

Job description

Senior SOC Analyst and Incident Responder

KeenLogic is seeking to hire a Senior SOC Analyst & Incident Responder to join our team at the Drug Enforcement Administration. All the duties listed support one or more of the following cybersecurity‑related functions; information security, SPAA, incident response, cyber security, insider threat, computer forensics, vulnerability assessment and management, network data capture, intrusion detection, log management, auditing, security incident and event management (SIEM), and penetration testing.

This is a full‑time position offering Fortune 500‑level health/dental/vision, PTO, 401k, and Life Insurance. This onsite role, with a daily schedule from 7 AM to 3 PM, based in Merrifield, VA.

Position Summary

The Senior SOC Analyst is a key member of the 24/7/365 Security Operations Center, which serves as the escalation point for advanced investigations, incident response, and proactive threat hunting. This role conducts higher‑level analysis than other analysts on the team. A senior SOC analyst performs deep forensic investigations, correlates multi‑source threat intelligence information, and guides containment and remediation strategies. The Senior SOC Analyst identifies and mitigates advanced threats across enterprise IT endpoints, cloud environments, and OT systems. They leverage frameworks like the MITRE ATT&CK framework and others to detect, disrupt, and prevent malicious activity from occurring in the enterprise environment.

They work closely with the SOC manager and leads. They mentor junior staff, assist to refine SOC processes, and ensures the organization maintains a strong cybersecurity posture. They collaborate with engineers, threat intelligence and forensics teams to enhance detection capabilities, improve incident response readiness, and deliver actionable security insights to leadership.

Required Qualifications

• Active Secret or Top Secret clearance
• Master’s degree and 8 years or Bachelor's degree and 11 years
  • Documented work experience performing any combination of Information System Security, Security Assessment & Authorization, Cybersecurity, Computer Forensics, or Insider Threat
• One of the following required:
  • CBROPS
  • CFR
  • CompTIA: CySA+, Security + CE, CASP+CE
  • FITSP-O
  • SANS: GCFA, GCIA, GDSA, GICSP
  • CCNA‑Security, CCNP Security
  • CISSP (or associate), CCSP
  • CISA
  • SSCP
  • CND

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Lead advanced incident detection, investigation, and analysis efforts.
   1. Correlate SIEM, EDR, IDS/IPS, and firewall data to identify and analyze potential incidents.
2. Perform deep‑Dive investigations to determine root cause, scope, and impact of incidents.
   1. Apply MITRE ATT&CK and other frameworks for adversary TTP identification.
   2. Conduct kill‑chain and supply chain analysis to understand and counter threats.
3. Coordinate and direct complex incident response activities.
   1. Guide preparation, identification, containment, eradication, and recovery actions in collaboration with SOC, forensics, and engineering teams.
   2. Serve as the primary escalation point for high‑impact or advanced incidents.
   3. Ensure incident handling aligns with established guidelines, response plans, and playbooks.
4. Conduct proactive threat hunting to identify emerging risks.
   1. Analyze telemetry, logs, and behavioral patterns for indicators of compromise or attack.
   2. Hunt for advanced persistent threats and undiscovered vulnerabilities.
   3. Use advanced queries in SOC cybersecurity tools to detect anomalous or suspicious activity.
5. Work with forensic teams to ensure proper forensic collection, preservation, and analysis of digital evidence.
   1. Coordinate with forensics teams to ensure chain‑of‑custody and evidence integrity.
   2. Extract and analyze relevant artifacts to support investigations and post‑incident reviews.
   3. Document and communicate forensic findings to stakeholders.
6. Develop and enhance SOC processes, playbooks, and detection capabilities.
   1. Refine detection rules, alert thresholds, and automation workflows in SIEM/SOAR platforms and other cybersecurity tools.
   2. Create SOPs, knowledge base articles, and training materials for SOC staff.
   3. Recommend and guide implementation of new detection and analysis tools.
7. Perform threat intelligence collection, analysis, and dissemination.
   1. Gather threat data from internal, classified, and open‑source intelligence feeds.
   2. Analyze and contextualize intelligence to produce actionable recommendations.
   3. Share relevant threat information with SOC, leadership, and partner teams.
8. Mentor and train SOC analysts to improve investigative capabilities and analytical thought process.
   1. Provide real‑time guidance during active incidents.
   2. Conduct regular training sessions, tabletop exercises, and red/blue team drills.
   3. Validate analyst findings and provide feedback to designed to provoke thought, improve accuracy, and investigative thoroughness.
9. Collaborate with stakeholders to strengthen overall cybersecurity posture.
   1. Work with engineering, IT, and cloud teams to address identified vulnerabilities.
   2. Participate in tool evaluations, recommending solutions that enhance SOC capabilities and identify capability overlap.
   3. Support internal coordination with DEA sections, divisions, and external entities.
10. Maintain documentation and reporting for SOC operations.
    1. Record investigative steps, evidence, and incident timelines in case management systems.
    2. Generate incident reports, trend analyses, and post‑mortem summaries.
    3. Provide executive‑level briefings on security events and SOC performance.