Sr. Cyber Defense Analyst

Patriot Talent Solutions; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Patriot Talent Solutions is seeking an experienced Senior Cyber Defense Analyst to lead cybersecurity incident investigations, threat hunting, and digital forensics. This role acts as a subject matter expert in incident response and threat analysis, collaborating with cross-functional teams to identify, contain, and mitigate threats.

You will mentor junior analysts, develop incident response playbooks, and provide strategic guidance on investigations, with an emphasis on automation and reporting

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in a relevant field.
• 8+ years of hands-on cybersecurity investigations and incident response.
• Strong understanding of Windows, macOS, Linux, and mobile platforms.
• Experience in cloud security incidents (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS).
• Excellent verbal and written communication; able to liaison with executives.

Responsibilities

• Lead incident response activities to identify, assess, contain, and mitigate threats; document investigations.
• Develop and improve incident response playbooks and runbooks focusing on automation and measurable metrics.
• Document and track investigations including IOCs, TTPs, affected systems, and remediation actions.
• Serve as liaison between security, engineering, infrastructure, and operations teams.
• Act as incident manager for declared cybersecurity incidents.
• Conduct digital forensic investigations and data acquisition using industry-standard tools.
• Identify trends in complex security data and communicate findings to leadership.
• Mentor junior analysts in incident response and forensic methodologies.

Skills

Incident response

Threat hunting

Digital forensics

Communication

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

SIEM

EDR

Forensic tools

Threat intel

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Senior Cyber Defense Analyst to lead cybersecurity incident investigations, threat hunting activities, and digital forensic efforts. This role serves as a subject matter expert in incident response and cyber threat analysis, working closely with cross-functional teams to identify, contain, and mitigate security threats. The successful candidate will help develop and enhance incident response processes, mentor junior analysts, and provide strategic guidance on cybersecurity investigations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead incident response activities to identify, assess, contain, and mitigate cybersecurity threats while documenting all investigative efforts.
• Develop, maintain, and improve incident response playbooks and runbooks with a focus on automation and measurable performance metrics.
• Document and track incident investigations, including indicators of compromise (IOCs), tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), affected systems, scope of exposure, lessons learned, and remediation activities.
• Serve as a liaison between security, engineering, infrastructure, and operations teams to ensure effective incident response coordination.
• Act as the incident manager for declared cybersecurity incidents.
• Conduct digital forensic investigations and data acquisition using industry-standard commercial and open-source tools.
• Identify, analyze, and interpret trends and patterns within complex security data sets.
• Collaborate with business and technical stakeholders during incident response and investigative activities.
• Develop and maintain reporting and dashboards for key security, threat hunting, and investigation metrics.
• Provide guidance and recommendations to cybersecurity leadership on sensitive and high-impact security matters.
• Communicate findings, risks, and investigation results to both technical and executive audiences.
• Demonstrate expertise across a broad range of technology and cybersecurity domains.
• Mentor and support junior analysts in incident response, threat hunting, and forensic methodologies.
• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 8+ years of relevant cybersecurity experience, or 10+ years of equivalent education and work experience.
• 8+ years of hands‑on experience in cybersecurity investigations and incident response.
• Strong understanding of operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Unix, and mobile platforms.
• Experience investigating and responding to incidents in cloud environments, including SaaS, PaaS, and public cloud platforms.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and critical‑thinking skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced, high‑pressure environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Industry certifications such as CISSP, GSEC, GCFA, GCFE, or equivalent.
• Knowledge of cybersecurity technologies, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), endpoint detection and response (EDR), SIEM, and SOAR platforms.
• Experience leveraging threat intelligence to support security operations and investigations.
• Advanced understanding of cyberattack techniques, adversary behavior, and mitigation strategies.
• Experience performing risk assessments using qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
• Expertise in incident response, digital forensics, malware analysis, network traffic analysis, and log analysis.
• Familiarity with frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK and MITRE ATLAS.
• Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled