Sr IT Cyber Defense Analyst

Harris Computer; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Harris Computer is seeking a Senior IT Cyber Defense Analyst (Shift Lead) to lead day-to-day SOC operations, oversee investigations, and mentor analysts. The role emphasizes SIEM/EDR, AI/LLM tools, and automation to boost detection and response.

You will coordinate with Incident Response and IT teams, develop detection rules in Microsoft Sentinel (KQL), and drive 24/7 coverage while ensuring audit-ready documentation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years in SOC/cyber defense/incident response with shift leadership or mentoring.
• Hands-on SIEM/EDR experience and threat detection.

Responsibilities

• Lead SOC shift operations, triage alerts, and manage incident handovers.
• Investigate complex incidents (phishing, malware, ransomware, compromised accounts).
• Conduct threat hunting and map attacker behavior to MITRE ATT&CK.
• Develop SIEM queries and detection use cases in Microsoft Sentinel (KQL).
• Utilize AI/LLM tools for alert triage, investigations, and automation; validate AI outputs.
• Automate repetitive SOC tasks with Python, PowerShell, APIs, or SOAR.
• Mentor analysts and ensure audit-ready incident documentation.

Skills

SIEM/EDR

Threat investigation

AI/LLM tools

Automation

Python

PowerShell

SOAR

KQL

Microsoft Sentinel

Defender/CrowdStrike

MITRE ATT&CK

Leadership

Mentoring

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity/IT/CS

Tools

Microsoft Sentinel

KQL

Microsoft Defender

CrowdStrike

Job description

Senior IT Cyber Defense Analyst (Shift Lead)

AI-Enabled Security Operations | 24/7 SOC

Location: Remote - Pune/Baroda, India

Department: IT Cybersecurity - Security Operations Center (SOC)

Reports To: SOC Manager

Work Schedule: 24/7 rotational shifts

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Senior IT Cyber Defense Analyst (Shift Lead) to lead day-to-day SOC operations, oversee security investigations, coordinate incident response, and mentor SOC analysts. The ideal candidate will bring strong SIEM/EDR expertise, advanced threat investigation skills, and hands‑on experience using AI/LLM tools and automation to improve SOC efficiency and detection capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead SOC shift operations, prioritize alerts, manage escalations, and ensure timely handovers and SLA adherence.
• Investigate complex incidents involving phishing, malware, ransomware, compromised accounts, endpoint threats, and suspicious network activity.
• Conduct threat hunting, correlate security telemetry, and map attacker behavior to the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
• Develop, optimize, and troubleshoot SIEM queries, analytics rules, and detection use cases using Microsoft Sentinel and KQL.
• Use approved AI/LLM tools for alert triage, investigation assistance, threat intelligence enrichment, KQL development, incident reporting, and workflow automation; independently validate AI-generated outputs.
• Automate repetitive SOC tasks using Python, PowerShell, APIs, or SOAR capabilities.
• Mentor analysts, improve investigation quality, reduce false positives, and maintain accurate incident documentation and audit-ready evidence.
• Coordinate with Incident Response, IT, Endpoint, Network, and Cloud teams to support containment, remediation, and recovery.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of experience in SOC, cyber defense, or incident response, including shift leadership, incident coordination, or analyst mentoring.
• Strong hands‑on experience with SIEM, EDR/XDR, incident investigation, and threat detection.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Sentinel and KQL; experience with Microsoft Defender, CrowdStrike, or similar security platforms.
• Strong understanding of networking, Windows/Linux, identity security, email threats, and MITRE ATT&CK.
• Mandatory practical AI/LLM proficiency, including prompt engineering, AI-assisted investigations, validation of AI-generated queries/scripts, and awareness of hallucinations, prompt injection, and data privacy risks.
• Scripting or automation experience using Python, PowerShell, APIs, or SOAR tools.
• Strong analytical, communication, decision‑making, and team leadership skills; willingness to work in a 24/7 rotational shift environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certifications such as Microsoft SC-200, CompTIA CySA+, GCIH, or relevant SIEM/EDR vendor certifications.
• Experience in proactive threat hunting, detection engineering, cloud security, and SOC process improvement.

What Success Looks Like

• Effective shift leadership and timely, high-quality incident handling.
• Improved detection coverage, investigation efficiency, and reduced false positives.
• Practical adoption of AI and automation to reduce repetitive work while maintaining security, accuracy, and human oversight.
• Strong analyst development, documentation, and operational consistency.