Head of Security Operations (SOC) – Cape Town

Placements24; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 1,600,000 - 2,000,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Executive-level health, vision, and..(

Dental insurance

Generous annual leave

Performance-based bonuses

Leadership development programs

Conferences and training

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking an experienced Lead Security Operations Engineer to spearhead the SOC in Cape Town. You will lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing team, driving detection, analysis, and incident response across a complex digital landscape.

The role requires extensive experience with SIEM/SOAR/EDR tooling, cloud security, and strong leadership. You will collaborate with IT and business units to enhance resilience and report SOC performance to senior management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or related field; master's preferred.
• 8+ years in security operations, with at least 3 years in lead/management.
• Experience with SIEM, SOAR, and EDR tooling; strong cloud security knowledge.
• Excellent leadership and stakeholder management skills.
• CISSP, CISM, GIAC (GCIH, GCIA) certifications preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Security Operations Center (SOC) team, providing guidance and mentorship.
• Develop and implement strategic initiatives for threat detection, analysis, and incident response.
• Oversee the deployment, configuration, and maintenance of security monitoring tools, including SIEM, SOAR, and EDR solutions.
• Define and refine SIEM rules and use cases to enhance threat detection capabilities.
• Manage the incident response lifecycle, ensuring timely and effective resolution of security events.
• Establish and maintain strong working relationships with other IT and business units to facilitate coordinated security efforts.
• Develop and deliver regular reports on security incidents, trends, and SOC performance to senior management.
• Conduct regular threat hunting exercises to proactively identify and mitigate potential security risks.
• Ensure the team stays current with the latest cyber threats, attack vectors, and defensive technologies.

Skills

Security leadership

Incident response leadership

Threat hunting

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/InfoSec

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Splunk

QRadar

ELK Stack

SOAR

EDR

Job description

Placements24 is seeking an experienced Lead Security Operations Engineer to spearhead the SOC in Cape Town. You will lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing team, driving detection, analysis, and incident response across a complex digital landscape.

The role requires extensive experience with SIEM/SOAR/EDR tooling, cloud security, and strong leadership. You will collaborate with IT and business units to enhance resilience and report SOC performance to senior management.