IT Security (SOC) Analyst

Zappi; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 500,000 - 700,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading market research platform in Cape Town is seeking an IT Security (SOC) Analyst. The successful candidate will investigate security incidents and lead proactive threat hunting to enhance the organization's security posture. Candidates should have at least 2 years of SOC experience, familiarity with SIEM tools like Wazuh, and basic scripting skills. The role promotes a growth-oriented culture with unlimited holidays and supports both individual and collaborative working environments.

Benefits

Unlimited holidays

Mental health days

Private medical healthcare

Group risk and life insurance

Wellbeing benefits

Paid secure parking

Free coffee and lunches

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years experience in a SOC or similar IT security environment.
• Hands-on use of SIEM/IDS for log analysis and custom detection rules.
• Exposure to endpoint detection and response (EDR) platforms.

Responsibilities

• Investigate and respond to security incidents.
• Lead threat hunts to uncover malicious activity.
• Refine SIEM and EDR detections to reduce false positives.
• Research emerging threats and enhance defenses.

Skills

Incident investigation

Threat hunting

Log analysis

Scripting (Python, Bash, PowerShell)

Vulnerability management

Tools

Wazuh

SentinelOne

Job description

Overview

We have a world class agile market research platform. We help brands rewire their traditional ad & innovation development processes with insights early, often & connected to create a learning loop. The result? They get smarter over time. Insights teams have more impact. Brands launch better ads & products.

We believe in hiring analysts who want to do their best work. We believe great security operations are built on strong fundamentals, curiosity, and continuous learning.

We value ownership and accountability, knowing your scope, taking responsibility for it, and being transparent about gaps.

We believe feedback is fuel for growth, and mistakes are opportunities to learn. We expect preparation, critical thinking, and smart questions, not shortcuts.

We’re looking for an IT Security ( SOC) Analyst (Tier 2) to join our Security Operations team. This role goes beyond alert triage, you’ll be leading advanced investigations, proactively hunting for threats, and optimising tools and processes that strengthen Zappi’s security posture.

You'll be joining a SOC at an inflection point. We have strong governance foundations and are now streamlining our operations to be more effective and intelligence-driven. This is your chance to grow with us, to be part of building something exceptional while developing your own expertise in a supportive but high-standards environment

Key responsibilities

• Investigate and respond to security incidents across endpoints, networks, and cloud environments
• Lead threat hunts to uncover malicious activity beyond automated alerts
• Refine and tune SIEM, IDS / IPS, and EDR detections to reduce false positives
• Analyse logs and network traffic to uncover patterns and attack techniques
• Support vulnerability management, working with Engineering to prioritise and remediate risks
• Research emerging threats and apply threat intelligence to improve defences
• Contribute to runbooks and playbooks that raise the team’s effectiveness
• Identify process gaps and recommend improvements with data-driven evidence
• Generate actionable reports and insights to improve detection and prevention

What you will need

You’ll need to demonstrate the characteristics of a mid-level SOC Analyst. We don’t expect you to know every tool we use, but we do expect transferable technical experience and the ability and desire to learn new technologies.

Core experience (minimum 2 years):

• Experience working in a SOC or similar IT security and network operations environment, with confidence investigating incidents end-to-end and producing clear, actionable reports
• Hands-on use of Wazuh (or similar SIEM / IDS) for log analysis, detection, correlation, and tuning custom detection rules
• Exposure to endpoint detection and response (EDR) platforms (e.g., SentinelOne) and ability to analyse network traffic to identify anomalies or attack patterns
• Basic scripting skills (Python, Bash, or PowerShell) to automate investigations and improve efficiency
• Experience supporting vulnerability management (e.g., reviewing scan results, collaborating on remediation, or assessing risks in codebases)
• Familiarity with security monitoring practices to support compliance frameworks such as ISO27001

Mindset and behaviours :

• Takes ownership of investigations and projects, delivering high-quality outcomes.
• Open to feedback and transparent about gaps or mistakes.
• Proactively improves tools, processes, and detection coverage.

Bonus if you have :

• Experience with AWS security monitoring and incident response (CloudTrail, GuardDuty, IAM).
• Experience with Wiz or similar tool for cloud security posture management and vulnerability detection
• Security certifications (e.g. AWS Security Specialty)
• Strong understanding of networking and operating systems (Windows / Linux)
• Hands-on experience with container or Kubernetes security and SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM)

We understand that you may be involved in many interview processes, so we don’t expect our candidates to complete any take home exercises. If you apply for this role, you can expect the following :

• HR screening call – A short 15 minute call with our hiring manager to check how suitable you are for the role and cover any administrative points.
• Manager Interview – A 1 hour interview with a hiring manager to discuss your background, experience and motivations for the role. This will be a free flowing discussion, guided by our manager and will cover various areas of your experience.
• Technical Interview – This will usually last around 2 hours and will take place with a small group of our security team. It will be based on a short practical homework exercise you’ll complete in advance, followed by a discussion of your approach and reasoning. We’re not looking for perfect answers, what matters most is how you think, how you communicate your process, and how you adapt when faced with challenges. There will also be time to talk about how we work and what you would be working on.

Benefits

• Unlimited holidays – we want well rested and motivated teams so encourage people to take plenty of time off. We don’t cap your allowance, but do set a minimum of at least 20 days per year plus national holidays
• Three company-paid mental health days of rest every year (these are pre-scheduled, so the entire company can take the same days off regularly to reset)
• Thoughtfully designed offices to support both individual work and collaboration without interrupting others
• Private medical healthcare cover
• Medical Aid
• Group risk, life & disability contributions
• Wellbeing benefits such as free yoga and access to trained therapists / counsellors
• Paid 24h secure parking in Cape Town
• Free coffee, lunches and in-office snacks
• Tailored personal development through training allowances, coaching, mentorship and career frameworks

Why join us?

We’ve been recognized as one of the hottest martech companies in 2022 by Business Insider and named Best Place to Work by Quirk’s Media for our engaging and inclusive workplace culture. We’re committed to both people and the planet.

Our belief in inclusion means we’re building an organisation of diverse individuals and helping brands eliminate cultural presumptions in their research. Read our Diversity Manifesto here.

We are a values and behaviours driven business and believe that Trust, Truth, Ownership, Ambition and Humility describe Zappi employees on our best day. This is how we strive to show up for our customers, for each other and for our communities.

Earning B Corp certification assures us we’re on the right track and have structures in place to become the business we want to be.

Our commitment to minimise our impact on the environment means being honest with ourselves and transparent with you—about everything from carbon emissions to tree-planting initiatives. We achieved our goal of becoming Net Zero in 2021!

Zappi Company Culture Highlights

• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company for Women 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Work-Life Balance 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Compensation 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEO for Women 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company for Diversity 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Culture 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEO 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Happiness 2022
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Leadership Teams 2023
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best CEOs for Diversity 2023
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Engineering Teams 2023
• Winner of Comparably's Award for Best Company Outlook 2023
• Winner of Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in the UK 2022 & 2023
• Recognised by Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators 2023
• Winner of Best Marketing Insights Platform in the MarTech Breakthrough Awards 2023 & 2024

Zappi is an equal opportunity employer; our diversity is a major strength. We are committed to providing equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.

We believe that a diverse and inclusive workforce fosters innovation, creativity, and success. Our hiring decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, and abilities, ensuring fairness and equity throughout our recruitment process. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply. Join our team and contribute to an inclusive environment where everyone's unique perspectives and talents are valued and respected.

Zappi is a leading consumer insights platform that connects brands with consumers. Through AI-powered software that delivers connected insights, Zappi empowers brands to make faster, smarter, and consumer-driven decisions by leveraging real-time, continuous consumer feedback.

Trusted by over 350 brands worldwide, Zappi helps create successful products, develop impactful ads, and build winning brands by keeping the voice of the consumer at the heart of every decision.