Security Analyst (Tier 2 SOC Analyst)

Job Title: Security Analyst – Project Lead (Tier 2 SOC Analyst) (14215)

Location: Columbia, SC 29212 Remote

Duration: 12 Months (Possible Extension)

Interview Process: 1 Round Virtual (Microsoft Teams); Potential 2nd Round In-Person

Work Location & Candidate Requirements

• Open to nationwide candidates; South Carolina residency is not required.
• Candidates must be available to work Eastern Time Zone hours.
• Strong preference for candidates local to Columbia, SC, or surrounding areas who can work onsite when needed.
• Onsite candidates will receive preference over hybrid candidates, followed by fully remote candidates.
• Any required onsite travel expenses will be the candidate's responsibility.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor and correlate security events across SIEM, EDR, IDS/IPS, and threat intelligence platforms to identify suspicious activity and emerging threats.
• Investigate security incidents, analyze attack patterns, determine root causes, assess impact, and escalate critical incidents to Tier 3 teams.
• Conduct investigations involving phishing, malware, unauthorized access, and potential security policy violations.
• Perform proactive threat hunting using threat intelligence, indicators of compromise (IOCs), and MITRE ATT&CK tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).
• Create and maintain security dashboards, incident reports, investigation timelines, and post-incident documentation.
• Fine-tune SIEM detection rules, alert thresholds, and correlation logic to reduce false positives and improve threat detection.
• Develop and update SOC playbooks, incident response procedures, runbooks, and troubleshooting documentation.
• Collaborate with security engineering teams to optimize monitoring tools and integrate threat intelligence feeds.
• Coordinate incident containment, remediation, recovery, and preventative security measures with internal teams and state agencies.
• Serve as a security subject matter expert (SME), supporting agency stakeholders and promoting centralized security services.

Required Skills & Qualifications

1. 2+ years of experience in Security Monitoring and Incident Response.
2. 2+ years of hands-on experience applying the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
3. 2+ years of experience creating security dashboards and reports.
4. 2+ years of experience supporting large-scale Security Operations Center (SOC) operations.
5. Associate's degree in Information Technology, Information Security, or a related field. Four years of relevant work experience may substitute for the degree requirement.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with Palo Alto Cortex XSIAM/XDR platforms.
• Knowledge of Linux administration, network administration, and network design.
• Experience administering firewalls, VPNs, Active Directory, and IDS/IPS solutions.
• Advanced security certifications such as CISSP, CISA, CISO, or equivalent.
• Additional cybersecurity certifications such as CEH, OSCP, or GPEN.
• Vendor-specific information security certifications.
• Candidates located in Columbia, SC, or surrounding South Carolina communities.