Network Security Analyst

Network Security Analyst (SOC Operations, SIEM & Incident Response):

 Required Experience in Years: 10%2B Years

Mode of Work:100% Onsite Austin, TX Metropolitan Area Locals Only

The Network Security Analyst will perform advanced cybersecurity monitoring, threat analysis, security-event triage, and incident investigation within a Cybersecurity Operations Center (CSOC). The analyst will continuously monitor security alerts, investigate suspicious activities, identify potential threats, distinguish legitimate incidents from false positives, and coordinate incident-response activities.

The position requires strong SOC operations expertise across SIEM, EDR/XDR, network security, cloud security, identity protection, email security, vulnerability management, and threat-intelligence technologies.

Key Responsibilities:

• Continuously monitor, triage, analyze, and prioritize cybersecurity alerts.

• Investigate suspicious network, endpoint, cloud, email, and user activity.

• Determine incident severity, scope, impact, and risk.

• Validate potential security incidents and distinguish threats from false positives.

• Escalate confirmed threats to Incident Response, Threat Hunting, or SOC Engineering teams.

• Correlate security events across:

  • Endpoints

  • Firewalls

  • IDS/IPS

  • Cloud Services

  • Authentication Systems

  • Threat Intelligence Feeds

• Analyze Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) and Indicators of Attack (IOAs).

• Investigate phishing emails, malware detections, suspicious network traffic, and anomalous user behavior.

• Document investigations, findings, and response activities in case-management systems.

• Assist with containment, eradication, and recovery activities.

• Escalate critical findings to SOC/CSOC leadership.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Tune security alerts and improve threat-detection capabilities.

• Identify and reduce false-positive trends.

• Integrate threat intelligence into SOC monitoring and investigations.

• Review vulnerability-assessment results and remediation priorities.

• Maintain incident-response procedures, playbooks, workflows, and knowledge-base documentation.

• Research emerging cyber threats, attack techniques, and TTPs.

• Support 24x7 cybersecurity operations when required.

• Participate in high-priority incident response outside normal business hours.

• Communicate security findings to technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Required Skills:

• Minimum 5%2B years of overall experience in cybersecurity operations, security monitoring, incident response, threat detection, security investigations, or related cybersecurity disciplines.

• Minimum 3%2B years of security alert triage experience.

• Minimum 3%2B years analyzing cybersecurity events.

• Minimum 3%2B years documenting security incident investigations.

• Minimum 3%2B years working with cybersecurity frameworks.

• Minimum 3%2B years with incident-response processes.

• Minimum 3%2B years with threat-detection methodologies.

• Minimum 3%2B years in cybersecurity/SOC operations.

• Minimum 3%2B years of security-monitoring experience.

• Minimum 3%2B years of incident-response experience.

• Minimum 3%2B years of threat-detection experience.

• Minimum 3%2B years conducting security investigations.

• Strong understanding of SIEM, EDR/XDR, IDS/IPS, firewalls, endpoint security, and cloud-security platforms.

• Strong understanding of malware, phishing, insider threats, and APTs.

• Knowledge of MITRE ATT&CK methodologies.

• Knowledge of IOCs, IOAs, and threat intelligence.

• Knowledge of the incident-response lifecycle, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, NIST Incident Response guidance, and PICERL.

• Understanding of Windows, Linux, Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, and networking protocols.

• Experience correlating data across multiple cybersecurity platforms.

• Experience with query languages including KQL, SPL, Lucene, and ESQL.

• Experience with scripting languages including PowerShell, Python, and Bash.

Preferred Skills:

• SIEM platforms:

  • Microsoft Sentinel

  • Splunk

  • NetWitness

  • QRadar

  • ArcSight

  • LogRhythm

• EDR/XDR:

  • Microsoft 365 Defender XDR

  • Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

  • CrowdStrike

  • SentinelOne

• IDS/IPS:

  • Trellix / FireEye

  • Corelight

• Threat Intelligence:

  • VirusTotal

  • Google Threat Intelligence

  • Cisco Talos

  • Recorded Future

  • MISP

• Vulnerability Management:

  • Tenable

  • Qualys

  • Rapid7

• Email Security:

  • IronPort ESA

  • Abnormal.ai

  • Proofpoint

• Cloud Security:

  • Wiz

  • Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps (MDCA)

  • Cortex Cloud

  • Sysdig

• SASE:

  • Zscaler

  • Prisma

  • Netskope

• Experience operating within a 24x7 SOC/CSOC environment.

Qualifications:

• Must currently reside in the Austin metropolitan area.

• Must be willing to work 100% onsite in Austin, TX.

• Strong analytical and cybersecurity investigation capabilities.

• Ability to distinguish genuine threats from false positives.

• Strong risk-based decision-making skills.

• Ability to follow incident-response and escalation procedures.

• Ability to work independently and within a 24x7 cybersecurity team.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to communicate with security engineers, incident responders, system administrators, leadership, and business stakeholders.

• Must be available for occasional evening, weekend, and holiday support during critical security incidents.

Education:

• Four-year degree in Cybersecurity, Information Security, Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Management Information Systems, or related field Preferred.

• Relevant education and professional experience may substitute where permitted.

Certifications:

• CompTIA Security%2B Preferred

• GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH) Preferred

• GIAC Certified Intrusion Analyst (GCIA) Preferred

• Certified SOC Analyst (CSA) Preferred

• Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200) Preferred

• Other GIAC/SOC-related cybersecurity certifications Preferred