Lead Cybersecurity Specialist

Role Summary
The Lead Cybersecurity Specialist is responsible for overseeing and coordinating cybersecurity operations to protect organizational information systems. This senior-level role involves managing incident response, security monitoring, threat analysis, and policy implementation to ensure the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of agency IT assets. The position requires substantial experience in cybersecurity management, incident handling, and security tools within a remote work environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the cybersecurity operations center (SOC) activities to monitor, detect, and respond to security threats and incidents.
• Advise and support the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) on emerging cybersecurity threats, industry trends, and best practices.
• Develop, review, and implement security policies, procedures, and incident response playbooks aligned with organizational standards.
• Coordinate with internal teams and external partners (such as MSSPs and government agencies) on incident handling, threat intelligence, and vulnerability mitigation.
• Manage security incident and event management (SIEM) dashboards, ensuring accurate data input, analysis, and reporting of security metrics.
• Facilitate forensic investigations, analyze attack vectors, and support containment and remediation activities for security incidents.
• Provide guidance on vulnerability assessments, patch management, and configuration management to mitigate security weaknesses.
• Support continuous monitoring initiatives by executing security tools such as Azure Security Center, Defender for Cloud, NMAP, Wireshark, and Qualys.
• Conduct security evaluations of web applications, APIs, and databases, ensuring compliance with security standards using commercial and open-source tools.
• Promote security awareness and best practices among technical staff and organizational stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Information Assurance, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in cybersecurity, with proven leadership in a Security Operations Center (SOC) environment.
• Extensive experience with incident response, threat detection, and vulnerability management.
• Demonstrated ability to guide technical teams and support decision-making related to cybersecurity posture improvements.
• Proficiency with security tools such as SQLmap, NMAP, Wireshark, Azure Security Center, Defender for Cloud, and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions.
• Strong knowledge of web application security, cloud security (Microsoft Azure, M365), and network security concepts.
• Relevant certifications such as CISSP, OSCP, GCIH, or similar are highly desirable.
• Excellent communication skills to support technical discussions with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment and manage multiple priorities.

Publishing Pay Range: $60.00 – $80.00 USD Hourly
This is a fully remote role and can be performed from an approved location.