Tier 2 SOC Analyst W-2 ONLY

W-2 ONLY, NO SUBS, NO SPONSORSHIP, NO Subcontract companies. 

PREFERENCE WILL BE GIVEN TO A CANDIDATE WHO CAN WORK ONSITE OVER HYBRID AND OVER FULL-TIME REMOTE (ON-SITE AS NEEDED).

The position will work as an Tier 2 SOC Analyst. This role will focus on supporting security monitoring, threat detection, security incident response and security investigations. Engaging directly with state agencies to promote, support, and improve adoption of centralized security services is a key focus. The engagement is expected to be needed for 12 months with the possibility of extension.

• Continuously review and correlate security event data across SIEM, EDR, IDS/IPS, and

threat intelligence sources to identify complex attack patterns, emerging threats, and

security incidents.

• Perform deep-dive analysis of suspicious activity, validate incidents, determine root

cause and impact, and escalate critical incidents with detailed context to Tier 3 as

required.

• Create detailed incident reports, timelines, and post-incident summaries; contribute

to lessons-learned documentation and recommendations for remediation and

preventative measures.

• Investigate user-reported phishing, malware infections, and potential policy

violations; advise users and internal/external teams on containment and recovery

actions.

• Recommend updates to SOC playbooks and workflows based on real-world

INVESTIGATIONS, fine-tune detection rules. Alert thresholds, and correlation logic to

reduce false positives and improve threat coverage.

• Collaborate with engineering teams to ensure monitoring tools are properly

configured and tuned. Integrate new threat intelligence feeds into workflows and

proactively hunt for threats using up-to date tactics, techniques, and procedures

(TTPs)

• Serve as a customer-facing SME, “selling” the value of services by demonstrating

capabilities and resolving issues.

• Document processes, runbooks, and troubleshooting steps related to SOC operations.

• Coordinate with engineering, SOC, and agency staff as needed to meet goals.

• Other duties as needed

Required Education/Certifications:

• Associate’s degree in an information technology or information security related field

• Four years of relevant work experience may be substituted in lieu of education

• Two years of experience in supporting large soc operations

Required Skills (rank in order of Importance):

• 2+ Years of Experience with Security Monitoring and Incident Response.

• 2+ Years of Experience with MITRE ATT&CK framework.

• 2+ Years of Experience with dashboard creation and reporting.

Preferred Skills (rank in order of Importance):

• Experience with the Palo Alto Cortex XSIAM/XDR platform.

• Knowledge of Linux, network administration and network design.

• Experience in administration of firewalls, VPN technology, Active Directory, Intrusion

Detection/Prevention systems.

• Candidate is local to Columbia, SC or surrounding city in South Carolina.

Preferred Education/Certifications:

• CISSP, CISA, CISO or equivalent advanced security certification.

• Additional relevant certifications (e.g., CEH, OSCP, GPEN).

• Vendor certifications related to information security.