About the role
Senior IT Cyber Defense Analyst (Shift Lead)
AI-Enabled Security Operations | 24/7 SOC
Location: Remote – Pune/Baroda, India
Department: IT Cybersecurity – Security Operations Center (SOC)
Reports To: SOC Manager
Work Schedule: 24/7 rotational shifts
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced Senior IT Cyber Defense Analyst (Shift Lead) to lead day-to-day SOC operations, oversee security investigations, coordinate incident response, and mentor SOC analysts. The ideal candidate will bring strong SIEM/EDR expertise, advanced threat investigation skills, and hands-on experience using AI/LLM tools and automation to improve SOC efficiency and detection capabilities.
Key Responsibilities
Lead SOC shift operations, prioritize alerts, manage escalations, and ensure timely handovers and SLA adherence.
Investigate complex incidents involving phishing, malware, ransomware, compromised accounts, endpoint threats, and suspicious network activity.
Conduct threat hunting, correlate security telemetry, and map attacker behavior to the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
Develop, optimize, and troubleshoot SIEM queries, analytics rules, and detection use cases using Microsoft Sentinel and KQL.
Use approved AI/LLM tools for alert triage, investigation assistance, threat intelligence enrichment, KQL development, incident reporting, and workflow automation; independently validate AI-generated outputs.
Automate repetitive SOC tasks using Python, PowerShell, APIs, or SOAR capabilities.
Mentor analysts, improve investigation quality, reduce false positives, and maintain accurate incident documentation and audit-ready evidence.
Coordinate with Incident Response, IT, Endpoint, Network, and Cloud teams to support containment, remediation, and recovery.
Required Skills and Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.
5+ years of experience in SOC, cyber defense, or incident response, including shift leadership, incident coordination, or analyst mentoring.
Strong hands-on experience with SIEM, EDR/XDR, incident investigation, and threat detection.
Proficiency in Microsoft Sentinel and KQL; experience with Microsoft Defender, CrowdStrike, or similar security platforms.
Strong understanding of networking, Windows/Linux, identity security, email threats, and MITRE ATT&CK.
Mandatory practical AI/LLM proficiency, including prompt engineering, AI-assisted investigations, validation of AI-generated queries/scripts, and awareness of hallucinations, prompt injection, and data privacy risks.
Scripting or automation experience using Python, PowerShell, APIs, or SOAR tools.
Strong analytical, communication, decision-making, and team leadership skills; willingness to work in a 24/7 rotational shift environment.
Preferred Qualifications
Certifications such as Microsoft SC-200, CompTIA CySA+, GCIH, or relevant SIEM/EDR vendor certifications.
Experience in proactive threat hunting, detection engineering, cloud security, and SOC process improvement.
What Success Looks Like
Effective shift leadership and timely, high-quality incident handling.
Improved detection coverage, investigation efficiency, and reduced false positives.
Practical adoption of AI and automation to reduce repetitive work while maintaining security, accuracy, and human oversight.
Strong analyst development, documentation, and operational consistency.
Originally posted on Himalayas