Sr Cyber Defense Ops Specialist

Description

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Cyber Defense Operations Tactical Support Specialist to join our Cyber Defense Operations team. This role plays a critical part in enhancing the capabilities of our Security Operations Center (SOC) through training, mentorship, and operational support. In addition to developing and delivering training, you will actively participate in SOC operations, including triaging alerts and determining root cause of incidents, ensuring a balance between strategic enablement and hands-on technical work. You will collaborate across internal teams and external vendors to ensure our analysts are equipped to defend Citizens Bank’s digital infrastructure against evolving threats.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver targeted onboarding and ongoing training for newly hired SOC analysts to ensure operational readiness.
• Design and implement comprehensive training programs and certification roadmaps for analysts, interns, and new hires, aligned with NIST and NICE frameworks.
• Create and maintain process and procedure documentation to standardize SOC workflows and improve efficiency.
• Conduct quarterly quality assurance reviews of analyst ticket documentation and provide actionable feedback for improvement.
• Evaluate and recommend enhancements to security toolsets used by SOC analysts to optimize detection and response capabilities.
• Partner with Cyber Defense leadership to identify training needs and close skill gaps through tailored development plans.
• Assess cybersecurity tools and processes to determine security and business impact, driving informed decision-making.
• Identify opportunities to improve onboarding and QA processes for continuous operational enhancement.
• Support SOC operations by assisting with threat monitoring, investigation, and resolution, including managing the incident queue when required.

Required Knowledge Areas

• Enterprise logging (application, OS, and security technology).
• Operating systems with emphasis on security operations.
• Cloud platforms: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud.
• Security incident handling, coordination, and response.

Required Skills

• Hands-on SOC experience where triaging and determining root cause of alerts was performed.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in cybersecurity operations, systems compliance, network operations, or support roles.
• Hands-on experience with SOC operations and training development.
• Strong analytical and mentoring skills.
• Ability to assess and communicate risk and mitigation strategies.
• Experience working in collaborative, cross-functional environments.

Qualifications

• Strong communication skills for cross-team collaboration and training delivery.
• Experience creating and maintaining SOC playbooks and operational documentation.
• Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Relevant industry certifications preferred: ITIL Foundations, CCP, Network+, Security+, CEH.

Preferred Experience

• Demonstrated ability to triage alerts and perform root cause analysis in a SOC environment.
• Familiarity with NIST/NICE frameworks and compliance standards.
• Exposure to enterprise-grade security tools and platforms.

Why Join Us?

We offer competitive pay, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, retirement benefits, paid parental leave, flexible work arrangements, education reimbursement, wellness programs, and more. Our paid time off policy exceeds the requirements of most local and state jurisdictions.
Learn more about our benefits: https://www.citizensbank.com/benefits

Hours Work and Schedule

• Work Schedule: Monday - Friday

The salary range for this position is $76,000 - $114,000 per year. Actual pay is based on various factors including but not limited to the work location, and relevant skills and experience. 
We offer competitive pay, comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, maternity/paternity leave, flexible work arrangements, education reimbursement, wellness programs and more. Note, Citizens’ paid time off policy exceeds the mandatory, paid sick or paid time-away policy of every local and state jurisdiction in the United States. For an overview of our benefits, visit https://jobs.citizensbank.com/benefits . 

Some job boards have started using jobseeker-reported data to estimate salary ranges for roles. If you apply and qualify for this role, a recruiter will discuss accurate pay guidance.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Citizens, its parent, subsidiaries, and related companies (Citizens) provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all colleagues and applicants for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, citizenship, physical or mental disability, perceived disability or history or record of a disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, genetic characteristic, marital or domestic partner status, victim of domestic violence, family status/parenthood, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, pregnancy/childbirth/lactation, colleague’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by federal, state and/or local laws. At Citizens, we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that enables all colleagues to bring their best selves to work every day and everyone is expected to be treated with respect and professionalism. Employment decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, performance and capability.