Role Summary
The Security Team Lead is responsible for leading day-to-day cybersecurity operations, ensuring effective protection of organizational assets through coordinated incident response, threat management, and security program execution. This role combines hands-on technical expertise with team leadership, acting as the primary bridge between security leadership and operational staff.
The Security Team Lead drives prioritization, performance, and continuous improvement across security functions, including incident response, vulnerability management, and security engineering, while mentoring analysts and ensuring alignment with business risk objectives.
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Essential Job Functions
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Security Operations Leadership
- Lead and coordinate daily cybersecurity operations across SOC, incident response, and threat management functions
- Serve as operational owner for security events, ensuring timely triage, escalation, and resolution
- Establish and manage team priorities, workload distribution, and escalation paths
- Act as primary interface between internal teams, leadership, and third-party providers (e.g., MSSP)
- Ensure adherence to SLAs, KPIs, and operational performance targets
Incident Response & Threat Management
- Direct and oversee incident response activities, serving as the command lead for major incidents
- Act as escalation point for complex investigations (Tier 3+), providing technical guidance as needed
- Ensure consistent execution of incident response processes, documentation, and after-action reviews
- Drive improvements in detection, response playbooks, and threat intelligence utilization
Team Leadership & Development
- Lead, coach, and mentor cybersecurity analysts to improve technical and operational capabilities
- Identify skill gaps and implement targeted training and development plans
- Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence
Security Engineering & Architecture Oversight
- Provide oversight and direction on design, implementation, and optimization of security tools and controls
- Guide integration of cybersecurity solutions across infrastructure, cloud, and applications
- Partner with IT and architecture teams to ensure secure design and deployment of new technologies
- Validate effectiveness of existing controls and recommend enhancements
Risk & Vulnerability Management
- Oversee enterprise vulnerability management program, including prioritization and remediation tracking
- Align remediation efforts with business risk and threat intelligence
- Ensure consistent execution of risk assessments and security evaluations
- Drive standardization of security processes across business units
Compliance & Governance
- Ensure operational compliance with security policies, standards, and regulatory requirements
- Support and lead cybersecurity audits and assessments
- Contribute to development and enforcement of security policies and procedures
- Track and report on compliance posture and remediation activities
Metrics, Reporting & Continuous Improvement
- Define, track, and report on key cybersecurity metrics (e.g., MTTR, incident volume, vulnerability backlog)
- Provide regular updates to leadership on security posture, risks, and operational performance
- Identify process, technology, and capability gaps and drive remediation initiatives
- Lead continuous improvement efforts across security operations
Education, Experience & Skills
Experience
- 7–10+ years in cybersecurity operations, including incident response, threat detection, and vulnerability management
- Prior experience in a lead, senior, or supervisory capacity preferred
- Experience managing or coordinating with third-party security providers (e.g., MSSP) strongly preferred
Technical Expertise
- Deep knowledge of:
- Security operations (SIEM, EDR, SOAR)
- Incident response and forensic analysis
- Threat intelligence and threat hunting
- Vulnerability management and risk assessment
- Strong understanding of:
- Network, cloud, and application security architectures
- Identity and access management
- Security frameworks (NIST, ISO 27001, CIS)
- Experience implementing and managing enterprise security tools and platforms
Leadership & Operational Skills
- Ability to prioritize and manage competing demands in a high-pressure environment
- Strong decision-making and incident command capability
- Excellent stakeholder communication and executive reporting skills
- Proven ability to lead teams and drive accountability
- Ability to translate technical issues into business risk
Additional Skills
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities
- Ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and projects
- High level of integrity and professionalism in handling sensitive information
- Incident command vs. escalation-only involvement
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