About Careertakes

👉 Important disclosure: Careertakes is a third-party recruiting platform supporting this hiring process. If selected, you will be employed directly by our client, IT.

Applicants for this role may also receive access to additional matched opportunities through the Careertakes platform.

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Overview

Confidential Client is seeking a Cybersecurity Incident Response Engineer, Jr to join a Security Operations Center (SOC) supporting federal IT environments. This entry-level SOC role focuses on monitoring security telemetry, performing Tier 1 triage, documenting findings, and assisting senior responders during incidents. The position requires U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain/maintain an active SECRET clearance.

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What You’ll Do

• Monitor SIEM, endpoint, network, and other security tools to detect suspicious activity and correlate events across data sources.
• Triage Tier 1 alerts: validate context, determine severity and potential impact, filter false positives, and create clear escalation tickets.
• Assist incident response efforts by collecting evidence, capturing indicators of compromise (IOCs), and supporting containment and recovery under senior guidance.
• Document investigations thoroughly (timelines, data sources, actions taken) to support auditability and follow‑on analysis.
• Help tune detection rules, alerts, and dashboards to reduce noise and improve detection fidelity.
• Follow SOC playbooks, standard operating procedures, and reporting formats; provide feedback to improve workflows.
• Collaborate with IT, operations, and risk teams to align monitoring and response with policy and compliance requirements.

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Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or equivalent relevant experience.
• 0–3 years of experience in cybersecurity, IT operations, or related technical roles with exposure to security monitoring and incident triage.
• Foundational knowledge of cybersecurity concepts and common attack techniques.
• Hands‑on familiarity with security tooling such as SIEM, firewalls, IDS/IPS, endpoint protection, or vulnerability scanners; ability to interpret basic alerts and logs.
• Active SECRET clearance OR ability to obtain and maintain required clearance.
• U.S. citizenship required (necessary to support federal information security requirements and clearance).
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, written and verbal communication, and teamwork skills.
• Comfortable working in a fast‑paced SOC and managing multiple alerts concurrently.

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Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in or supporting a 24x7 SOC environment, including shift work and effective handoff practices.
• Entry‑level security certifications such as Security+, CySA+, or equivalent.
• Experience working from playbooks, runbooks, or documented SOPs for security or IT operations.
• Familiarity with federal cybersecurity policies, control frameworks, or agency requirements.

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Compensation & Additional Info

• Salary range provided in the source listing: $55,700 - $82,100 per year (actual compensation may vary based on experience, clearance level, location, and other factors).
• Position type: Full‑time.
• Work environment: SOC supporting regulated federal IT systems; shift work may be required.
• Employment is with Confidential Client; Careertakes is supporting the hiring process as a third‑party recruiter.

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Equal Opportunity & Hiring Transparency

Careertakes and our client are Equal Opportunity Employers committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. We prohibit discrimination or harassment of any kind. To support a fair and efficient hiring process, AI tools may be used to assist with application review or resume screening. These tools do not replace human decision-making. Final hiring decisions are made by people.

If you have questions about how your data is used, please contact us directly.