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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What You’ll Do

This role is for an Information Security Analyst I supporting a Confidential Client in the IT industry. You will monitor, investigate, and respond to cybersecurity events that target the client’s systems and data. This is a hands-on SOC/IR role that contributes to threat detection, incident response, vulnerability management, and operational security improvements.

• Proactively monitor security events for networks and systems (SIEM).
• Triage, investigate, and document potential security incidents; escalate when required.
• Support vulnerability assessments at network, system, and application levels and track remediation.
• Maintain and report on cyber metrics and assist in threat intelligence reporting.
• Implement and support routine automation tasks to improve SOC efficiency.
• Assist in developing and implementing security controls, and participate in security awareness activities.
• Use COTS/GOTS and custom tools to detect, contain, mitigate, and remediate vulnerabilities and intrusions.
• Help align operational processes with government standards (e.g., NIST) and recommend process tailoring.
• Provide periodic audit reviews and monitor corrective actions until closure; may brief senior staff.

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Qualifications

Candidates should demonstrate foundational cyber analyst skills and the ability to handle multiple tasks in a dynamic SOC environment.

• Programming: familiarity with Python; exposure to C++ or JavaScript is a plus.
• Experience with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools — MS Sentinel experience preferred.
• Familiarity with IDS/IPS, firewalls, anti-virus/anti-malware technologies, and EDR tools (CrowdStrike).
• Practical incident response and vulnerability management experience.
• Experience handling email security alerts (O365, Proofpoint) and responding to EDR alerts.
• Working knowledge of the full Incident Response lifecycle (Identification, Protection, Detection, Response, Recovery).
• Adherence to SOC standard operating procedures and strong documentation skills.
• Certifications: Security+, GSEC, or similar industry certification required/preferred.
• Education & experience: Bachelor’s degree in a related field preferred. 0 years required; 2 years related experience highly preferred. Additional experience may substitute for education.
• Experience level: Entry level to early-career SOC analyst.

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Compensation & Benefits

• Pay range: $24.00 - $30.00 per hour (hourly contract rate). Individual pay will depend on qualifications and experience.
• Benefits for eligible temporary roles may include: medical, dental & vision; 401(k) retirement plan (pre-tax/Roth); voluntary life & AD&D; short- and long-term disability; HSA; transportation benefits; employee assistance program; and paid time off where applicable.

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Location & Work Type

• Location: Santa Ana, CA (on-site).
• Employment type: Contract (period of performance roughly 6 months from start). The posting indicates contractor engagement; some roles may be listed as full-time & contractor in source metadata — the active engagement is contract-based and onsite.
• Start: As available / per client scheduling.

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Clearance & Additional Requirements

• Background clearances required by the client: County Live Scan, Child Support Services (CSS) Background Clearance, County Probation (PROB) Background.
• Must be able to meet client background and screening requirements.
• This role may use AI-assisted tools for parts of the hiring process; final hiring decisions are made by people.

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Nice-to-have / Preferred

• Hands-on MS Sentinel experience.
• Experience with CrowdStrike EDR and Proofpoint.
• Prior exposure to automation of SOC tasks (Scripting or SOAR playbooks).
• Familiarity with NIST cybersecurity frameworks and government security policy implementation.

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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.