About this Director Security Operations role at Sierra Nevada Corporation
Responsibilities:
SOC Leadership & Operational Excellence
- Oversee 24x7x365 multi-tier SOC operations, establishing operational cadence, shift handovers, escalation paths, and service level agreements (SLAs/SLOs).
- Direct response strategies for critical incidents, serving as the senior escalation point and incident commander during active threats, breaches, and outages.
- Establish standard operating procedures (SOPs), playbooks, and runbooks aligned with industry frameworks (MITRE Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge [ATT&CK], MITRE Adversarial Threat Landscape for Artificial-Intelligence Systems [ATLAS], National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework [NIST CSF], ISO 27001).
- Maintain high analyst performance and operational rigor while mitigating alert fatigue and burnout.
- Advance proactive threat hunting and active defense initiatives.
- Manage SOC Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) and reporting.
Cloud Security Engineering & AI Modernization
- Lead the security engineering team charged with building, deploying, and maintaining cloud-native detection, response, and monitoring pipelines (AWS/Azure/GCP).
- Champion the adoption of modern technologies, including machine learning models, predictive threat analytics, and autonomous AI agents to drive automated triage, alert enrichment, and remediation.
- Oversee SIEM, SOAR, EDR/XDR, and cloud-native security platforms, continuously refining detection engineering, rule tuning, and pipeline efficiency.
Customer Engagement & Executive Communication
- Act as the senior operational liaison for key client stakeholders, enterprise leadership, and regulatory bodies.
- Lead high-stakes client briefings during major security incidents, presenting root-cause analyses, containment actions, and remediation paths with composure.
- Partner with Product, Customer Success, and Sales engineering teams to align SOC capabilities with client expectations and evolving service offerings.
Cyber Threat Intelligence & Reporting
- Oversee the production of actionable cyber threat intelligence (CTI) and operational reporting.
- Author and review detailed cyber activity reports, executive dashboards, and threat advisories for both technical teams and C-suite/external customer leadership.
- Translate complex telemetry, adversarial tactics, and forensic finding.
Qualifications You Must Have:
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
- 13+ years of experience in related role with at least 6+ years in a leadership role (Director, Senior Manager, or equivalent).
- Higher level relevant degree may substitute for experience.
- 7+ years of progressive cybersecurity experience.
- Verifiable background leading operations in an MSSP, government/defense intelligence agency SOC, or Fortune 500 enterprise SOC.
- Proven track record leading incident response and crisis management in high-stress, mission-critical scenarios under strict time constraints.
- Hands-on familiarity managing engineering initiatives involving cloud security architectures, automation/SOAR pipelines, and ML/AI-driven detection tooling.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with proven ability to present technical threat analyses to executive committees and enterprise clients.
- Strong knowledge of information security, industrial security, and regulatory compliance.
- Proven ability to develop and implement policy, influence partners to incorporate security requirements into functional area operations, and drive process improvement both internal and external to the security organization.
- Proven ability to interpret intent of available guidelines/regulations and use considerable judgement in applying them to individual situations.
- Shows strong decision-making skills by clearly stating the BLUF (bottom line up front), highlighting what matters most, simplifying complex information, & making timely, well-reasoned decisions that drive the biggest impact (80/20).
- The ability to obtain and maintain a Secret U.S. Security Clearance is required.
Qualifications We Prefer:
- Preferred Certifications & Education
- Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, or equivalent practical experience.
- Certifications: CISSP, CISM, or CCISO; advanced technical certifications such as GIAC (GCIH, GCFA, GNFA, GCDA) are highly desirable.
- Technical Competencies
- Deep understanding of threat actor tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), malware analysis lifecycles, and forensic methodologies.
- Practical exposure to LLMs, generative AI tools, or agentic frameworks deployed in security workflows (e.g., automated alert triage, natural-language threat hunting).
- Mastery of modern detection and telemetry stacks (e.g., Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, CrowdStrike Falcon, Palo Alto Cortex XSOAR, Datadog).
Essential Functions:
- Leading the strategic planning and execution of the security program.
- Developing and implementing security policies and strategy.
- Advising executive leadership on security-related matters.
- Conducting risk and compliance assessments and developing mitigation strategies.
- Working in an office or hybrid environment, with travel as needed.
- Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds occasionally.
- May require extended periods of sitting and working on a computer.
This posting will be open for application for a minimum of 5 days and may be extended based on business needs.
SNC offers annual incentive pay based upon performance that is commensurate with the level of the position.
SNC offers a generous benefit package, including medical, dental, and vision plans, 401(k) with 150% match up to 6%, life insurance, 3 weeks paid time off, tuition reimbursement, and more.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret U.S. Security Clearance. U.S. Citizenship status is required as this position needs an active U.S. Security Clearance for employment. Non-U.S. citizens may not be eligible to obtain a security clearance. The Department of Defense Consolidated Adjudications Facility (DoD CAF), a federal government agency, handles the adjudicative aspects of the security clearance eligibility process for industry applicants. Adjudicative factors which affect the outcome of the eligibility determination include, but are not limited to, allegiance to the U.S., foreign influence, foreign preference, criminal conduct, security violations and illegal drug use.Learn more about the background check process for Security Clearances.
SNC is a global leader in aerospace and national security committed to moving the American Dream forward. We’re known and respected for our mission and execution focus, agility, and disruptive and rapid innovation. We provide leading edge technologies and transformative solutions that support our nation’s most critical security needs. If you are mission-focused, thrive in collaborative environments, and want to make our country stronger with state-of-the-art technologies that safeguard freedom, join our team!
SNC is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to an environment free of discrimination. Employment decisions are made based on merit without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran or other characteristics protected by law.