Security Operations Center Technical SME

Job Title: Security Operations Center Technical SME

Clearance Required:

TS/SCI with CI poly required

Location:

Fort Meade, MD (Onsite)

Description:

The SOC Technical SME reports directly to the SOC Program Manager and serves as the technical backbone of a 24/7 security operations center, providing deep expertise in log analysis, SIEM administration and tuning, and detection engineering. This role is responsible for interrogating high-volume log sources, identifying gaps in visibility and coverage, and ensuring the toolset and detection logic keep pace with evolving adversary tradecraft.

Essential Duties:

- Deeply analyze and interrogate logs across diverse sources (network, host, application, cloud, identity) to identify anomalies, gaps, and indicators of compromise
- Monitor, tune, and optimize SIEM platforms to improve detection fidelity and reduce false positive/negative rates
- Evaluate log volume, retention, and ingestion pipelines to ensure completeness of data and identify blind spots in coverage
- Develop, refine, and maintain correlation rules, use cases, and detection content aligned to current threat intelligence techniques
- Serve as an escalation point for Tier 1/2 analysts on complex triage, investigation, and incident analysis
- Utilize and maintain proficiency across relevant security tool stacks (SIEM, EDR, NDR, SOAR, threat intel platforms, packet capture/analysis tools)
- Support containment, eradication, and recovery efforts during security incidents as a senior technical responder
- Collaborate with the SOC Program Manager to report on SOC metrics, detection coverage, and operational effectiveness
- Recommend and support implementation of process improvements, automation, and playbooks to increase SOC efficiency
- Stay current on emerging threats, adversary TTPs, and industry best practices, incorporating relevant intelligence into detection strategy
- Assist in mentoring and upskilling junior SOC analysts on log analysis and investigative techniques

Qualifications:

A degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related discipline is preferred. At least seven (7) years of information security experience, with demonstrated depth in SIEM administration/engineering, log analysis, and security tool stacks in a SOC environment. Experience with one or more SIEM platforms (e.g., Splunk, QRadar, Elastic, Sentinel) required. Familiarity with threat intelligence integration strongly preferred. CySA+, GCIA, GCIH, or CISSP required.

Salary Range
$170,000 - $190,000

Posted: Tuesday, September 22, 2026

Job # 14886