Cyber Defense Specialist, Senior

About the role

The Information Security team is looking for a certified security professional to join a fast-paced, highly collaborative, and diverse team. The mission is to provide operationally excellent next-generation information security event monitoring, threat hunting, and incident response services that protect customers from adverse cyber events.

The Cyber Defense Specialist, Senior will report to the Senior Manager of Information Security Operations. In this role, you will utilize industry-leading technology to detect, respond, and recover from advanced attacks, apply root cause analysis and lessons learned to proactively protect against known adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures, prevent impact to customer assets, and control recurrence of incidents.

Responsibilities

• Provide advanced network intrusion monitoring and response, including performing security incident risk assessment and severity declaration.
• Perform expert-level endpoint detection and response (EDR).
• Analyze application and web security events.
• Interpret logs for expert-level threat hunting to identify and respond to indicators of compromise (IOCs) and threats, including User and Event Behavioral Analytics (UEBA) using a security information and event management (SIEM) environment.
• Perform incident response containment.
• Utilize Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) for information security incidents.
• Respond and facilitate tier-3 incident management; mobilize the security incident response team (SIRT) of key stakeholders; communicate and notify at all levels of the organization.
• Perform post-incident activity involving root cause analysis (RCA) and lessons-learned assessments, and identify owners of corrective action plans (CAP).
• Formulate security operation incident response plans, operational procedures, desk-level procedures, and operational-level agreements.
• Yield security compliance evidence of NIST 800-53 controls.

Requirements

Typically requires advanced knowledge of the job area, typically obtained through advanced education combined with experience. May have practical knowledge of project management. Requires a college degree or equivalent experience and a minimum of 5 years of prior relevant experience.

• GCIH certification preferred.
• CISSP certification preferred.
• Security event monitoring and incident response.
• Security Information Event Management (SIEM) searching.
• Intrusion detection and network tools (e.g., Wireshark, Nmap).
• Anti-virus and malware detection.
• Social engineering and phishing detection.
• Identity & Access Management.

Schedule

This role follows a hybrid workplace model, requiring employees to work in-office two days each week. Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location will work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.

Pay

• California: $102,740.00 to $154,220.00
• Bay Area: $115,816.00 to $173,848.00

Note: This range represents the pay range for this and many other positions at Stellarus that fall into this pay grade. Salaries are based on candidate experience, location (California, Bay Area, or outside California), and current employee salaries for similar roles.

About Us

Stellarus, launched in January 2025, is designed to scale innovative healthcare solutions that support customers in creating a healthcare experience deserving of their family, friends, and neighbors. Stellarus is part of the Ascendiun Family of Companies, which includes Blue Shield of California, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan, and Altais, a clinical services company.

Stellarus’ vision is to empower its customers to create a healthcare experience worthy of their family, friends, and neighbors. Its objective is to offer innovative, modern, scalable solutions that challenge the healthcare status quo, closely aligning with Blue Shield of California’s vision of using innovation to improve quality, affordability, and experience for members.

Core values: agility, trust, drive, courage, and service.

Physical requirements: Office environment with a sedentary activity level for most of the workday.