IT Security Specialist/Analyst II - 60024964

Agency Mission: The mission of the South Carolina Department of Education is to serve students, support teachers, empower parents, and engage in the community so that every student graduates prepared to reach their full potential.

About the role

The South Carolina Department of Education seeks an IT Security Specialist II to join the security operations team and work closely with the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). This position supports the daily operational defense of agency infrastructure by developing and implementing security solutions, establishing baseline configurations, and implementing compliance procedures necessary to protect both cloud and on-premises platforms. The position also supports the Security Operations Center (SOC) and liaises with the State's SOC to support incident response capabilities. This position is located in the Office of Information Technology.

Responsibilities

• Security Operations: Support agency security operations, establish operational standards and playbooks, manage triage, investigation, containment, eradication, and recovery activities. Coordinate escalation and notification with the CISO, agency leadership, affected districts, and state-level partners in accordance with the agency's incident response plan and statewide reporting requirements.
• Defend and Monitor Agency Systems: Administer, tune, and continuously monitor enterprise security platforms including Microsoft Defender, SIEM, Intune, email and web filtering, identity protection, and vulnerability management. Maintain visibility into threats targeting agency infrastructure, users, and data. Conduct proactive threat hunting informed by K-12 and public-sector threat intelligence.
• Administer Identity and Access Controls: Manage identity and access across Microsoft Entra ID and hybrid on-premises directories, including conditional access policies, multifactor authentication, privileged access, role assignment, guest and district-partner access, and recurring access reviews. Enforce least-privilege principles and investigate identity-based threats such as credential compromise, token theft, and anomalous sign-in activity.
• Vulnerability and Risk Remediation: Support vulnerability management, control assessments, and risk remediation activities across agency infrastructure and applications.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree in information technology systems, computer science, or a related field and experience in the information technology field to include experience in a security-focused role. Relevant experience may be substituted for the bachelor's degree on a year-for-year basis.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience working with security tools and incident response, including day-to-day administration, tuning, and operational use of enterprise security platforms
• Hands-on experience investigating and resolving security events
• Hands-on experience administering Intune, Microsoft Defender (Endpoint, Office, and/or Cloud), including policy configuration, alert triage, threat hunting, and remediation
• Hands-on experience administering Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), including conditional access policies, multifactor authentication, identity protection, role-based access control, and directory synchronization
• Security Operations Center (SOC) experience

Skills

Acceptable certifications:

• CompTIA Security+
• CompTIA CySA+
• GIAC (GSEC, GCIH, GCIA)
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
• Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200)
• Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate (SC-300)

Benefits

• Comprehensive health care benefits (Health, Dental, Vision, Long Term Disability, and Life Insurance for Employee, Spouse, and Children)
• 15 days annual (vacation) leave per year
• 15 days sick leave per year
• 13 paid holidays
• State Retirement Plan and Deferred Compensation Programs
• Professional development opportunities
• Pension and a 401(k)