Principal Incident Response Analyst

North - Remote The Principal Incident Response Analyst is a seasoned, deeply experienced incident response expert who runs North’s most complex security incidents from detection through recovery, without supervision. Incident response is the primary area of expertise for this role, complemented by strong secondary expertise in detection engineering and tertiary expertise in threat hunting. The Principal Incident Response Analyst serves as the top escalation point for security incidents, sets the technical standard for how the organization investigates and contains threats, and mentors other engineers and analysts on incident handling practice. This role works closely with the SOC, IT, and engineering teams, and represents the deepest incident response expertise on the security team, operating across our payment processing environment. What You'll do: Incident ResponseServe as the principal escalation point and lead investigator for the most complex, highest-severity, and novel security incidents, running them end to end without supervisionIndependently triage, investigate, contain, eradicate, and recover from security incidents spanning endpoint, network, cloud, identity, and application layersLead full-scope forensic investigations of compromised hosts, accounts, applications, and cloud infrastructure, and reconstruct complete attack timelines from initial access through impactTranslate complex investigation findings into clear narratives for engineering teams and clear executive-level narratives for leadershipOwn and continuously evolve incident response process, documentation, and playbooks, incorporating lessons learned from real incidentsLead root cause analysis and structured post-incident reviews, and drive cross-team remediation of systemic gapsServe as the senior technical lead during major incidents, coordinating across IT, legal, compliance, and executive leadership as neededProvide case-level guidance and mentorship to other incident responders and SOC analysts during live incidentsParticipate in or lead on-call rotation for critical incident response as neededDetection EngineeringTranslate incident findings and root cause analysis directly into new or improved detection logic, closing the loop between investigation and preventionWrite, tune, and validate detection content in the SIEM/NG-SIEM platform, focused on techniques observed in real investigations and threat huntsMaintain and improve coverage and gap analysis against the MITRE ATT&CK framework, informed by incident and hunt findingsReview detection logic for accuracy and false-positive rate, and partner with the detection engineering team on rule qualityContribute documentation of known coverage and detection gaps surfaced through incident response and hunting workThreat HuntingConduct proactive, hypothesis-driven threat hunts based on incident trends, emerging adversary TTPs, and threat intelligenceUse hunt outcomes to surface undetected compromises, validate detection coverage, and strengthen incident response readinessPrioritize hunts against the techniques and attack paths most relevant to a payments/fintech environmentPartner with threat intelligence sources and feeds to inform hunt hypotheses and target selectionDocument hunt methodology, findings, and follow-on actions, including new detections and updated incident response playbook materialCross-Functional & LeadershipRepresent incident response in cross-org planning, tabletop exercises, and architecture reviewsLead complex, ambiguous incident-related investigations and initiatives independently from scoping through deliveryMentor other engineers and analysts on incident response, detection engineering, and threat hunting practicesPartner with cloud, network, and identity teams to close visibility and telemetry gaps identified during incidents and huntsStay current on threat intelligence, adversary TTPs, and vulnerabilities relevant to a payments/fintech environmentCommunicate findings, coverage gaps, and recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including leadershipDevelop and maintain procedure and policy documentation supporting incident response operations What we need from you: Bachelor's degree in a technical field, or equivalent professional experience7+ years of hands-on information security experience, with deep, demonstrated subject-matter expertise in incident response, and strong working proficiency in detection engineering and threat huntingDemonstrated track record independently leading complex, high-severity security incidents from detection through recovery, without supervisionExperience mentoring or providing technical leadership to other security engineers and analystsExcellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate technical findings for non-technical stakeholders and leadership, including during active incidentsDeep, hands-on expertise leading end-to-end incident response (triage, containment, eradication, recovery, and root cause analysis) on complex or novel incidents, independentlyAdvanced digital forensics skills across endpoint, network, cloud, and identity sources, including memory and disk forensicsAdvanced experience with EDR/XDR platforms and log analysis across diverse sources: endpoint, network, cloud, and identityStrong working knowledge of detection engineering: writing, tuning, and validating detection content in a SIEM or NG-SIEM platform (e.g., CrowdStrike NG-SIEM, Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel)Working proficiency in hypothesis-driven threat hunting methodology, informed by threat intelligence and the MITRE ATT&CK frameworkDeep working knowledge of the MITRE ATT&CK framework and its practical application to incident response, detection gap analysis, and hunt prioritizationStrong scripting or automation experience (Python, PowerShell, or similar) applied to security use cases AND/OR experience using LLM coding tools such as Claude Code, Gemini CLI, or CodexSolid understanding of networking, cloud infrastructure (AWS especially, but also Azure and GCP), Windows/Linux systems, and identity platformsWorking knowledge of PCI-DSS or a comparable compliance frameworkDemonstrated ability to lead high-pressure, ambiguous, cross-functional incident investigations with minimal oversight License and Certification: Relevant hands-on experience and demonstrated subject-matter expertise are weighted more heavily than certifications for this role. Any of the following are preferred. GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst (GCFA)GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH)GIAC Network Forensic Analyst (GNFA)GIAC Cyber Threat Intelligence (GCTI)Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP)Offensive Security Incident Response (OSIR)CompTIA CySA+ Salary range: $150,000-$180,000 Pay within this range varies by work location and on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. We look forward to discussing your salary expectations and our full total rewards offerings throughout the interview process. Please note: North is a US based company and no sponsorship is available for this position at this time. Who we are: North, and our family of companies, are committed to helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses. As an end-to-end payment solutions company, we provide everything business owners need to get paid, whether they serve customers in a physical storefront, online, or both. We pride ourselves on being large enough to offer customized solutions to our enterprise-level clients while remaining agile enough to take an award-winning, hands-on approach to personal service that our merchants won’t find anywhere else. Let’s go North, together! Our most important resource is our people. Join our diverse team of innovators and do-ers and make your mark on the future of payments technology. We're proud to offer benefits that help our team members further their overall well-being through unique initiatives that are both personally and professionally fulfilling. At North, we celebrate diversity and create an inclusive environment for everyone. We are an equal opportunity employer. To learn more about North, and our family of companies, visit our website: north.com