Senior Manager, Cybersecurity Operations

About the Role

The NFL Cybersecurity Operations team safeguards the organization's digital assets by ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical data, systems, and services. Through continuous monitoring, rapid incident response, and proactive threat management, the team defends the enterprise against an evolving cyber threat landscape.

We are seeking a Senior Manager, Cybersecurity Operations to lead the NFL's Cybersecurity Operations Center (CSOC). This leader will oversee the Cybersecurity Operations program and drive the continued evolution of our 24x7x365 security operations capability, transforming it from a primarily reactive, alert-driven function into a proactive, intelligence-led, and highly automated cyber defense program. Reporting as a key leader within the cybersecurity organization, this individual will help define and execute the strategic vision for the "CSOC of the Future," shaping the operating model, technology strategy, and roadmap by leveraging automation, orchestration, agentic AI, advanced analytics, and emerging security capabilities to strengthen cyber resilience, enhance threat detection and response, and improve operational effectiveness across the enterprise.

Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day operations and strategic direction of the 24/7/365 Cybersecurity Operations Center (CSOC).
• Lead incident response activities for high-priority cybersecurity events and oversee post-incident reviews and continuous improvement.
• Expand proactive threat hunting using threat intelligence, behavioral analytics, and AI-assisted investigations.
• Collaborate with IT infrastructure, cloud, engineering, risk, and business leaders to define and deliver the future state of cybersecurity operations, ensuring rapid detection, investigation, and response to threats while maximizing productivity and reducing operational complexity.
• Collaborate with third-party security providers and managed security service providers (MSSPs) to optimize service delivery and operational effectiveness.
• Support major business events and critical operations by ensuring continuous monitoring and rapid incident response capabilities.
• Develop and execute the strategic roadmap for a modern Cybersecurity Operations Center built on automation, orchestration, AI, and agentic AI.
• Define the future operating model for security operations, balancing human expertise with autonomous security capabilities.
• Champion continuous modernization initiatives that improve resilience, scalability, and analyst effectiveness.
• Develop and execute the roadmap for a modern, AI-enabled SOC focused on automation, orchestration, and continuous operational improvement.
• Develop playbooks and orchestrated workflows using SOAR technologies to improve consistency, speed, and scalability.
• Leverage agentic AI and machine learning to automate repetitive analyst tasks, improve triage accuracy, alert enrichment, response actions, accelerate investigations, and enable autonomous response where appropriate.
• Identify opportunities to eliminate operational inefficiencies through intelligent automation and workflow optimization.
• Sponsor development of automation playbooks and integrations across the cybersecurity technology stack.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing cybersecurity operations team while fostering innovation and continuous learning.
• Lead Security Operations, Detection Engineering, Incident Response, Threat Hunting, and Security Automation teams.
• Establish KPIs that measure operational maturity, automation effectiveness, analyst productivity, detection quality, and response performance.
• Drive continuous improvement in Mean Time to Detect (MTTD), Mean Time to Respond (MTTR), alert fidelity, and analyst capacity through technology optimization.
• Drive integration and optimization of SIEM, SOAR, XDR, EDR, Threat Intelligence, Vulnerability Management, Identity Security, Cloud Security, Email Security, and Network Security.
• Build detection engineering capabilities that continuously improve visibility across the enterprise including cloud, endpoints, network, email, and SaaS environments.
• Evaluate emerging cybersecurity technologies and recommend investments that improve operational capability and efficiency.
• Present cybersecurity operational maturity, modernization progress, and risk metrics to executive leadership through dashboards and operational reporting, communicating cyber risk, operational performance, and program maturity.
• Partner with cybersecurity architecture, security engineering, and IT teams to operationalize new security technologies and maximize value through integration and automation.
• Work with Information Security Office leadership and other stakeholders to develop multi-year investment strategies for cybersecurity operations technologies and workforce transformation.
• Partner with business leaders to align cybersecurity operations with organizational objectives and enterprise resilience.
• Build and mentor a high-performing cybersecurity operations organization capable of operating an AI-enabled SOC.
• Develop new skills within the team around automation engineering, AI-assisted investigations, detection engineering, and advanced threat hunting.
• Foster a culture of innovation, continuous learning, and operational excellence.

Requirements

• 8-10+ years professional experience in cybersecurity, network engineering, or large-scale enterprise IT operations.
• At least 3-5+ years in a dedicated management or leadership role.
• Hands-on background in incident response, risk management, security architecture, and Security Operations Center (SOC) optimization.
• Direct supervisory responsibilities of contract employees and/or managed security services.
• Bachelor's degree (B.S. or B.A.) in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Technology, or similar required.
• Master’s degree (M.S. in Cybersecurity, Information Security, or an MBA with an IT/Security concentration) is strongly preferred.

Skills

• Technical expertise in cybersecurity tools, technologies, and security strategies.
• Advanced knowledge of AI, SIEM, SOAR, EDR/XDR, and Next-Gen Firewalls.
• Advanced technical skills that can shift from daily hands-on to architecture design, technical, and defensive engineering.
• Cyber Threat Management & Hunting using advanced threat intelligence frameworks like MITRE ATT&CK and threat intelligence integrations.
• Strong understanding of network and systems both hybrid-cloud security (AWS, Azure) and on-premises infrastructure.
• Forensic understanding to guide analysts and preserve strict chains of custody for legal teams.
• Confident, self-motivated, with strong interpersonal skills and ability to interface with, and gain the respect of, stakeholders at all levels of the NFL.
• Continuously prove and demonstrate good judgment and commitment to high standards of ethics, regulatory compliance, customer service, and business integrity.
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with the IT organization, project and application development teams, management, and business personnel.
• Strong decision-making capabilities; calm under pressure during high-stress cyber events.
• Understanding of business needs and commitment to delivering high-quality, prompt, and efficient service to the business.
• Understanding of organizational mission, values, and goals and consistent application of this knowledge.

Preferred Certifications

• CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional)
• CISM (Certified Information Security Manager)
• GSOM (GIAC Security Operations Manager)

Schedule

This role requires onsite presence at an NFL office or stadium location; remote and/or hybrid working options are not offered. Domestic and international travel is required, approximately 15%-20% of the time.

Pay

Salary range: $175,000—$195,000 USD. The NFL expects to hire for this position near the middle of the range. Only in truly rare and exceptional circumstances, where an external candidate has experience, credentials, or expertise that far exceed those required or expected for the position, would the NFL consider paying a salary or rate near the higher end of the range.

Benefits

For more information about our comprehensive benefits offerings, visit: NFL BENEFITS.