Operations Lead Active Top Secret

Overview
The Operations Lead Engineering serves as the senior technical and operational authority for the Engineering division of the Security Operations Center (SOC). In this role you will oversee the full lifecycle of SOC engineering operations including systems administration physical and virtual network engineering 24x7x365 shift coverage and direct supervision of all engineering staff. You will ensure that critical systems tools and services remain secure available compliant and fully operational to support mission requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Technical & Operational Leadership

• Provide senior-level direction to system administrators network engineers and cybersecurity engineers supporting 24x7x365 SOC operations.
• Oversee systems administration activities including configuration patching hardening lifecycle management and operational readiness of servers endpoints and security appliances.
• Lead and maintain SOC virtualization platforms (VMware HyperV) and cloud environments (AWS GovCloud Azure Government).
• Recommend and implement solutions to address security issues system outages and network disruptions.
• Apply deep technical infrastructure expertise to ensure compliance with service-level agreements (SLAs) and operational performance metrics.
• Lead or participate in security tests evaluations studies and experiments that directly impact SOC readiness.

Engineering Governance & Documentation

• Develop maintain and enforce SOC engineering SOPs runbooks knowledge base content and technical documentation.
• Conduct technical and management briefings for senior leadership government stakeholders and program management.
• Maintain a centralized service catalog leveraging ITIL practices to improve delivery accountability and efficiency.

Team Management & Staffing

• Lead supervise and mentor systems administrators network engineers and SOC engineering personnel.
• Manage shift coverage scheduling oncall rotations contingency plans and surge support for a 24x7x365 environment.
• Provide hands-on engineering support during staffing gaps or high-demand events.
• Develop staffing and continuity plans for weather events absences emergencies and other mission-impacting situations.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Integrate and sustain SOC security tools including SIEM IDS/IPS EDR/XDR firewalls proxies and logging solutions.
• Coordinate with SOC Analysts Incident Responders and Threat Intelligence teams to ensure engineering infrastructure meets mission requirements.
• Collaborate with system owners IT teams and stakeholders to assess cybersecurity needs and translate them into actionable solutions.
• Facilitate working groups to identify issues define requirements and prioritize technical improvements.

Operational Excellence & Compliance

• Manage asset inventory capacity planning and technology refresh cycles for all SOC engineering assets.
• Support Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning and execution for critical SOC infrastructure.
• Interface with Contracting Officer Representatives (CORs) program managers and technical leads on engineering matters.
• Ensure compliance with NIST SP 80053 FISMA DISA STIGs DoS policies and O&M contractual requirements.
• Oversee daily operations ensuring system availability security and operational readiness.
• Coordinate remediation activities supporting Authority to Operate (ATO) compliance across multiple networks and classifications.

Incident Response & Operational Reporting

• Provide leadership during high-severity cybersecurity incidents including response coordination client communication and recovery.
• Lead after-action reviews ensuring corrective actions are documented assigned tracked and completed.
• Monitor global infrastructure for vulnerabilities disruptions performance issues and operational risks.
• Coordinate with third-party providers to resolve failures escalate critical issues and minimize downtime.
• Oversee patching and vulnerability remediation across multiple enclaves and security levels.
• Monitor incident request change and problem management processes to identify trends and improve service delivery.
• Identify opportunities to automate recurring cybersecurity tasks such as reporting ticket validation policy enforcement monitoring and patching.
• Audit ServiceNow tickets to ensure accuracy completeness and compliance.
• Track key cybersecurity metrics SLAs performance indicators and operational trends.
• Ensure quality accuracy and timely delivery of all cybersecurity operational products and services.

Additional Responsibilities

• Maintain operational readiness plans escalation procedures contact rosters and continuity documentation.
• Drive continual service improvement across engineering operations monitoring and support functions.
• Provide guidance and mentorship to engineering leads analysts and O&M support personnel.
• Perform additional cybersecurity operations and servicemanagement duties as assigned.