Operations Manager

Job Description:

Competitive Range partners with the government to plan and deploy complex, IT-enabled, and mission-essential capabilities. Our goal is to help you develop and expand your professional capabilities while working on challenging, exciting projects in a collaborative, congenial environment. 

We are seeking an experienced Operations Manager with expertise in cybersecurity incident response, killchain analytics, and cybersecurity tool optimization to lead Security Operations Center (SOC) initiatives within a DoD environment. This role requires a proven ability to evaluate, integrate, and optimize SOC toolsets, coordinate with senior IT and security leadership, and translate solution gaps into technical requirements that align with mission-critical defense objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

• Oversee SOC operations, ensuring real-time incident response, detection, and mitigation of cyber threats.
• Demonstrate proficiency in incident response methodologies, kill-chain analytics, and Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) identification.
• Evaluate, optimize, and integrate SOC toolsets for improved monitoring and intelligence-sharing capabilities.
• Collaborate with senior security and IT leadership to align SOC solutions with DoD operational goals and initiatives.
• Identify solution gaps and translate findings into vendor-agnostic technical requirements for tool improvements.
• Work across cybersecurity teams, including digital forensics, malware analysis, and network defense.
• Ensure compliance with DoD cybersecurity standards, federal policies, and operational security protocols.
• Maintain expertise in both closed and open-source SOC technologies, ensuring adaptability to evolving threats.
• Prepare and deliver technical briefings, reports, and recommendations to stakeholders.

Required Qualifications:

• Active Secret Clearance: TS preferred. 

• Education:
  • Bachelor's degree in computer science, Computer Engineering, or a STEM-related major.
• Experience:
  • Minimum 10 years of IT experience, with at least 2 years in a SOC or Security Analytics role.
  • Advanced, hands-on experience with both closed and open-source SOC technologies.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with classified defense systems and secure DoD cybersecurity operations.
• Familiarity with AWS GovCloud, Azure Government, and secure cloud security architectures.
• Certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CEH, GCIH, or other DoD-approved cybersecurity credentials.