Cyber Defence Analyst

Overview

Cyber Defence Analyst role based in A&O Shearman's Belfast office. Core part of information security team with mature cyber defence capability. Work with Managed Security Service Provider monitoring and investigate alerts and escalations. Weekend work requirement with premium pay.

• Investigate Level 2 escalated events and alerts from Level 1 monitoring and prioritize incidents.
• Respond to inbound queries to the information security mailbox.
• Participate in incident response activities: triage, containment, mitigation and remediation, collecting forensic evidence.
• Support security incident response exercises and review post‑exercise findings.
• Be part of the 24‑7 on‑call rota and global follow‑the‑sun model to hand‑off incidents across time zones.
• Maintain awareness of current cyber threats and apply threat intelligence insights to daily operations.

• Assist with implementation and enhancement of cyber defence tools and processes.
• Contribute to maintenance and improvement of playbook and process documentation.

• Collaborate with other information security and IT teams to improve security posture.
• Advise business stakeholders on cyber defence, translating technical concepts into business language.

• At least 1+ year in a security operations or similar technical security role.
• Operational experience in at least two domains: alert triage, incident response, DFIR, threat intelligence, vulnerability management, or security control testing.
• Strong understanding of networking protocols such as TCP/IP, DNS, SMTP.
• Working knowledge of SIEM, IDS/IPS, threat management platforms, endpoint protection and firewalls.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, communication and collaboration skills.
• High personal integrity and ethics.

• Bachelor's degree in Information Security, Computer Science, Engineering or related field.
• Industry recognised certifications such as CISSP, CEH, CISM, CompTIA Security+.
• Practical programming or scripting experience in Python or Power Shell.

A&O Shearman recognises the value of flexible working and embraces hybrid working, allowing up to 40% of working time from home.

We are an equal opportunities recruiter and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability or any other protected characteristic.