Principal Microsoft Defender XDR, IRM & Deception Engineer

Description

The Principal Microsoft Defender XDR IRM & Deception Engineer working within the Global Information and Cyber Security Defence (ICSD) function is the technical leader for enterprise cyber deception and unified detection and response across the Microsoft security ecosystem. The role focuses on building operating and continuously evolving an enterprise-grade Insider Risk Management (IRM) and deception programme - including honeypots honey tokens decoy users decoy devices deceptive credentials and breadcrumbs - fully integrated with Microsoft Defender XDR (Defender for Endpoint Defender for Identity Defender for Office 365 and Defender for Cloud Apps) Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Security Copilot.

The role exists to detect adversaries earlier in the kill chain by deceiving attackers into engaging with high-fidelity traps while delivering unified detection automated investigation and response across endpoint identity email and cloud workloads. It combines deep deception engineering expertise with hands-on Defender XDR mastery and the use of Agentic AI to drive proactive intelligence-led and largely autonomous security operations.

The Role:

• Deception Engineering Leadership
  • Own and lead the enterprise cyber deception programme end-to-end including strategy architecture deployment operations and continuous improvement.
  • Design deploy and operate a layered deception fabric across on-premises hybrid and multi-cloud environments using honeypots honey tokens decoy accounts decoy devices deceptive files / shares and breadcrumbs.

  • Act as the technical authority for deception engineering and Microsoft Defender XDR across the enterprise.

• Microsoft Defender XDR Leadership
  • Lead the design implementation and optimisation of Microsoft Defender XDR across endpoint identity email and cloud-app workloads.
  • Integrate all deception signals (honeypot honey token decoy breadcrumb) into Defender XDR and Microsoft Sentinel as first-class high-fidelity detections.

  • Define and enforce a unified detection and response strategy across the Microsoft security stack.

• Data Protection DLP & Insider Risk Management

  • Lead the design and implementation of Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies across endpoints cloud apps and collaboration platforms
  • Define and enforce data protection controls to prevent unauthorised data exfiltration and misuse
  • Leverage Microsoft Insider Risk Management (IRM) to detect risky user behaviour including data leaks policy violations and insider threats
  • Correlate DLP IRM and identity signals with Microsoft Defender XDR to provide unified incident context
  • Collaborate with Risk Compliance and Legal teams to align DLP and insider risk controls with regulatory and business requirements

  • Continuously optimise detection use cases combining identity data and behavioural analytics

• Multi-Cloud Deception & Detection (AWS GCP OCI)
  • Extend the deception programme and Defender-style detection capabilities consistently across AWS GCP and OCI including:
  • Cloud honeypots decoy IAM roles and honey token cloud credentials / API keys
  • Control-plane workload container and Kubernetes threat detection
  • Cross-cloud identity and access misuse detection
  • Ensure consistent detection deception and response coverage across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
• Automation Agentic AI & Continuous Improvement
  • Contribute towards automation of deception deployment detection investigation and response workflows using Microsoft Sentinel SOAR Logic Apps and Microsoft Security Copilot.
  • Define KPIs and metrics covering deception engagement detection coverage and response maturity.
  • Continuously improve detection hunting and deception capabilities to align with emerging threats and adversary tradecraft.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Technical Leadership
  • Lead and grow a team of Defender XDR and Deception Engineers setting technical direction standards and delivery priorities.
  • Partner with SOC CTI Identity Cloud and Engineering teams to embed deception and Defender XDR detection into all enterprise platforms.
  • Provide mentorship and leadership to deception engineers detection engineers threat hunters and SOC analysts.
  • Communicate deception strategy detection coverage residual risk and security improvements to senior stakeholders.

What youll bring:

Required Skills & Experience:

• Hands-on experience with:
  • Open-source and commercial deception / honeypot platforms (e.g. Thinkst Canary T-Pot Cowrie Open Canary Zscaler Deception)
  • Advanced KQL for detection engineering and threat hunting at scale
  • Detection-as-code CI/CD of detection content and security content management
• Strong knowledge of adversary tradecraft and frameworks:
  • MITRE ATT&CK MITRE Engage MITRE D3
    
    FEND and the cyber kill chain

  • Experience leveraging Agentic AI Microsoft Security Copilot or AI/ML in security operations (detection hunting IR automation).

• Proven experience designing and operating enterprise cyber deception programmes (honeypots honey tokens decoy users decoy devices breadcrumbs) at scale.
• Extensive hands-on…