Security Operations Lead

Permanent | Hybrid (23 days onsite, Warrington) Salary: c. £80,000 per annum  benefits Security Clearance: SC Eligible (UK) An organisation operating within the UKs critical national infrastructure sector is expanding its Cyber Security Operations capability and is seeking an experienced SOC Engineering Team Lead to play a key role in strengthening and modernising its security operations. This is a senior, hands-on leadership role, responsible for the engineering, optimisation and continuous improvement of SOC platforms and tooling in a highly regulated, mission-critical environment.

Youll lead a specialist team of engineers, work closely with cyber operations and architecture functions, and help shape the long-term cyber security roadmap.

Key Responsibilities Lead the delivery, maintenance and continuous improvement of SOC engineering platforms and services Own the lifecycle management of SOC tooling, ensuring platforms are secure, scalable and reliable Oversee log ingestion pipelines, integrations and onboarding across hybrid environments Provide technical leadership across Microsoft Sentinel, Defender and Azure security services Drive automation and SOAR capability using Logic Apps and playbooks Work closely with detection engineers and threat hunters to enable effective use cases Manage supplier relationships and ensure services meet agreed SLAs and KPIs Monitor platform performance, costs, ingestion volumes and optimisation opportunities Contribute to long-term SOC capability planning and cyber security strategy Line manage, mentor and develop a team of SOC engineers Communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders Essential:
Proven experience in SOC engineering, security architecture or similar cyber security roles Strong leadership and people-management capability In-depth knowledge of Microsoft security technologies (Sentinel, Defender, Log Analytics, Azure)

Experience with scripting and automation (Power Shell, Python, Logic Apps) Strong understanding of cyber security frameworks (MITRE ATT&CK, NCSC CAF, NIST CSF) Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence across teams A proactive, detail-oriented and problem-solving mindset Eligible for UK Security Clearance (SC) Desirable:
Microsoft security certifications (SC-200, AZ-500, SC-100) Experience working in regulated or high-assurance environments (e.g. critical infrastructure, defence, nuclear) Membership of professional bodies (e.g. CIISec, BCS) Working Arrangements & Benefits Hybrid working: 23 days per week onsite in Warrington Competitive salary of around £80,000 per annum Comprehensive benefits package Long-term, permanent opportunity in a high-impact environment Opportunity to shape and build a critical SOC engineering capability.