Senior Cyber Security Defender (SIEM Engineer)

Who we are:

For more than 70 years, NATO’s mission has been to preserve peace and security in the Alliance for nearly one billion citizens. The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) and its predecessors have worked tirelessly in providing the means that enable the connectedness and togetherness that keep our Alliance strong. We are the NCI Agency, a team of 3000 civilian and military staff in 29 locations throughout Europe, North America and Asia.

Our technology and cyber experts allow NATO to conduct critical operations, protect NATO’s airspace, make data-driven decisions, defend against cyber-attacks, secure NATO networks and maintain superiority in space. This is all possible because of our greatest force, our people. In order to keep this edge we aim to hire, train and retain the very best staff.

Our staff members represent both the diversity and unity of our Alliance. When you join the NCI Agency, you will be part of an organization where you can contribute authentically to the mission and purpose of NATO and help us keep our technological edge.

About the job:

Based in Mons, Belgium you will join the Agency as we embark on a journey to transform our IT services to support NATO’s Digital Endeavour. You will join NATO Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is responsible for planning and executing all lifecycle management activities for cyber security. In executing this responsibility, NCSC provides specialist cyber security-related services covering the spectrum of scientific, technical, acquisition, operations, maintenance, and sustainment support, throughout the lifecycle of NATO Communications and Information Systems (CIS).

We are looking for a driven and enthusiastic Senior Cyber Security Defender who will take on the following roles and responsibilities:

• Act as one of the main engineers and Subject Matter Expert (SME) for SIEM and Log Collection services. This role will involve a combination of both technical and managerial responsibilities;
• As the SME, you will provide advice and technical assistance to other stakeholders, maintain technical expertise, awareness, and developments in related new technologies, and provide technical contributions to any projects related to the data security systems;
• Management and further development of the data security systems; manage associated licences and support agreements and provide forecasting information to support the annual budget cycles;
• Coordinate the team effort, train and coach new team members, establish and manage team tasks, set priorities to ensure smooth service delivery, lead meetings when required, and ensure the Head of CSDE is informed of any pertinent updates regarding the team or its activities.

For a full list of duties, please review the job description on the NCI Agency career site.

About you:

The valuable knowledge and experience that you bring to this role are:

• Bachelor’s degree at a nationally recognised/certified University in a related discipline and 3 years post-related experience.  Or exceptionally, the lack of a university degree may be compensated by the demonstration of a candidate’s particular abilities or experience that is/are of interest to NCI Agency, that is, at least 10 years extensive and progressive expertise in duties related to the function of the post;
• At least 1 year of extensive practical experience as SIEM administrator in large enterprise environment (deployment, installation, configuration and maintenance);
• Previous experience in team management and at least 2 years of experience in:

ü  Serving as a technical lead;

ü  Coaching and training;

ü  Providing oversight.

• Practical experience in designing Splunk based solutions;
• At least 2 years and expert level experience related to SIEM/Log Collection management activities;
• Demonstrable experience of analysing and interpreting system, security and application logs in order to diagnose faults and spot abnormal behaviours;
• Practical hands-on experience in systems and tools administration, especially Linux environment;
• Comprehensive knowledge of the principles of computer and communication security, networking, and the vulnerabilities of modern operating systems and applications;
• Practical skills in writing Bash, Python or Ansible scripts to support repetitive tasks automation;
• Linux system and application administration and troubleshooting;
• Solid understanding of regular expressions;
• Ability to develop clear and concise technical documentation, including procedures;
• Demonstrable ability to work autonomously and proactively, to understand the chain of command and to follow internal processes;
• Good communication abilities, both written and verbal, with the ability to clearly and successfully articulate complex issues to a variety of audiences and teams;
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken.

What we offer:

• Genuinely meaningful work as part of the most successful alliance in history;
• 3 year contract with competitive tax-free salary and household and children’s allowances;
• Privileges for expatriate staff including expatriation and education allowances (where appropriate) and additional home leave;
• Excellent private health insurance scheme;
• Generous annual leave of 30 days plus official holidays;
• NATO Pension Scheme;
• Development programs such as professional training, wellbeing, and more.

To learn more about NCI Agency and our work, please visit our website. 

The NCI Agency prides itself on being an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment of mutual respect and value uniqueness and differences in gender, gender identity, race, ethnic or cultural origin, age, religion, sexual orientation and physical or neurocognitive ability. 

Additional details on the conditions of application can be found via the NCI Agency career site.