SOC Level 2 Security Analyst

The SOC Analyst (L2) plays a critical role in the detection, investigation, and management of security alerts and incidents escalated from SOC Analyst (L1) teams. The position focuses on in-depth analysis, incident validation, tactical response coordination, and continuous improvement of security monitoring and response capabilities.

Operating within a 24/7 Security Operations Centre, the L2 Analyst serves as a technical escalation point for junior analysts, working closely with internal IT and security teams as well as customers to contain and remediate security incidents. The role contributes directly to improving detection quality, response efficiency, and the overall effectiveness of SOC operations.

What you'll be doing:

• You will investigate security alerts and events escalated from Level 1 analysts, validating and classifying activity to determine whether it represents a confirmed security incident. This includes performing detailed analysis to understand root cause, scope, impact, and attacker behaviour using SIEM platforms and supporting telemetry.
• You will coordinate and support incident response activities in line with defined SOC and customer processes, assisting with containment, eradication, and recovery actions. During high-severity or customer-impacting incidents, you will follow major incident procedures and ensure timely, accurate escalation to stakeholders. You will provide technical guidance to L1 analysts during live incidents and help maintain investigation quality under pressure.
• You will execute defined SOAR playbooks as part of incident response and provide structured feedback to improve automation, response consistency, and efficiency. You will maintain awareness of SOC performance metrics and service levels, such as MTTD and MTTR, and actively contribute to improving investigation quality and response outcomes.
• You will apply threat intelligence to investigations and alert triage, maintaining awareness of emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and attacker techniques. Incident learnings and threat insights will be fed back into detection logic to continuously enhance SOC monitoring capabilities.
• You will also contribute to the development and tuning of SOC detection use cases, ensuring alerting remains relevant, effective, and aligned to current threat activity. This includes supporting onboarding of new services, identifying detection gaps, and recommending improvements to tooling, processes, and coverage.
• Clear and accurate documentation is a key part of the role. You will maintain investigation records, runbooks, and playbooks, produce post-incident reports for customers and internal stakeholders, and contribute to operational and service reporting. You will help document and implement improvements to event and incident management processes.
• Collaboration is essential. You will work closely with IT, security, and technical teams to resolve incidents and reduce risk, act as a mentor and escalation point for L1 analysts, and support continual service improvement by identifying recurring issues and proposing corrective actions.

What experience you'll bring:

• You will have hands-on experience working with SIEM platforms such as Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, or QRadar, and a strong understanding of incident response workflows and escalation management. You will be comfortable analysing security telemetry, understanding attacker behaviour, and applying log- and artefact-based investigation techniques.
• You will demonstrate strong analytical thinking, sound decision-making, and the ability to remain effective during high-pressure incidents. Clear, professional communication—both written and verbal—is essential, as is the ability to work independently while following and improving structured operational processes.
• 2–4 years’ experience in the IT security industry, ideally within a SOC or NOC environment, including experience operating at SOC L1 level.
• Relevant cybersecurity certifications desirable (e.g. GIAC, CySA+, SC-200).
• Experience working with cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure and/or AWS.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office tools, particularly Excel and Word.

Security & Working Requirements:

• Eligibility for, or holding, UK SC Clearance.
• Willingness to work within a 24/7 shift-based SOC environment, including on-call duties.