Senior SOC Analyst
UK - 3 days a week in our Manchester office (Suite B, Maple Court, M60 Office Park, Wynne Ave, Swinton, Clifton, Manchester, M27 8FF)
£50-£55k (Dependent on experience) + benefits
Focus Group is looking for a Senior SOC Analyst to play a key role within our Managed Security Services team. This is a dual‑focused position combining hands‑on technical expertise with day‑to‑day operational leadership, ensuring high‑quality delivery of managed detection and response services across a diverse customer base.
You’ll lead SOC operations, act as the escalation point for complex security incidents, and mentor junior analysts—driving both service excellence and team development.
What you’ll do
* Lead day‑to‑day SOC operations, ensuring effective triage, escalation, and communication workflows
* Act as the primary escalation point for complex security investigations and incidents
* Conduct advanced threat investigations across endpoints, networks, and cloud environments
* Perform proactive threat hunting and detection tuning to improve coverage and reduce noise
* Manage and mentor Tier 1–2 analysts, supporting development and technical growth
* Ensure ticket quality, SLA adherence, and high service standards across SOC operations
* Support onboarding of new customers into monitoring and detection platforms
* Collaborate with Cyber Security leadership to improve detection strategy and SOC maturity
* Analyse logs and security data to identify malicious or suspicious activity
* Develop and maintain playbooks, runbooks, and knowledge base content
* Produce clear, actionable incident reports for internal and customer stakeholders
* Engage directly with customers during escalations, incident reviews, and briefings
* Identify opportunities for automation, process improvement, and enhanced detection capabilities
* Stay up to date with emerging threats, attack techniques, and MITRE ATT&CK developments
What you’ll bring
* 4–6 years’ experience in a SOC or MSSP environment at Tier 2–3 or Lead level
* Strong hands‑on experience with SIEM platforms (e.g. Microsoft Sentinel, Splunk, Elastic, LogPoint)
* Experience with EDR tools such as Microsoft Defender, SentinelOne, or Bitdefender
* Deep understanding of MITRE ATT&CK and modern threat detection methodologies
* Strong incident response, investigation, and log analysis capability across multiple data sources
* Ability to lead during high‑pressure incidents with calm, confident decision‑making
* Strong communication skills, including producing clear incident reports and updates
* Proven ability to mentor, coach, and support junior analysts
* Organised approach with the ability to manage multiple concurrent incidents
* Proactive mindset focused on continuous improvement and service optimisation
Nice to have
* Certifications such as SC‑200, GCIH, GCIA, Security+, or BTL1
* Experience in an MSSP or multi‑customer environment
* Microsoft security stack experience (Defender XDR, Sentinel, M365 security)
* Knowledge of cloud security, email security, and vulnerability management
* Experience with KQL or other query languages
* Scripting skills (PowerShell, Python)
* Familiarity with SOAR and threat intelligence platforms
* Understanding of compliance frameworks (ISO 27001, NIST, Cyber Essentials)
Future opportunities
* SOC Manager / Head of Security Operations
* Cyber Security Technical Lead
* Detection Engineering Lead
* Threat Intelligence LeadIncident Response Manager
* Security Consultant / Advisory
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