Security Operations Center (SOC) Analyst

Job Description and Duties

All applicants will be considered, however SROA/Surplus candidates will be given priority.

Are you interested in making life better for Californians? Are you looking for a career and not just a job? Do you want to create a meaningful impact in your community? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) has a career opportunity waiting for you! California not only needs you, it wants you as part of the growing workforce. New employees, new ideas, and new creative perspectives are needed in all areas at the CDTFA. We value staff and are dedicated to employee career development. Our agency supports the development of staff by offering training to flourish in their position and programs to promote and explore upward mobility. To learn more about us, please see CDTFA Gateway to New Opportunities video

Under the direction of the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer/Privacy Officer, Information Technology Manager I (IT Manager I), the Information Technology Specialist I (IT Spec I) is a member of the Security Operations Center (SOC) and the California Department of Tax Fee & Administration’s (CDTFA) Cyber Incident Response Team. The IT Spec I demonstrates expertise in Security Operations and is a high-level technical security specialist. The IT Spec I will perform security operations duties on identification of information assets, security detections, security analysis and response activities to advance critical enterprise protection and to provide cyber defense of CDTFA information assets, taxpayer and employee information.

The IT Spec I creates and operates processes and tooling to establish and maintain comprehensive asset and network monitoring and defense against security threats across the enterprise’s network infrastructure and user base. The IT Spec I works with enterprise-wide staff to prepare, detect and respond to attacks in a timely manner. The IT Spec I develops and maintains a working level knowledge of relevant IT infrastructure and technologies under the protection of the SOC, of applicable State/Federal and industry regulations and industry accepted best practices according to information security, policies and procedures, threat management and vulnerability, products, practices and processes. The IT Spec I also maintains a working level knowledge of the threat landscape, risk management processes, operating systems, cloud security, identity and access management, network architecture and protocols.

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Under Government Code 14200, this position may be eligible for partial telework for eligible candidates residing in California. All telework/hybrid schedules require staff to report to the office a minimum number of days per week. Schedules are subject to change.

Currently, per the California Budget Act of 2025, all California Department of Tax and Fee Administration salaries are subject to the provisions of the State of California’s Personal Leave Program.

This recruitment has been posted for more vacancies than currently exist as it may be used to fill additional identical vacancies which occur within 180 days of the closing date of this bulletin.

You will find additional information about the job in the .

Working Conditions

• Position may be located in a high-rise building.
• Standard office environment.
• Daily use of a personal computer, office equipment, and/or telephone.
• Telework is partially available.

Special Requirements

• This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S.; for more information about E-Verify, please go to

• Position requires employee to be fingerprinted and successfully pass a background investigation.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• Knowledge of Security Information & Event Management (SIEM) platforms and related logging.

• Knowledge of intrusion detection methodologies and techniques for detecting host and network-based intrusions.

• Knowledge of cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and incident handling methodologies.

• Knowledge of how traffic flows across the network (e.g., Transmission Control Protocol [TCP] and Internet Protocol [IP], Open System Interconnection Model [OSI], Information Technology Infrastructure Library, current version [ITIL]).

• Knowledge of network security methodologies and computer networking concepts and protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, Dynamic Host Configuration, Domain Name System (DNS), and directory services).

• Knowledge of what constitutes a network attack and a network attack’s relationship to both threats and vulnerabilities.

• Knowledge of host/network access control mechanisms (e.g., access control list, capabilities lists).

• Knowledge of network security architecture concepts including topology, protocols, components, and principles (e.g., application of defense-in-depth).

• Knowledge of network mapping and recreating network topologies.

• Knowledge of system administration, network, and operating system hardening techniques.

• Knowledge of system and application security threats and vulnerabilities (e.g., buffer overflow, mobile code, cross-site scripting, Procedural Language/Structured Query Language [PL/SQL] and injections, race conditions, covert channel, replay, return-oriented attacks, malicious code).

• Knowledge of Application Security Risks (e.g. Open Web Application Security Project Top 10 list).

• Knowledge of authentication, authorization, and access control methods.

• Knowledge of cloud service models and how those models can limit incident response.

• Knowledge of malware analysis concepts and methodologies.

Benefits

CDTFA appreciates and proudly celebrates diversity with an emphasis of an inclusive atmosphere in all levels of the organization. CDTFA is a participant in The Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) Capitol Cohort to advance racial equality and advance opportunities for all in California. Employees of different races, ethnicities, genders, ages, religions, disabilities, gender orientations and personal experiences are welcomed to contribute to the success of CDTFA.

The CDTFA was presented with the Large State Employer of the Year Award for 2018 from The Association of California State Employees with Disabilities (ACSED); showcasing CDTFA’s support of employment, promotion, and fair treatment of persons with disabilities.

CDTFA values its staff and is dedicated to employee career development. Our agency supports the development of staff by offering training to flourish in their position and programs to promote and explore upward mobility.

Working for the State offers great opportunities, generous benefits, and career development. In addition, you can look forward to:

• Nearby (third-party) parking. 
• Convenient to public transportation. 

For more information about the outstanding benefits offered to State Employees

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website.

Supplemental Questionnaire Requirement

Applicants must include a Supplemental Questionnaire (SQ) for this recruitment. Applications without an SQ or include an SQ that does not directly answer all the items below will not be considered. Resumes do not take the place of the SQ.

SQ Requirements:

• Name on SQ.
• Job Control number on SQ.

Respond directly to the following SQ question(s):

• Describe how you have addressed information security within an organization or enterprise. What steps, tools and procedures did you use to develop your security practices? What key decisions did you make? What was the outcome?

You must provide specific information in your response(s) which demonstrates how your knowledge, skills, and training meet the needs of this position. 

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is required and must be included.
• Other - A completed Supplemental Questionnaire (SQ) must be submitted with your STD. 678 in order to be considered for this position. Please see the Supplemental Questionnaire Requirement section of this job posting for additional information.