Cyber Defense Analyst

Description

This is an opportunity to join a team of highly skilled and innovative network defenders, and the best group of individuals out there!

Leidos' Cybersecurity Intelligence and Response Team (CSIRT), within the Corporate Information Security Office and reporting through our Digital Modernization sector, has an immediate opening for a motivated Cyber Defense Analyst . Leidos is an international company made up of over 50,000 employees that provides Defense, Intelligence and Health Products to our customers. Our goal is to stay ahead of, and maintain a technical advantage over our adversaries using the latest technical advancements, including custom built cybersecurity capabilities.

As a key part of the team, your responsibilities will include being a Splunk SME and using your experience performing threat hunting, and tactical analysis of ongoing attacks by criminal and nation state actors. You will perform data analysis, incident response, investigative analysis, and research on existing and emerging cyber threats, particularly those directed against Leidos' global networks. You will be expected to "think like an adversary" and engage in threat hunting operations leveraging your understanding of the tactics, techniques and procedures employed by advanced threats combined with intelligence from multiple sources, and provide reporting and briefings to other teams and leadership in order to maintain appropriate levels of situational awareness. In this position, you will have the ability to grow through training opportunities, conferences and collaboration with industry peers and adjacent parts of our business. You will be challenged and provided a tremendous opportunity for growth in a highly collaborative and supportive environment.

Location: This positions allows for full time telework from any US based location.

Citizenship : US Citizenship is required and you must be eligible to obtain DoD clearance as required.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Analyze network and host activity associated with both successful and unsuccessful intrusions by advanced attackers.

• Perform network traffic analysis utilizing raw packet data, net flow, IDS, and custom sensor output.

• Support enterprise incident response efforts

• Leverage understanding of tactics, techniques and procedures associated with advanced threats to create and add custom signatures that mitigate highly dynamic threats to the enterprise.

• Employ advanced forensic tools and techniques for attack reconstruction and intelligence gathering.

• Proactively research emerging cyber threats. Apply analytical understanding of attacker methodologies and tactics, system vulnerabilities, and key indicators of attacks and exploits.

• Contribute to threat intelligence reports and briefings that provide situational awareness of cyber threats impacting the company's global network infrastructure, to every level of the organization.

• Participate in threat hunt operations using known adversary tactics, techniques and procedures, as well as indicators of attack, in order to detect advanced threats to the enterprise.

• Collaborate using information and knowledge sharing networks and professional relationships to achieve common goals.

• Provide on-call support for incident response efforts outside of core hours as needed.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• US Citizenship and eligibility to obtain DoD Clearance as required.

• BS Degree and 4-8 years relevant experience in cyber security or network defense; or 4-8 years relevant experience with relevant certifications (CISSP, SANS GIAC, CEH, etc.)

• Experience with Splunk or other SIEM-type platform

• Experience in conventional network\host-based intrusion analysis, digital forensics, or malware analysis.

• Experience performing "deep dive" analysis and correlation of log data from multiple sources including PCAP and forensic artifacts.

• Experience leading and contributing to incident response activiti es

• Strong understanding of Operating Systems and Network Protocols.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Windows administrative tools , and the Unix/Linux command line.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Understanding of behavioral based threat models, including ATT&CK, Cyber Kill Chain, Diamond Model, etc.

• Capable and comfortable communicating actionable threat intelligence to both technical and executive-level stakeholders.

• Familiarity with common languages (like Perl and Python) to parse logs, automate processes, and integrate systems.

• Previous experience as Threat Researcher and/or Intelligence Analyst.

• Experience with dynamic malware analysis, and reverse engineering.

• Experience in cryptography or cryptanalysis

• Ability to create, modify, and implement both Snort and YARA signatures.

• Published research papers at conferences or through other mediums (blogs, articles).

• Working knowledge of Computer Network Exploitation (CNE), Computer Network Attack (CNA) and Computer Network Defense (CND) tools and techniques.

• A deep understanding of advanced cyber threats targeting enterprises, along with the tools, tactics, and procedures used by those threats.

• Experience applying threat and data modeling, advanced data correlation, and statistical analysis to develop alerts, notable events, investigative dashboards, and metrics driven reports.

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo - because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 - and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

June 1, 2026

For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range:

Pay Range $87,100.00 - $157,450.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline onlyand not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit .

Pay and Benefits

Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers. Employment benefits include competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave and Retirement. More details are available at .

Securing Your Data

Beware of fake employment opportunities using Leidos' name. Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information during any part of the employment application process (i.e., ask you for money), nor will Leidos ever advance money as part of the hiring process (i.e., send you a check or money order before doing any work). Further, Leidos will only communicate with you through emails that are generated by the Leidos.com automated system - never from free commercial services (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) or via WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. If you received an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information (e.g., about you or your previous employer), and you are concerned about its legitimacy, please make us aware immediately by emailing us at View email address on click.appcast.io .

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement and report the incident to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission ( .

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.

#Remote

REQNUMBER: R-00184469

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. Leidos will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment in accordance with relevant Laws. Leidos is an equal opportunity employer/disability/vet.