Senior Lead Cyber Defense Engineer - Remote Eligible

Senior Lead Cyber Defense Engineer

Lumen connects the world. We are igniting business growth by connecting people, data and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. Together, we are building a culture and company from the people up – committed to teamwork, trust and transparency. People power progress. We're looking for top-tier talent and offer the flexibility you need to thrive and deliver lasting impact. Join us as we digitally connect the world and shape the future.

The Role

The Senior Lead Cyber Defense Engineer drives rapid tooling and infrastructure development to support Lumen's incident response mission. You'll build custom automation, integrate diverse security data sources, and deploy on-demand environments that accelerate investigations and threat hunting. This role blends engineering and IR expertise — turning urgent investigative needs into practical solutions without waiting for detailed requirements. You'll work closely with Cyber Defense, Threat Intelligence, and Cloud teams to deliver high-velocity, high-impact capabilities that strengthen Lumen's security posture.

Location

This is a remote position open to candidates based anywhere in the U.S.

The Main Responsibilities

• Develop custom tooling to support active incident response engagements
• Build and maintain infrastructure for log analysis, forensics, and threat hunting
• Create automation for evidence collection, parsing, and correlation
• Write scripts to process large datasets (logs, network captures, memory dumps)
• Stand up ad-hoc environments (VMs, containers, cloud resources) as investigations require
• Integrate with SIEMs, EDR platforms, and threat intelligence feeds
• Document tools sufficiently for team use while maintaining development velocity

What We Look For In A Candidate

3+ years development experience (Python, Go, Bash, Rust, or similar)

2+ years in incident response, SOC, or security operations

Comfortable building solutions without detailed requirements

Experience with:

• Log analysis and parsing (ELK, Splunk, or custom)
• Cloud infrastructure (AWS/GCP/Azure) - IaC a plus
• Containerization (Docker, Kubernetes basics)
• Forensic artifacts (Windows/Linux/Mac)
• Network traffic analysis
• Ability to context-switch rapidly between projects
• Strong debugging and troubleshooting instincts

Nice To Have

DFIR certifications (GCIH, GCFA, GNFA)

Experience with memory forensics (Volatility)

Malware analysis or reverse engineering exposure

Familiarity with MITRE ATT&CK framework

Prior MSSP, consulting, or in-house IR team experience

This Role Is For You If...

You've built a tool at 2 AM during an active incident because nothing else did what you needed

You can pick up a new API or data format in hours, not days

You find IR investigations genuinely interesting, not just the coding part

Compensation

This information reflects the anticipated base salary range for this position based on current national data. Minimums and maximums may vary based on location. Individual pay is based on skills, experience and other relevant factors. Location Based Pay Ranges: $129,639 - $172,852 in these states: AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MO, MS, MT, ND, NE, NM, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, WI, WV, and WY. $136,121 - $181,494 in these states: CO, HI, MI, MN, NC, NH, NV, OR, and RI. $142,603 - $190,137 in these states: AK, CA, CT, DC, DE, IL, MA, MD, NJ, NY, TX, VA, and WA.

Lumen offers a comprehensive package featuring a broad range of Health, Life, Voluntary Lifestyle benefits and other perks that enhance your physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing. We're able to answer any additional questions you may have about our bonus structure (short-term incentives, long-term incentives and/or sales compensation) as you move through the selection process.

Background Screening: If you are selected for a position, there will be a background screen, which may include checks for criminal records and/or motor vehicle reports and/or drug screening, depending on the position requirements. For more information on these checks, please refer to the Post Offer section of our FAQ page.

Equal Employment Opportunities: We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all persons regardless of race, color, ancestry, citizenship, national origin, religion, veteran status, disability, genetic characteristic or information, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, pregnancy, or other legally protected status. We do not tolerate unlawful discrimination in any employment decisions.

Disclaimer: The job responsibilities described above indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not intended to include a comprehensive inventory of all duties and responsibilities for this job. Job duties and responsibilities are subject to change based on evolving business needs and conditions.