Director – Head of Security Operations Center

Position : Director – Head of Security Operations CenterLocation : ChennaiKey Competencies:- Strategic Vision – Ability to align SOC service evolution with MSSP business objectives.- Technical Skills – Deep understanding of modern detection and response tools, automation, and integration frameworks.- Client Orientation – Skilled in stakeholder engagement, reporting, and service quality management.- Operational Excellence – Expertise in building scalable 24x7 operations with consistent quality.- Leadership – Strong people management, mentoring, and cross-team collaboration abilities.- Innovation – Aptitude for evaluating and operationalizing emerging SOC technologies.- Deep understanding of modern detection and response tools, automation, and integration frameworks.- Communication – Ability to present complex technical insights to executives and clients clearly and effectively.- Responsible for driving execution of daily, weekly, and monthly metrics for statistical threats and KPIs.- Coordinate with global stakeholders along with the Senior management during contingency scenarios/ high severity incidents to ensure responsive actions are communicated in timely manner.Profile Description:- 15+ years of experience in cybersecurity operations, with at least 5 years in SOC or MSSP leadership.- Proven experience managing multi-tenant SOC environments with diverse customer infrastructures.- Hands-on expertise in:- - Splunk Enterprise Security (use case design, data onboarding, SPL optimization).- - Palo Alto Cortex XSOAR (playbook automation, integration management, case handling).- - Google SecOps (Chronicle + SOAR) (rule development, analytics, log pipelines).- Strong understanding of SIEM/SOAR architectures, EDR, NDR, cloud telemetry, and threat intel integration.- Experience defining and managing SOC SLAs, client KPIs, and service delivery metrics.Key Responsibilities:Leadership and Operations Management- Lead and manage SOC functions comprising Detection, Incident Response, and SOC Engineering teams across multiple shifts and geographies.- Define and enforce SOC service delivery models, operating procedures, and SLAs aligned with client contracts.- Oversee day-to-day SOC operations for multiple customers with varying environments (on-prem, cloud, hybrid).- Ensure effective handover, escalation, and quality assurance across all shifts.- Drive KPIs for detection coverage, mean time to detect/respond (MTTD/MTTR), and client satisfaction.Incident Response and Threat Management- Oversee the end-to-end incident lifecycle: detection, triage, containment, eradication, and recovery.- Establish and maintain client-specific runbooks, escalation matrices, and response playbooks.- Guide major incident response efforts and lead investigations for high-severity or high-impact events.- Ensure timely communication and coordination with client security teams during incidents.Client Engagement and Risk Reporting- Serve as the primary SOC interface for strategic customer engagements.- Prepare and deliver executive risk reports, incident summaries, and detection coverage dashboards to client management teams.- Translate complex technical risks into actionable business insights for diverse client audiences.Technology and Engineering Excellence- Provide technical direction for SIEM/SOAR/Threat Intelligence stack optimization and automation.- Lead the design and maintenance of multi-tenant architectures ensuring data segregation, scalability, and compliance.- Direct the automation of repetitive analyst tasks through playbooks and integrations in Cortex XSOAR.- Evaluate and implement emerging technologies in AI-driven detection, UEBA, threat intelligence correlation, and SOAR orchestration.- Maintain governance for log ingestion, parser accuracy, and retention policies across client environments.Innovation and Technology Evaluation- Continuously assess and pilot next-generation tools in SIEM, SOAR, Threat Intel, and AI/ML-based detection.- Build business cases and lead proofs of concept (POCs) for promising platforms and integrations.- Foster a culture of experimentation, automation, and measurable improvement within the SOC.