The posting
About Us
Sophos is a cybersecurity leader defending 600,000 organizations globally with an AI-driven platform and expert-led services. Sophos meets organizations wherever they are in their security maturity and grows with them to defeat cyberattacks. Its solutions combine machine learning, automation, and real-time threat intelligence with frontline human expertise from Sophos X-Ops to deliver advanced, 24/7 threat monitoring, detection, and response.
Sophos offers industry-leading managed detection and response (MDR) alongside a comprehensive portfolio of cybersecurity technologies — including endpoint, network, email, and cloud security, extended detection and response (XDR), identity threat detection and response (ITDR), and next-gen SIEM. Together with expert advisory services, these capabilities help organizations proactively reduce risk and respond faster, with the visibility and scalability needed to stay ahead of evolving threats.
Sophos goes to market with a global partner ecosystem, including Managed Service Providers (MSPs), Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), resellers and distributors, marketplace integrations, and cyber risk partners, giving organizations the flexibility to choose trusted relationships when securing their business. Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, U.K. More information is available at www.sophos.com.
Role Summary
As a Senior Threat Analyst on our Managed Detection and Response (MDR) team, you will provide best-in-class monitoring, detection, and response services to proactively defend customer environments before attacks prevail. You will work alongside and contribute to a team of cyber threat hunters, incident response analysts, engineers, and ethical hackers by using enterprise, log analysis and endpoint collection systems to facilitate investigations, identification, and neutralization of cyber threats.
What You Will Do
- Monitor, investigate, and respond to alerts generated by the Sophos security stack (including EDR/XDR capabilities)
- Act as the escalation point for Tier I and Tier II Analysts, leading complex and high-severity investigations through to resolution
- Lead the technical response to major security incidents, coordinating containment and remediation activities with customers and internal teams
- Mentor and coach Tier I and Tier II Analysts, and quality-review case work to ensure thorough and accurate investigation practices
- Perform end-to-end analysis on suspicious activity to assess scope, impact, and risk
- Identify and respond to cyber threats across customer environments using approved playbooks and tooling
- Accurately document findings, investigative steps, and outcomes in the MDR case management platform
- Plan and lead hypothesis-driven threat hunts across the MDR customer base, informed by threat intelligence and adversary behavior
- Investigate phishing emails, suspicious binaries, and behavioral anomalies
- Drive detection improvements by identifying recurring false positives and coverage gaps, and by authoring or refining detection logic
- Stay informed on threat actor behaviors, MITRE ATT&CK techniques, and Sophos threat research updates
- Proactively research emerging IOCs, active exploits, and vulnerabilities to stay ahead of evolving threats
- Author and maintain playbooks, knowledge base articles, and documentation, and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives
- Participate in shift rotations and ensure timely, detailed handovers between global teams
- Manage case workflows: create cases, track progress, and follow up with clients until resolution
- Engage with clients in English and Japanese via chat, phone, and tickets, clearly explaining findings and recommended actions
- Contribute to the development of Security Operations processes and provide feedback on tooling
What You Will Bring
- 5+ years of hands-on experience in a Security Operations Center (SOC), Managed Detection and Response (MDR) environment, or cybersecurity-focused IT role
- Proven experience leading incident response efforts, including containment, mitigation, and recovery during active security incidents
- Strong experience with endpoint and network security tools (e.g., EDR, XDR, IDS/IPS, malware defense platforms), with the ability to validate and triage complex alerts
- Hands-on threat hunting experience, with a solid understanding of attacker behavior and patterns
- In-depth knowledge of adversary tactics and techniques such as obfuscation, persistence, privilege escalation, lateral movement, and defense evasion, and the ability to identify these in real-world environments
- Strong working knowledge of Windows operating systems (both workstation and server), with additional experience in Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, RedHat) or macOS environments
- Strong ability to analyze Windows event logs and other telemetry data
- Solid understanding of network traffic analysis, including TCP/IP, routing, switching, and protocols
- Experience mentoring, coaching, or reviewing the work of other analysts
- Excellent troubleshooting and analytical thinking skills, with attention to detail in investigations and case documentation
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly explain findings to both technical and non-technical audiences
- Customer-first mindset with professionalism and a focus on service excellence
- Must thrive within a team environment as well as on an individual basis
- Natural curiosity and ability to learn new skills quickly in a fast-paced, ever-changing threat landscape
- A proactive approach to improving detections, processes, and tooling
- A passion for cybersecurity, continuous improvement, and staying current on threat trends
- Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity or related field, or equivalent practical experience
- Business-level Japanese (JLPT N2 or above, or native) and business-level English, both written and spoken
- Willingness to participate in shift work including nights, weekends and holidays (our MDR service is 24x7x365)
- Strong knowledge of the MITRE ATT&CK framework and its application in detection and response
- Experience working with SIEM platforms and managing enterprise security telemetry
- Ability to write and interpret SQL queries for data analysis and investigation
- Experience with OSQuery
- Programming and scripting skills, particularly in PowerShell
- Advanced cybersecurity certifications (e.g., GCIH, GCFA, GCIA, GREM, OSCP, CISSP, or similar)
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Ready to Join Us?
At Sophos, we believe in the power of diverse perspectives to fuel innovation. Research shows that candidates sometimes hesitate to apply if they don't check every box in a job description. We challenge that notion. Your unique experiences and skills might be exactly what we need to enhance our team. Don't let a checklist hold you back – we encourage you to apply.
What's Great About Sophos?
· Sophos operates a remote-first working model, making remote work the primary option for most employees. However, some roles may necessitate a hybrid approach. While we are a remote first organization, applicants must have legal authorization to work in the jurisdiction where the position is posted, without requiring employer sponsorship.
· Our people – we innovate and create, all of which are accompanied by a great sense of fun and team spirit
· Employee-led diversity and inclusion networks that build community and provide education and advocacy
· Annual charity and fundraising initiatives and volunteer days for employees to support local communities
· Global employee sustainability initiatives to reduce our environmental footprint
· Global fitness and trivia competitions to keep our bodies and minds sharp
· Global wellbeing days for employees to relax and recharge
· Monthly wellbeing webinars and training to support employee health and wellbeing
Our Commitment To You
We’re proud of the diverse and inclusive environment we have at Sophos, and we’re committed to ensuring equality of opportunity. We believe that diversity, combined with excellence, builds a better Sophos, so we encourage applicants who can contribute to the diversity of our team. All applicants will be treated in a fair and equal manner and in accordance with the law regardless of gender, sex, gender reassignment, marital status, race, religion or belief, color, age, military veteran status, disability, pregnancy, maternity or sexual orientation. We want to give you every opportunity to show us your best self, so if there are any adjustments we could make to the recruitment and selection process to support you, please let us know.
Data Protection
If you choose to explore an opportunity, and subsequently share your CV or other personal details with Sophos, these details will be held by Sophos for 12 months in accordance with our Privacy Policy and used by our recruitment team to contact you regarding this or other relevant opportunities at Sophos. If you would like Sophos to delete or update your details at any time, please follow the steps set out in the Privacy Policy describing your individual rights. For more information on Sophos’ data protection practices, please consult our Privacy Policy Cybersecurity as a Service Delivered | Sophos
