Lead Cloud Security Engineer

Cognizant’s Cloud, Infrastructure, and Security Services Practice (CIS) supports digital transformation by modernizing across multiple layers of the enterprise. In this onsite role in New York, you will lead engineering efforts to build automated containment capabilities and agentic SOC solutions that help enable safe, scalable incident response across complex security environments.

This position focuses on integrating SIEM, SOAR, endpoint, identity, network, and AWS cloud security platforms, with a strong emphasis on secure automation, rigorous validation, and operational handoff into BAU.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement automated containment workflows across SIEM, SOAR, endpoint, identity, network, and cloud security platforms.
• Develop incident response playbooks covering endpoint isolation, account restriction, malicious IP blocking, credential containment, and cloud workload quarantine.
• Define automation eligibility criteria, approval requirements, rollback procedures, exception handling, and human-in-the-loop controls.
• Architect and deliver an agentic SOC roadmap, including custom security agent patterns, orchestration workflows, and MCP integrations.
• Build integrations between security platforms, AWS services, case-management systems, and enterprise APIs using Python and secure API patterns.
• Validate automated response and containment workflows using testing, Purple Team exercises, and incident response simulations.
• Develop cloud-native security automation solutions using AWS, EKS, Terraform, and related platform services.
• Collaborate with Cyber Defense, SOC, Incident Response, Cloud Security, IAM, and infrastructure teams to operationalize response capabilities.
• Create operational metrics and dashboards to track automation coverage, response times, containment success, exceptions, and operational effectiveness.
• Produce architecture documentation, containment playbooks, runbooks, support procedures, and knowledge-transfer materials for transition into business-as-usual operations.

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in Cybersecurity Engineering, Security Operations, Cloud Security, Incident Response, or Security Automation.
• Strong hands-on expertise in AWS security services, cloud-native architecture, and security operations in enterprise environments.
• Experience designing automated incident response and containment workflows across SIEM, SOAR, EDR, IAM, network, and cloud platforms.
• Programming and automation skills using Python, APIs, and event-driven integration patterns.
• Hands-on experience with Terraform and Infrastructure as Code for deploying secure, repeatable cloud solutions.
• Experience with AWS EKS, containerized workloads, Kubernetes security, and cloud workload containment strategies.
• Understanding of agentic SOC architectures, AI-enabled security workflows, MCP integrations, and human-in-the-loop automation controls.
• Experience using Git-based development and CI/CD tools such as Bitbucket or equivalent platforms.
• Strong knowledge of incident response, Purple Team testing, approval controls, rollback mechanisms, and exception-management processes.
• Strong architecture, troubleshooting, documentation, stakeholder communication, and operational transition skills.

Technologies

• SIEM, SOAR, EDR, IAM, AWS, Python, APIs
• Event-driven integration patterns, Terraform, Infrastructure as Code
• AWS EKS, Kubernetes, containerized workloads
• Agentic SOC architectures, AI-enabled security workflows, MCP integrations
• Human-in-the-loop automation controls, Git-based development, CI/CD, Bitbucket

Benefits

• Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance
• Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off
• 401(k) plan and contributions
• Long-term/Short-term Disability
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Compensation

The annual salary for this position is $114,500 - $134,000, depending on experience and other qualifications. This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Location: New York, NY (onsite)