Manager, Cybersecurity Operations

Austin Community College is seeking a Cybersecurity Operations Manager in Austin, TX, responsible for operational leadership and tactical oversight of the institution’s defensive security capabilities. Reporting to the Director of Information Security, this onsite role drives continuous monitoring, detection, and remediation, and leads a specialized Security Operations team covering IAM, endpoint protection, SIEM, and vulnerability management.

Role scope

• Provide direct leadership, coaching, and performance management for the Security Operations team, supporting a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and technical excellence.
• Manage hiring, professional development, and resource allocation to maintain 24/7 operational readiness and ongoing team growth.
• Oversee the day-to-day operational cadence for security monitoring and response, ensuring internal and external resources meet institutional performance standards.
• Serve as a primary incident leader for major security events, coordinating and communicating across technical teams, legal, and executive leadership to enable rapid containment and institutional recovery.
• Lead Post-Incident Reviews (PIRs) and Root-cause analysis (RCA) sessions, using incident data to drive long-term architectural improvements and refine response playbooks.
• Ensure operational integrity of the security stack for EDR, IAM, and SIEM, maintaining 100% visibility and effective telemetry across the network.
• Manage the collegewide vulnerability program by prioritizing remediation through a balance of technical risk and operational requirements, coordinating patch management lifecycles with IT infrastructure teams.
• Directly manage third-party security service providers and vendors, conducting regular performance reviews to confirm Service Level Agreement (SLA) adherence and seamless integration of external telemetry into internal workflows.
• Establish and maintain Security Operations KPIs, including metrics such as Mean Time to Detect/Respond, and provide leadership briefings on threat trends and security posture maturity.
• Stay current on emerging global threats and regulatory requirements, advising leadership on potential impacts and recommending proactive defense strategies.
• Establish threat detection and incident response controls for AI and Machine Learning (ML) workloads, identifying shadow AI usage, unvetted integrations, and model vulnerabilities.
• Operationalize security policies to ensure technical workflows align with institutional risk frameworks and compliance mandates.
• Receive general direction from higher-level administrative staff while exercising considerable independent judgment in managing departmental operations.

Team and program management

• Direct, supervise, and evaluate subordinate staff performance, ensuring alignment with the college’s mission and goals, setting performance standards, and providing coaching and development.
• Ensure compliance with institutional HR policies and employment regulations while fostering a collaborative environment.
• May oversee unit-level budgeting and purchasing, ensuring responsible fiscal management aligned with institutional priorities and public accountability standards.
• Lead development and use of reporting tools and data systems to support strategic planning, institutional effectiveness, and compliance, interpreting data to inform policy, operations, and service delivery.
• Manage departmental programs and services to align with institutional goals, timelines, and applicable regulations, coordinating with unit leadership to address operational needs and enhancements.
• Plan and allocate staff and operational resources to support unit goals, maintain service continuity, and respond to emerging institutional needs.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Three (3) years related work experience, including one (1) year of supervisory experience.
• Advanced knowledge of network architecture, including firewalls, and integration of enterprise security stacks (SIEM, EDR, IAM) to ensure 100% visibility across hybrid environments.
• Proven expertise leading high-stakes containment efforts and overseeing digital forensic investigations to identify root causes and prevent recurrence.
• Advanced proficiency mapping adversary behavior to the MITRE Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge (ATT&CK) framework to validate detection strategies and close defensive coverage gaps.
• Extensive experience architecting the end-to-end vulnerability lifecycle and translating technical debt into prioritized, risk-based remediation plans.
• Proficiency maintaining Security Operations Center KPIs (MTTR/MTTD) and managing third-party SOC/SIEM providers to ensure high-fidelity alerting standards.
• Demonstrated experience monitoring, detecting, and investigating risks tied to active AI/ML workloads, shadow IT, and API integrations, with working knowledge of AI threat detection frameworks.
• Ability to balance security enforcement with academic operational needs and translate technical metrics into executive-level briefings on institutional risk.
• Proven ability to maintain composure and provide decisive leadership during high-pressure incidents, coordinating technical teams and executive stakeholders.
• Strong business acumen and conceptual thinking to turn emerging global threats into proactive institutional defenses and long-term strategic plans.
• Skilled in architecting vulnerability lifecycles and data protection strategies with an “absolute commitment” to confidentiality and integrity of institutional information.
• Proactive self-starter mindset for end-to-end solutions with minimal supervision and meticulous follow-through.
• Expert interpersonal skills for collaborative cross-departmental relationships and communication of complex technical risks to all levels of leadership.
• At least one relevant industry certification, such as CISSP, CISM, GCIH, GCIA, or CompTIA Cybersecurity Analyst+ (CySA+).
• Candidates without an approved certification must obtain one within six (6) months of hire, or achieve Associate status for experience-gated certifications like CISSP/CISM.
• ITIL Foundation-level certification or above is preferred.

Tools and platforms

• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
• Identity Access Management (IAM)
• Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
• MITRE ATT&CK
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
• Security Operations Center KPIs (MTTR/MTTD)
• Post-Incident Reviews (PIRs) and Root-cause analysis (RCA)
• Firewalls
• Third-Party SOC/SIEM providers
• Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
• Digital forensic investigations
• Vulnerability lifecycle
• API integrations

Compensation, staffing, and schedule

• Salary range (PG 11): USD 90,974 - 116,361 per year
• Location: Austin, TX (onsite)
• Openings: 1
• Closing date: October 27, 2026

Posting and eligibility notes

• Job postings are removed from advertising at 12:00 A.M. on the closing date (midnight on the day before the closing date).
• Austin Community College employees are required to maintain a domicile in the State of Texas while working for the college (AR 4.0300.01).

Work environment and physical demands

• Standard office environment.
• Subject to standing, walking, sitting, bending, reaching, pushing, and pulling.
• Occasional lifting of objects up to 10 pounds.
• Reliable transportation for travel in the Austin area as required.
• Position falls under ACC’s Remote/In-Person framework.

Clery Act and reporting

• As required by the U.S. Department of Education, employees are required to report violations under Title IX and, under the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act (Clery Act), select individuals are required to report crimes.
• If identified as a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), the position will be provided notification, training, and resources for reporting.
• Austin Community College produces an Annual Security Report required by the Clery Act, including statistics and policies, accessible at www.austincc.edu/asr.

Disclaimer: This description provides an overview and is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties, responsibilities, skills, or abilities. Duties may change based on business needs, and ACC may add, change, amend, or delete parts of the job description at any time. Reasonable accommodations may be made at ACC’s discretion to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.