Consulting Director, SOC Assessment Service, Proactive Services (Unit 42) - Remote

Palo Alto Networks•Santa Clara, CA

12d•Remote

About The Position

The Consulting Director will help drive the Proactive Consulting Service for the SOC assessment offering. This senior-level consultant will serve as a trusted advisor and key contributor to helping our customers strengthen cybersecurity resilience and advance their overall security maturity. In this leadership role, you will serve as the case lead on key engagements, guide a high-performing team of consultants, manage and coach personnel, and partner across Unit 42 and Palo Alto Networks to provide quality services, contribute to thought leadership, and elevate SOC capabilities across industries. You will be responsible for managing team members and engagements to achieve service line KPIs, including delivery excellence, customer satisfaction, and introducing Palo Alto Networks’ products as solutions to risks identified during engagements.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in cybersecurity, with 5+ years leading SOC-related services or operations (e.g. SOC transformation, SOC consulting, Detection Engineering, Incident Response, etc)
6+ years of professional services and consulting experience, with 3+ years in a Director (or equivalent Senior Manager) role leading consulting delivery teams strongly preferred
Experience managing delivery teams, and the ability to influence both internal and external stakeholders.
Deep understanding of SOC operations, detection and response workflows, SIEM/SOAR tooling, and threat-informed defense
Experience conducting SOC assessments, maturity benchmarking, incident response, or blue team capability reviews
Familiarity with relevant frameworks and standards (MITRE ATT&CK, NIST CSF, CIS Controls, etc.)
Hands-on experience with SOC technologies such as SIEM, EDR/XDR, and security in cloud-native platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP)
Strong consulting presence engaging with SOC Directors, Technical teams, and CISOs
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a record of influencing clients and internal stakeholders, and demonstrated ability to write effective reports across diversely skilled audiences
Strong public speaking and presentation skills, to effectively communicate complex SOC concepts to diverse audiences.
Knowledge of Palo Alto Networks products (e.g. Cortex suite) and how they support best in class security operations
Bachelor’s Degree in Information Security, Computer Science, Digital Forensics, Cybersecurity, or equivalent professional experience required

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree or cybersecurity certifications (CISSP, CISM, GIAC, etc.) preferred

Responsibilities

Serve as a key contributor to the development, maturation, and innovation of SOC consulting services
Lead and deliver technical and strategic SOC cybersecurity maturity assessments
Translate technical findings and observations into clear, actionable business risk implications and strategic recommendations
Conduct reviews and assessments based on frameworks such as NIST CSF, MITRE ATT&CK, ISO 27001, and other industry standards
Provide deep subject matter expertise and delivery leadership across a range of environments, including cloud-native, hybrid, and on-premises ecosystems
Provide guidance on the development of security programs, operations models, threat detection capabilities, and incident readiness
Manage performance of a high-functioning technical team
Drive cross-functional value by integrating the Palo Alto Networks product platform (e.g., Cortex XSIAM, Prisma SASE, Precision AI) into consulting engagements where applicable
Engage in a pre-sales capacity with client prospects, uncovering cybersecurity pain points across SOC operations
Identify alignment between Unit 42 solutions and customer challenges, crafting and delivering communications that clearly articulate solution value and outcomes
Support engagement teams in addressing and overcoming deep technical objections that arise throughout the delivery process
Strengthen the team’s ability to tie recommendations to each client’s unique business processes, strategic initiatives, and risk mitigation objectives
Lead the practice and invest in developing long-term client relationships that support Unit 42’s goal of becoming a trusted strategic advisor
Lead the design, development, and delivery of consulting enablement content to grow capabilities across the Unit 42 team
Partner with Palo Alto Networks product development teams by contributing to feedback loops that support bi-directional communication on product features, delivery impact, and consultant needs in reducing customer risk