IT Security Specialist/Analyst II - 60024964

State of South Carolina•Lexington County, SC

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The South Carolina Department of Education seeks an IT Security Specialist II to join the security operations team and work closely with the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). This position supports the daily operational defense of agency infrastructure by developing and implementing security solutions, establishing baseline configurations, and implementing compliance procedures necessary to protect both cloud and on-premises platforms. The position also supports the Security Operations Center (SOC) and liaises with the State's SOC to support incident response capabilities. This position is located in the Office of Information Technology.

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in information technology systems, computer science, or a related field and experience in the information technology field to include experience in a security-focused role.
Relevant experience may be substituted for the bachelor's degree on a year-for-year basis.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field
Minimum of five (5) years of experience working with security tools and incident response, including day-to-day administration, tuning, and operational use of enterprise security platforms
Hands-on experience investigating and resolving security events
Hands-on experience administering Intune, Microsoft Defender (Endpoint, Office, and/or Cloud), including policy configuration, alert triage, threat hunting, and remediation
Hands-on experience administering Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), including conditional access policies, multifactor authentication, identity protection, role-based access control, and directory synchronization
Security Operations Center (SOC) experience
CompTIA Security+
CompTIA CySA+
GIAC (GSEC, GCIH, GCIA)
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200)
Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate (SC-300)

Responsibilities

Support agency security operations, establish operational standards and playbooks, manage triage, investigation, containment, eradication, and recovery activities.
Coordinate escalation and notification with the CISO, agency leadership, affected districts, and state-level partners in accordance with the agency's incident response plan and statewide reporting requirements.
Administer, tune, and continuously monitor enterprise security platforms including Microsoft Defender, SIEM, Intune, email and web filtering, identity protection, and vulnerability management.
Maintain visibility into threats targeting agency infrastructure, users, and data.
Conduct proactive threat hunting informed by K-12 and public-sector threat intelligence.
Manage identity and access across Microsoft Entra ID and hybrid on-premises directories, including conditional access policies, multifactor authentication, privileged access, role assignment, guest and district-partner access, and recurring access reviews.
Enforce least-privilege principles and investigate identity-based threats such as credential compromise, token theft, and anomalous sign-in activity.
Support vulnerability management, control assessments, and risk remediation activities across agency infrastructure and applications.

Benefits

Generous paid time off
Preeminent health care benefits
Professional development opportunities
Pension
401(k)
Health, Dental, Vision, Long Term Disability, and Life Insurance for Employee, Spouse, and Children
15 days annual (vacation) leave per year
15 days sick leave per year
13 paid holidays
State Retirement Plan and Deferred Compensation Programs