Cybersecurity Operations Lead

• Award-winning Cybersecurity company  

• Work with leading technologies and innovative peers 

• Work in a dynamic environment with opportunities for professional growth and development. 

Ready to power the growth of one of New Zealand’s leading cybersecurity companies?

 At DEFEND, our mission is to create a cyber resilient world—and we’re looking for a Cybersecurity Operations Lead to monitor, report, educate, and respond — protecting customers and securing their digital future.

Requirements

At DEFEND, we help organisations stay resilient in the evolving world of modern cyber threats. Our Cybersecurity Operations team plays a critical role in ensuring customer environments are secure, stable, and trusted.

As a Cybersecurity Operations Lead, you'll combine technical leadership with operational oversight, coordinating and guiding day-to-day security operations to help the team deliver consistent, high-quality outcomes for customers while protecting their digital future. This is a role for someone who enjoys leading from the front, making sound decisions under pressure, and continually lifting the quality and maturity of security services.

What you'll do

• Lead day-to-day security operations by coordinating, assigning, and prioritising work across the team to ensure customer outcomes are delivered effectively
• Coach and support team members in alert triage, investigations, incident handling, reporting, and customer communication to build capability and confidence
• Act as an escalation point for complex or high-impact security events and incidents, providing guidance on severity, scope, impact, and next steps
• Review and improve the quality of incident records, customer reports, and operational communications to ensure clarity, accuracy, and professionalism
• Participate in the 24/7 on-call and escalation model as required
• Maintain strong collaboration with internal teams, stakeholders, and customers to ensure smooth delivery, clear communication, and trusted operational leadership

What you'll bring

• Proven expertise in threat detection, incident response, and threat intelligence
• Leadership and coaching experience, with a track record of lifting team capability and quality
• Strong, confident communication, able to engage technical teams, leadership, and customers with equal ease
• High-level reporting and documentation skills, with an eye for clarity and professionalism
• A practical, outcome-focused mindset with sound judgement under pressure
• Operational readiness, with experience in capacity planning and supporting a high-tempo SOC environment

Technical experience may include:

• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Sentinel
• Strong KQL and alert analysis capability
• Scripting and automation skills to improve efficiency and reduce manual effort
• Experience delivering managed security services within defined SLAs and governance frameworks
• Familiarity with frameworks such as NIST, CIS, ITIL, or NZISM

How you'll grow at DEFEND

This role offers strong technical and leadership development, including:

• Strengthening your ability to coach others and lead work across a high-performing team
• Building stronger capability in detection tuning and automation through real-world operational cases
• Growing confidence leading complex incident response and remediation activities
• Developing stronger stakeholder communication and customer engagement skills
• Expanding your expertise in threat hunting and advanced detection techniques
• The opportunity to progress into a Cybersecurity Operations Manager role or a specialised expertise pathway

Benefits

About DEFEND: 

Our dream at DEFEND is to improve everyday life by creating a cyber resilient world. Over the last few years, we've experienced phenomenal growth, working with a wide variety of customers and winning several industry awards, including Microsoft's Global Partner of the Year for 2025! 

Why DEFEND? 

We believe in investing in our employees’ growth and providing them with opportunities to advance their skills and careers. We offer a collaborative workplace culture, and we are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where innovative thinking is encouraged.  

By joining our innovative and creative team you will have the opportunity to contribute a variety of cybersecurity outcomes, from culture & awareness of cyber resilience, through to offensive & defensive security. No matter what your role, everyone at DEFEND contributes towards our dream of creating a cyber resilient world. 

The benefits of working at DEFEND 

In addition to working for a growing, dynamic NZ company, DEFEND offers the following benefits to all our DEFENDers 

• 3.5% Kiwisaver on top of your base salary 

• Southern Cross Health Insurance coverage 

• Mobile and Broadband discounts for yourself and family  

• Flexible, hybrid work environment 

• An allowance to contribute to your home office setup 

• Access to EAP services to support you across a range of wellbeing needs 

Diversity & Inclusion: 

At DEFEND, we celebrate a variety of perspectives and experiences. We know from experience that people from underrepresented groups often don’t apply for roles they don’t feel they meet all the criteria for. We’re committed to creating an environment that enables all our team to thrive. If you think you have what it takes, but don’t check every single box, please consider applying. We’d love to hear how you might contribute to the team and being our next DEFENDer. 

Ready to help shape the future of cybersecurity in New Zealand? Apply now or learn more at: https://defend.co.nz/careers/