Security Specialist Principal

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, validate, and deploy high-fidelity security detections across SIEM, EDR, NDR, cloud, identity, and other security monitoring platforms.
• Drive continuous improvement of the detection engineering program through telemetry enrichment, detection validation, purple team exercises, and data-driven measurement of detection effectiveness and operational outcomes.
• Translate threat intelligence, threat hunting findings, incident response lessons learned, and emerging adversary tradecraft into actionable detection content and monitoring strategies.
• Develop and maintain detection rules, correlation searches, behavioral analytics, anomaly detections, and automated alerting mechanisms to identify malicious activity.
• Tune and optimize detections to improve fidelity, reduce false positives, minimize alert fatigue, and increase analyst efficiency.
• Map detections to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, assess detection coverage, and identify opportunities to improve visibility across the attack lifecycle.
• Collaborate with Threat Hunting, Incident Response, Security Operations, and Intelligence teams to validate detections and strengthen AEP's detection and response capabilities.
• Research, develop, and operationalize detection use cases for emerging threats, novel attack techniques, and evolving adversary behaviors.
• Analyze and leverage security telemetry from endpoints, networks, cloud environments, identity providers, applications, and other enterprise data sources to develop detections and improve visibility.
• Measure and report on detection performance, effectiveness, and coverage.
• Support purple team exercises, tabletop exercises, and adversary emulation activities.
• Develop, maintain, and enhance detection engineering standards, documentation, use case libraries, and engineering processes.
• Automate detection engineering workflows, content deployment, testing, validation, and quality assurance processes to improve scalability and efficiency.
• Identify security telemetry gaps and partner with technology owners to onboard, normalize, enrich, and operationalize new data sources that enhance detection capabilities.
• Design, deploy, and maintain deception technologies, including decoys, honeypots, and deceptive credentials, to detect and disrupt adversary activity across the enterprise.
• Analyze deception events and attacker interactions to identify adversary behaviors, support investigations, and improve detection and response capabilities.

Demonstrable experience in one or more of the following disciplines:

• Detection Engineer
• Incident Response Analyst
• CIRC/SOC Lead
• Threat Intelligence or Counterintelligence Analyst
• Cyber Threat Hunt Analyst
• Malware Reverse Engineer

Education requirements are listed below:

• Bachelor's degree or associate degree with 2 years relevant experience in system administration/help desk/security (cyber or physical) OR High School Diploma/GED with 4 years relevant experience in IT system administration/help desk/security (cyber or physical); OR graduation from an approved Cybersecurity Program; alternatively, may have non-degree qualifications (such as hands-on demonstrated ability in a technical interview/assessment).

Work Experience requirement listed below:

• 4 or more years of Information Technology related experience; OR 2 or more years of security related experience, which may include military/government work experience in addition to any experience identified above.

Clearance: Current government security clearance or ability to obtain a security clearance at a minimum of the Secret level.

What You'll Get:

• Base salary
• Annual bonus
• Long-term incentive
• 401(k) match
• AEP Pension
• Comprehensive benefits package designed to support and enhance the overall well-being of employees.

At AEP, we're more than just an energy company - we're a team of dedicated professionals committed to delivering safe, reliable, and innovative energy solutions. Guided by our mission to put the customer first, we strive to exceed expectations by listening, responding, and continuously improving the way we serve our communities. If you're passionate about making a meaningful impact and being part of a forward-thinking organization, this is the company for you!