Title: Technical Program Manager, Cyber Defense & Incident Response
Start Date: 07/20/2026
# of Openings: 1
Position Type: Contract to Hire
Locations: Louisville,
Additional Details:
6 months CTH
100% remote
USC only
Note: Need a candidate with a security engineering or security analytics background who has transitioned into project/program management. Retail/E-commerce experience is required
Description:
Summary:
Establish and execute the operational model for the cybersecurity defense and response control plane, in direct support of the Sr. Manager, Cyber Defense & IR. This role is responsible for enabling consistent, scalable coordination of cyber defense activities spanning detection, threat intelligence, and incident response across enterprise, cloud, and third-party environments. The ideal candidate will bring disciplined program execution, sound judgment in navigating cross-functional dependencies, and the ability to translate program design into reliable, visible delivery.
Responsibilities:
- Establishing program structure, operating rhythms, and reporting for cyber defense initiatives, in support of program priorities set by the Sr. Manager.
- Tracking ownership and accountability across the detection, threat intelligence, and response functions, and maintaining a single trusted source of program status.
- Driving visibility into program health, risks, and execution status for the Sr. Manager and leadership.
- Orchestrating threat intelligence program activities and workflows, coordinating the integration of intelligence into detection and response.
- Driving consistency in threat-informed prioritization across teams.
- Tracking detection coverage, telemetry onboarding, and capability maturity.
- Coordinating remediation of monitoring and visibility gaps and driving consistency in detection-related execution across teams.
- Tracking execution of control and detection-related initiatives, and coordinating cross-functional efforts to close control and detection gaps.
- Supporting alignment of control implementation with detection and response priorities.
- Coordinating incident response program execution and readiness, including runbook lifecycle, tabletop exercises, and post-incident review follow-through.
- Tracking incident lifecycle activities and escalations through to closure.
- Coordinating day-to-day engagement with the managed detection and response provider, including escalation procedures and service review preparation.
- Preparing program reporting and dashboards that carry the operational performance metrics defined by the Sr. Manager (e.g., MTTD, MTTR, containment effectiveness, recovery performance).
- Driving testing, exercises, and continuous improvement across readiness activities.
- Track and coordinate the end-to-end vulnerability management lifecycle, ensuring system-level gaps are identified, asset owners are documented, and remediation schedules are maintained.
- Oversee the lifecycle of the Security Exception Management process, ensuring technical exceptions are documented with robust compensating controls and tracked through formal approval workflows.
Requirements:
- 5 years of technical program or information security management experience, with at least 2 years supporting security operations, detection engineering, threat intelligence, or incident response programs.
- Proven success running multi-workstream programs with heavy cross-functional dependencies.
- Strong understanding of security operations concepts, including the detection engineering lifecycle, telemetry and log onboarding, threat intelligence integration, and the incident response lifecycle.
- Experience supporting programs built on security tooling and platforms (e.g., SIEM, EDR, threat intelligence platforms).
- Strong command of program management tooling (e.g., Jira, Azure DevOps) and discipline in maintaining accurate program data.
- Demonstrated ability to coordinate senior technical staff and partner teams without direct authority.
- Experience with managed security service provider (MSSP/MDR) engagement models preferred.
- Experience standing up program structure in a new or maturing function preferred.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive-ready status reporting.
- Experience working across Security, IT, and business stakeholders.
- Proficiency in data visualization and reporting suites (such as PowerBI or Tableau) to analyze vulnerability trends, operate program metrics, and maintain executive-ready reporting dashboards.
- Certifications such as Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) are highly desired.
Required Skills:
- Program management and coordination.
- Security operations and incident response knowledge.
- Cross-functional team collaboration.
- Data visualization and reporting.
Preferred Skills:
- Experience with managed security service providers.
- Experience in maturing program structures.
- Relevant certifications (PMP, CISSP).
Benefits:
This role focuses on making the cyber defense function run as a coherent set of programs, providing opportunities for professional growth in program management and cybersecurity strategy. It offers a dynamic work environment with cross-functional collaboration and leadership engagement.