Cyber Defense Lead

Role Title: Cyber Defense Lead – EMEA
Location: Portugal
Employment Type: Full-time
What This Role Is vs. Is Not Important Note:
This is an Operational Security Leadership & Incident Management role, NOT a hands-on Tier-1 SOC Analyst or Content Engineering role. You will translate global strategy into regional execution, coach a team of 7 engineers, and act as Incident Commander during critical cyber events. What You Will Achieve
Drive Operational Excellence: Manage the day-to-day operations of the EMEA Cyber Defense Center (CDC) in alignment with global SOC strategies set by the Global Head of Security Operations. Lead & Mentor: Lead, coach, and balance workloads for a dedicated team of 7 Cyber Defense Engineers. Ensure 24/7
Global Continuity: Participate in "Follow-the-Sun" shift handovers with counterpart leads in AMER and APAC to maintain uninterrupted global security coverage.
Command Cyber Response: Serve as the regional escalation point and Incident Commander for high-severity cyber events and incident response operations.
Optimize SOC Capabilities: Analyze post-incident outcomes to drive workflow enhancements, detection tuning, and automation across our security stack. Key Metrics You'll Own
Incident Response Efficiency: Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) across the EMEA region. Team Performance & Delivery: Resource utilization, development goals, and operational output for 7 direct reports. Compliance & Governance: Alignment of regional operations with ISO *, CIS Controls, NIST CSF, and internal Randstad policies. Stakeholder Reporting: Delivery of clear, high-impact security posture updates to C-level executives and regional IT leadership. What You Need to Succeed
Leadership Experience: Proven track record leading and managing SOC/security engineering teams in complex enterprise environments.
Incident Commander Expertise: Strong operational background in threat detection, response, and leading large-scale cyber incident response operations.
Hybrid SOC Knowledge: Experience working with internal teams alongside external MSSP partners (Tier-1 triage).
Security Framework Mastery: Deep familiarity with ISO *, NIST CSF, CIS Controls, and MITRE ATT&CK frameworks.
Certifications:
CISM, CISSP, GCIH, or equivalent senior security certifications are highly valued.
Language: Professional fluency in English (written and spoken). Why Join Randstad?
Competitive Compensation: Competitive base salary, variable performance pay, and access to Randstad's Employee Share Purchase Plan. Flexibility with Intentionality: Hybrid/remote work environment that prioritizes work-life balance and autonomous execution. Career Growth: Opportunities for continuous skill-building, executive mentorship, and global mobility within the world's leading talent organization. We live in extraordinary times.
Technology, society, the job market - they're all rapidly advancing, and opening up previously unimagined opportunities. With innovation driving the world of work even faster, many of us are left wondering: how can I find a job that works for me? people at the heart of everything we do Working at Randstad is unlike working at any organization. Because at Randstad we put people at the heart of everything we do; this goes for our clients, our candidates, our employees and society.
By combining our passion for people with the power of today's technologies, we support people and organizations in realizing their true potential. We call this Human Forward. what do you get in return? In return for your talent and effort we pay a good, competitive salary and offer attractive benefits. Job security and a great work-life balance mean we take care of each other. Imagine having an instant network where everyone wants you to succeed.
And we have the numbers to back that up: we're 38,331 employees strong, with over 4,800 offices in 38 countries. And 47% of our management is female. Randstad's performance standards are high, but as a team, we'll make sure you reach and even exceed them through a wide range of learning and development opportunities. Joining our team means getting to work with great people. Each of them is crucial to maintaining our open-minded, entrepreneurial, and vibrant company culture.
Sure you'll work hard, but this hard work is also rewarded, and success is celebrated. It's the culture you'll find in any of our global Randstad offices. human forward starts with you Randstad's purpose is: supporting people and organizations in realizing their true potential. And this starts with making your work meaningful every day. It's people-work at its best. Making work meaningful.
So if you recognize yourself in the profile above, we gladly invite you to apply for this role. about Randstad The Randstad Group is a global leader in the HR services industry and specialized in solutions in the field of flexible work and hum