About the role
The Defense Sector at Leidos is currently looking to add a NOC / SOC Shift Lead (2nd Shift). The NOC / SOC Shift Lead (2nd Shift) will serve as the senior technical authority and shift supervisor for after-hours network operations and cybersecurity monitoring, blending NOC and SOC functions across DoD networks. This role independently prioritizes and leads response to significant incidents, coaches junior technicians, and owns the shift-turnover process to ensure continuity with day-shift teams and leadership.
This position requires daily on-site work at Langley, AFB. The core hours for this position are considered 4:00 PM to 12:00 AM.
Roles and Responsibilities:
- Shift Leadership & Coverage: Serve as the senior point of contact for the 2nd shift NOC/SOC team, assigning and prioritizing incoming alerts and ensuring adequate coverage across the shift.
- Continuous Monitoring: Oversee SIEM and network performance dashboards to detect security threats and infrastructure outages.
- Incident Triage & Response: Lead the triage of real incidents versus false alarms, direct initial diagnostics, and contain active network or security anomalies.
- Escalation & Handoff: Own escalation of high-severity incidents to Tier 2/3 engineering teams or Incident Responders, and author/review the detailed shift-handover report for day-shift leadership.
- Maintenance & Troubleshooting: Oversee routing, connectivity issue resolution, backup restorations, and software patch management during off-peak hours.
- Mentorship & Quality Review: Coach and train junior NOC/SOC technicians, review technician-generated tickets and reports for accuracy, and reinforce shift procedures.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree with 4+ years of experience or a Master’s degree with 2+ years of experience. Additional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
- Security Clearance: Active DoD TS/SCI clearance.
- DoD 8140/8570: IAT Level II baseline certification (e.g., CompTIA Security+ CE); a CSSP Analyst-aligned certification (e.g., CySA+, CEH, or GCIH) is strongly preferred given the role's blended NOC/SOC scope.
- Experience: 4+ years of hands-on experience in IT security, network operations, or a related field, including some prior experience leading or mentoring a shift team.
- Leadership: Demonstrated ability to prioritize competing incidents, make independent risk-based decisions with minimal oversight, and coordinate a small team during off-hours coverage.
- Technical Skills: Working proficiency with enterprise SIEM/EDR and monitoring tools (e.g., Splunk, CrowdStrike, Microsoft Sentinel, SolarWinds).
- Shift Flexibility: Willingness to work evening and rotational shifts (e.g., 3:00 PM-11:00 PM), including weekends and holidays.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Toolset Familiarity: Exposure to Security Onion, Juniper SSR, Cisco switching, Wireshark, ServiceNow, or Jira Service Manager.
- Advanced Certifications: CySA+, GCIA, or CEH.
- Prior DoD/Military Experience: Previous shift-lead or team-lead experience in a DoD, military, or cleared NOC/SOC environment.
- Process Improvement: Experience refining shift SOPs, playbooks, or escalation procedures based on operational trends.
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If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo — because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 — and moving faster than anyone else dares.
Original Posting:
August 6, 2026For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.
Pay Range:
Pay Range $87,100.00 - $157,450.00The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.
Aplyr's read
Leidos is a leading force in defense and technology, attracting professionals skilled in IT, engineering, and intelligence analysis.
What's promising
- •Leidos has a strong presence in defense and technology sectors, offering stability and growth opportunities.
- •The company invests heavily in research, fostering innovation in IT and biomedical fields.
- •Leidos offers diverse roles, from AI development to network engineering, appealing to a broad range of tech professionals.
What to watch
- •Leidos' heavy reliance on government contracts can lead to revenue volatility due to policy changes.
- •The competitive defense sector may limit rapid advancement for employees.
- •Complex projects might require long hours, impacting work-life balance.
Why Leidos
- •Leidos is distinguished by its focus on integrating advanced technologies in defense and healthcare.
- •The company excels in handling large-scale, complex government projects.
- •Leidos' commitment to cybersecurity is evident in its specialized roles like Cyber-Supply Chain Risk Management.
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About Leidos
Leidos is a global science and technology company that provides solutions in defense, aviation, information technology, and biomedical research.