The AWS Security Incident Response team is looking for a Security Engineer to help protect the AWS infrastructure that our national security customers rely on. You will join a growing team that handles incident response in AWS GovCloud and U.S. Amazon Dedicated Cloud (ADC) regions, along with other security requirements specific to our government customers.
You will analyze logs, investigate and respond to security events, support forensic investigations, and help build the tools that let the team work faster and at greater scale. You'll work with engineers across AWS to contain issues and stop them from happening again, and you'll learn to explain risks clearly to different audiences. You do well under pressure and can think like both an attacker and a defender.
This position requires that the candidate selected be a US Citizen and must currently possess and maintain an active TS/SCI security clearance with polygraph.
Key job responsibilities
- Monitor security telemetry, and triage and investigate alerts in GovCloud and U.S. ADC regions.
- Support incidents from detection through containment, eradication, recovery, and after-action review.
- Perform log analysis and support forensic investigations.
- Build and improve scripts, detections, and tools that help the team work faster.
- Document findings and communicate them clearly to team members and stakeholders.
Participate in a regular on-call rotation.
A day in the life
Your day starts with a review of overnight security alerts across GovCloud and U.S. ADC regions. You triage the queue, separate noise from real threats, and dig into a suspicious login pattern. Working with senior engineers, you pull logs, collect forensic evidence, and help contain the issue. Midday, you write a script that automates a manual step from the investigation. In the afternoon, you document what you found, suggest a detection improvement, and hand off to the on-call engineer. Each incident builds your skills and makes the infrastructure safer for national security customers.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Associate's degree or above, or GCIH (GIAC Certified Incident Handler) or GSEC (GIAC Security Essentials) or Security+
- Current, active US Government Security Clearance of TS/SCI with Polygraph.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with AWS products and services
- Experience in one or more scripting languages (e.g., Python, Ruby, Perl)
- Experience with incident response, log analysis, or security operations.
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, VA, Herndon - 136,000.00 - 184,000.00 USD annually
