Cyber Defense Analyst II

Application close date:

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We’re working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!

Blue National Security (BNS) builds and operates space systems for the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. Someone has to be watching those systems continuously - and that's this role.

We're looking for a Cyber Defense Analyst to monitor, investigate, and respond across BNS classified enclaves, mission ground systems, and labs. You'll work real events on real national security systems, and you'll do it alongside senior engineers who will teach you the environment rather than hand you a queue and walk away.

This is a hands-on-keyboard role. You'll spend your days in consoles, terminals, and logging data. You'll also get your hands on the tooling itself, helping deploy sensors, onboard log sources, and tune detections under the direction of our senior engineers. That's how you'll learn this environment, and it's the fastest path to becoming the engineer who designs the next one.

If you're coming off a military cyber protection team, a government SOC, or a service watch floor and you want to keep growing technically rather than get slotted into a ticket queue, this is a strong landing spot.

What You'll Do

• Monitor and triage. Work security events and alerts across SIEM, EDR, network sensors, and audit logs. Determine what's noise, what's misconfiguration, and what warrants escalation.
• Investigate. Pull the threads - pivot across host, network, and identity data to build a picture of what actually happened, and document it clearly.
• Respond. Serve as first responder during incidents. Execute containment steps per playbook, preserve evidence, build timelines, and support senior engineers leading the response.
• Hunt. Participate in structured hunts, initially alongside senior team members and increasingly on your own hypotheses as you learn what "normal" looks like here.
• Support audit and insider threat review. Perform privileged user activity monitoring and audit log review in partnership with Security and Counterintelligence.
• Stand watch during mission events. Provide heightened monitoring coverage during launches, mission operations, and other critical windows.
• Get hands on the tooling. Assist with sensor deployment, log source onboarding, and agent rollout across enclaves under engineering direction.
• Tune and improve detections. Reduce false positives, validate rule coverage, and propose new detections based on what you find in the data.
• Improve the playbooks. Execute response procedures and flag every gap you hit - you'll be the first to find them, and your input drives the rewrites.
• Automate what you repeat. Script recurring triage, enrichment, and reporting tasks. We'll help you build this skill if you don't have it yet.

Required Qualifications

• 2+ years of hands-on experience in security operations, incident response, IT operations, or system administration or equivalent military/government cyber experience
• Working knowledge of network protocols and Windows and Linux fundamentals
• Familiarity with SIEM and EDR concepts and the ability to investigate events using them
• Understanding of common attack techniques and exposure to the MITRE ATT&CK framework
• Clear, concise written communication - your investigation notes will be read by senior staff and government customers
• Genuine curiosity and the instinct to keep pulling on a thread when something doesn't add up
• Active U.S. Government Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility and eligibility for SAP access determination; U.S. citizenship
• DoD 8140 CSSP Analyst or IAT Level II certification (Security+ CE or equivalent) at hire or within [6] months

A degree is not required. Equivalent military, government, or hands-on technical experience is fully accepted.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior military cyber experience (17C, 1B4, CTN, 1721, or equivalent) or CPT/CST assignment
• Any scripting exposure - Python, PowerShell, or Bash
• Query language familiarity - KQL, SPL, or similar
• Prior work in classified DoD or IC environments
• Exposure to forensics, malware triage, or detection rule development
• Security+, CySA+, GSEC, GCIH, or similar
• Active TS/SCI with polygraph

Why This Role

Most early-career defensive cyber jobs are queue jobs. You close tickets, escalate anything interesting, and learn very little about the systems you're supposedly defending.

This team is small enough that you can't be siloed. You'll sit next to the engineers building the enclaves, help deploy the sensors you'll be watching, and see your tuning recommendations go live. When you find a gap during a hunt, you'll be in the room when we decide how to close it.

We're hiring at this level specifically to grow people into senior engineers. If that's the trajectory you want, we'll be explicit about what it takes and invest accordingly.

Logistics

• Onsite in classified spaces; no telework by nature of the role
• Heightened coverage expectations during launches and mission-critical events
• Limited travel, up to 10%
• Must be able to obtain and maintain access to classified facilities; periodic polygraph may be required

Base Pay Range for:

Other site ranges may differ

Culture Statement

Don’t meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Export Control Regulations

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Background Check

• Required for all positions: Blue’s Standard Background Check
• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) background check if at any time the role requires one to be on a military installation
• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Drivers who operate Commercial Motor Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) or combination of power unit and trailer that meets or exceeds 10,001 lbs. and/or transports placardable amounts of hazardous materials by ground in any vehicle on a public road while in commerce, may be subject to additional Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations including: Driver Qualification Files, Medical Certification (obtained before onboarding), Road Test, Hours of Service, Drug and Alcohol Testing, vehicle inspection requirements, CDL requirements (if applicable) and hazardous materials transportation/shipping training.
• Required for certain Job Profiles: Ability to obtain and maintain Merchant Mariner Credential, which includes pre-employment and random drug testing as well as DOT physical

Benefits

• Benefits include: Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability, 401(k) with a company match of up to 5%, and an Education Support Program.
• Stock Options for all regular employees (working at least 20 hours/week)
• Paid Time Off: Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays.
• Dependent on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on the company's intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the company's results, or other factors at the company's sole discretion. Bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change and cancellation. Please check with your recruiter for more details.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Blue Origin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified and dedicated work force. Blue Origin hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust, equality, and teamwork. We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local law. Blue Origin will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the Washington Fair Chance Act, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance in Hiring Ordinance, and other applicable laws. For more information on “Know Your Rights,” please see here.

Affirmative Action and Disability Accommodation

Applicants wishing to receive information on Blue Origin’s Affirmative Action Plans, or applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application and/or interview process, please contact us at [email protected]. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.