IT Security Engineer - Computing Services

Carnegie Mellon University’s Information Security Office is seeking an IT Security Engineer to help investigate and respond to security incidents across a large, diverse, and technically complex university environment.

This is a hands-on security position with a strong focus on incident response, digital forensics, security monitoring, and technical investigation. You will use endpoint, network, application, identity, and other security data to determine what happened, understand the scope and impact of an incident, preserve and analyze evidence, contain threats, and help affected teams recover securely.

The environment is broad, and investigations frequently involve unfamiliar systems or technologies. One incident may require analyzing an endpoint compromise, another may involve reconstructing activity from network traffic and logs, while another may require learning enough about an application, operating system, or protocol to understand unexpected behavior.

You do not need to be an expert in every technology or security discipline described in this posting. We are looking for strong technical fundamentals, investigative ability, curiosity, sound judgment, clear communication, and the ability to learn unfamiliar systems when an investigation requires it.

If you enjoy understanding how systems work beneath the surface, following evidence until you can explain what happened, considering systems from both attacker and defender perspectives, or building tools to answer questions that existing products cannot, you may be a strong fit for this team.

What You’ll Do:

A significant portion of this position is dedicated to security incident response and digital forensics. Responsibilities include:

• Monitor and investigate alerts generated by network, endpoint, vulnerability, logging, and other security systems.

• Triage reported or suspected security events and determine whether they represent security incidents.

• Conduct technical investigations using endpoint artifacts, network traffic, system and application logs, identity information, and other available evidence.

• Determine the likely root cause, scope, timeline, and impact of security incidents.

• Perform or assist with host and network forensic analysis.

• Identify affected systems, accounts, data, and infrastructure and recommend appropriate containment, eradication, and recovery actions.

• Work directly with system administrators, network engineers, developers, application owners, researchers, and other members of the university community during investigations.

• Clearly communicate technical findings, risk, and recommended actions to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Maintain accurate investigation records, evidence, timelines, findings, and incident documentation.

• Collect and preserve digital evidence in support of security investigations and authorized legal matters.

• Assist with E-Discovery, evidence preservation, chain-of-custody procedures, and other forensic requests when directed by university leadership or the Office of General Counsel.

• Participate in a shared 24x7 on-call rotation supporting security monitoring, incident response, and security infrastructure.

The position also contributes to the broader work of the Information Security Office. Depending on team needs, current priorities, and your areas of expertise, this may include:

• Supporting vulnerability scanning and vulnerability management services.

• Helping campus organizations understand and remediate security vulnerabilities.

• Supporting endpoint security, endpoint detection and response, certificate authority, public key infrastructure, and data protection services.

• Monitoring, configuring, evaluating, and improving systems used for security detection, investigation, assessment, and response.

• Evaluating emerging vulnerabilities, attack techniques, and security threats for relevance to Carnegie Mellon’s environment.

• Conducting or assisting with authorized security assessments and penetration testing of systems, networks, applications, and services.

• Providing security guidance and technical consulting to teams across the university.

• Researching, testing, and recommending new security tools and techniques.

• Developing scripts, utilities, integrations, or other automation that make investigations and security operations more effective.

• Creating documentation, technical guidance, and security communications.

• Participating in other Information Security Office projects as needed.

What We’re Looking For

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education, technical training, professional certifications, and relevant experience.

• Three or more years of relevant technical experience in information security, information technology, systems administration, networking, software engineering, infrastructure engineering, digital forensics, or a related technical discipline.

• Hands-on experience with one or more major operating system environments such as Linux, Windows, or macOS.

• Understanding of fundamental networking, operating system, and application concepts.

• Ability to investigate technical problems methodically by gathering evidence, developing hypotheses, testing assumptions, and documenting conclusions.

• Ability to analyze logs, system information, network activity, or other technical telemetry.

• Ability to evaluate security threats and vulnerabilities in the context of a real environment.

• Strong technical problem-solving skills.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to work collaboratively with people representing a wide range of technical backgrounds.

• Sound judgment when handling sensitive information and security incidents.

• Ability to independently perform routine duties after appropriate onboarding and training and to recognize when additional expertise or escalation is required.

Direct professional experience in every area covered by this position is not required. Candidates with strong backgrounds in systems, networking, software, infrastructure, or other technical disciplines who can demonstrate security aptitude and investigative ability are encouraged to apply.

Experience That Would Be Helpful

Experience in one or more of the following areas is beneficial:

• Incident response and digital forensics, including host or network forensics, endpoint investigation, security monitoring, log analysis, threat hunting, malware analysis, or related investigative work.

• Systems and network engineering, including Windows, Linux, macOS, TCP/IP networking, authentication systems, enterprise infrastructure, virtualization, cloud environments, or storage technologies.

• Security operations, including endpoint detection and response, SIEM, network security monitoring, vulnerability management, certificate management, or data protection technologies.

• Security assessment, including vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, application security, or evaluating systems from an adversarial perspective.

• Automation and software development, including using Python, PowerShell, shell scripting, Go, Ruby, Perl, Java, C, C++, or other languages to process data, automate workflows, or create technical tools.

• Digital evidence and legal support, including E-Discovery, evidence preservation, chain of custody, subpoena response, or interaction with law enforcement.

• Working in higher education, research, or another large and decentralized computing environment.

Depth in one or more technical areas is more important than superficial experience with every technology listed above.

Candidates who have developed relevant skills through professional work, independent research, home labs, open-source projects, capture-the-flag competitions, security research, academic work, or other substantive hands-on activities are encouraged to describe that experience.

Professional certifications such as CISSP, GSEC, GCFE, or other security and technology certifications are welcomed but are not required.

How We Work

Curiosity matters here. Strong candidates tend to want to understand why systems behave the way they do. They are comfortable starting with incomplete information, asking good questions, testing hypotheses, digging beneath product interfaces, and considering how a system might behave differently from what its designers intended.

We value people who can combine that curiosity with careful technical reasoning and sound judgment. Security investigations may involve production systems, sensitive data, legal matters, or significant service impact, so creativity must be balanced with appropriate caution and communication.

We also value engineers who look for ways to improve how work is performed. That may mean automating a repetitive task, creating a better investigative workflow, developing a small utility, integrating data from multiple systems, or identifying a more effective way to answer an investigative question.

No security engineer knows every technology they will encounter. The ability to recognize a gap in your knowledge, research the problem, experiment appropriately, and apply what you learn is an important part of this role.

Accountability and Decision Making

The IT Security Engineer plays an important role in the timely identification, containment, investigation, and prevention of computer and network security incidents.

After an appropriate period of onboarding and training, the engineer is expected to independently handle routine investigations and operational responsibilities. This includes evaluating the severity of security alerts, selecting appropriate investigative techniques, recommending containment or remediation actions, and determining when an issue should be escalated.

Significant incidents, sensitive data exposures, major service disruptions, legal matters, notification decisions, and other unusual or sensitive situations are handled collaboratively with senior staff, the Incident Response Coordinator, management, and other university stakeholders as appropriate.

On-Call and Other Position Requirements

This position participates in a shared 24x7 on-call rotation for security monitoring, incident response, and infrastructure support. On-call responsibilities may occasionally require work outside normal business hours or travel to campus.

The position involves access to sensitive security, investigative, institutional, and potentially legally protected information. Appropriate judgment, discretion, and professionalism are essential.

The successful candidate must qualify as a U.S. person under the applicable requirements governing this position.

This position does not have formal supervisory responsibilities.

Professional Development:

Continued learning is an expected part of the position. Engineers are encouraged to remain current with security technologies, attack techniques, investigative methods, vulnerabilities, and changes in the broader security community through technical research, training, conferences, professional communities, internal knowledge sharing, and independent experimentation.

If you meet the core qualifications and believe your technical background, investigative ability, and curiosity would allow you to succeed in this role, we encourage you to apply even if your experience does not match every preferred qualification listed above.

Are you interested in this exciting opportunity?! Apply today!

Joining the CMU team opens the door to an array of exceptional benefits.

Benefits eligible employees enjoy a wide array of benefits including comprehensive medical, prescription, dental, and vision insurance as well as a generous retirement savings program with employer contributions. Unlock your potential with tuition benefits, take well-deserved breaks with ample paid time off and observed holidays, and rest easy with life and accidental death and disability insurance. 

Additional perks include a free Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus pass, access to our Family Concierge Team to help navigate childcare needs, fitness center access, and much more!

For a comprehensive overview of the benefits available, explore our Benefits page.

At Carnegie Mellon, we value the whole package when extending offers of employment. Beyond credentials, we evaluate the role and responsibilities, your valuable work experience, and the knowledge gained through education and training. We appreciate your unique skills and the perspective you bring. Your journey with us is about more than just a job; it’s about finding the perfect fit for your professional growth and personal aspirations.

Are you interested in an exciting opportunity with an exceptional organization?! Apply today!

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