Overview
The Sr. IT Security Specialist serves as a senior technical authority and key operational lead within the IT Security Team. Scaled for an experienced security practitioner (9–15 years of experience), this role bridges tactical security operations, advanced incident handling, and cross-functional security guidance.
While remaining hands-on and technical, the Sr. Specialist exercises broad independent judgment, takes ownership of enterprise risk mitigation, drives root-cause elimination, and guides junior and mid-level team members. The role works closely with Infrastructure, Network, OT, and Compliance teams to maintain resilient systems, optimize security controls, and strengthen the overall posture of the enterprise.
Targeted Outcomes (12 Months)
- Escalation & Operational Leadership: Act as the primary technical escalation point for junior and mid-level security staff, complex operational questions, and severe security events.
- Advanced Incident Management: Independently lead high-complexity security event investigations, forensic analysis, and end-to-end response coordination.
- Root-Cause Elimination: Drive deep-dive postmortems for recurring security issues and implement systemic long-term remediation actions.
- Process & Control Refinement: Lead initiatives to refine SIEM/EDR detection rules, security metrics, reporting frameworks, and incident response playbooks.
- Autonomous Project Delivery: Support major security engineering projects and infrastructure improvements with minimal supervision, strong decision-making, and high execution quality.
Primary Focus
- Advanced incident handling, forensic investigation, and escalation
- Mentorship, peer guidance, and technical leadership
- Root cause analysis, trend identification, and postmortem engineering
- Security monitoring, detection, and process optimization
- Cross-functional coordination across IT, Network, Cloud, and OT environments
Key Responsibilities
Advanced Operations & Escalation
- Provide expert guidance to junior and mid-level security resources, serving as the senior point of escalation within the IT Security Team.
- Perform advanced daily security telemetry analysis using modern SIEM, EDR, NDR, and threat intelligence tools, quickly isolating high-risk threats from background noise.
- Respond to, resolve, or escalate complex security incidents, including high-severity events escalated by the MDR provider.
Incident Response & Forensic Analysis
- Investigate enterprise security violations and lead thorough postmortem analyses to identify systemic vulnerabilities, threat trends, and remediation opportunities.
- Support updates and continuous testing for Incident Response (IR) and Disaster Recovery (DR) plans.
- Participate in a senior-tier on-call rotation for critical incident escalations.
Vulnerability Management & Threat Mitigation
- Research emerging cyber threats and zero-day vulnerabilities, translating threat intelligence into proactive defense measures.
- Review, prioritize, and execute remediation strategies for penetration test and vulnerability assessment findings.
- Recommend, schedule, or apply critical security fixes, patches, and defensive controls in response to active risks or breaches.
Enterprise & Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with the Infrastructure Team to secure and ensure the integrity of Windows, Linux, Active Directory, and hybrid cloud environments.
- Partner with the Network Team to maintain the security integrity of WAN, LAN, telephony systems, and Operational Technology (OT) networks.
- Collaborate with key stakeholders to align daily security operations with the enterprise-wide risk management framework.
Governance, Compliance & Continuous Improvement
- Produce executive-level monthly exception, metrics, and incident reporting to inform leadership on enterprise security posture.
- Support annual IT security audits, regulatory compliance inquiries, and customer security assessments.
- Monitor policy adherence across the enterprise and execute corrective action plans where non-conformities are identified.
- Manage incident and change request service levels (SLAs) according to IT service management guidelines.
- Develop, standardize, and maintain technical documentation for security platforms and operational procedures.
Qualifications
Experience
- 7 to 13 years of hands-on experience in IT security, security operations (SOC), threat management, or security engineering.
- Demonstrated track record of leading complex security investigations, root-cause analyses, and cross-functional remediation projects.
- Proven experience working across diverse environments, including on-premises infrastructure, cloud workloads, and network/OT environments.
Education & Certifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
- Advanced industry certifications preferred (e.g., CISSP, GCIH, GCFA, CISM, CEH, or CCSP).
Key Skills & Capabilities
- Technical Proficiency: Deep working knowledge of security operations, modern SIEM/EDR tools, threat hunting methodologies, network security protocols, and security frameworks (e.g., NIST CSF, MITRE ATT&CK).
- Cross-Functional Influence: Proven ability to collaborate with and influence infrastructure, network, and application teams without formal authority.
- Problem Solving & Agility: Strong analytical skills with the ability to remain calm, focused, and decisive in time-sensitive incident scenarios.
- Communication & Mentorship: Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a natural propensity for mentoring peer engineers and explaining complex risks to non-technical stakeholders.
Work Environment
- On-Call Availability: Requires participation in an on-call rotation to respond to high-severity security incidents.
- Travel: Occasional travel (5–10%) may be required for conferences, business audits, or site assessments.
- Autonomy: Demands high independent judgment while operating effectively within a collaborative enterprise team.
At Ascend Performance Materials, we value transparency and fairness in our hiring process. We do not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters, search firms, or staffing agencies. Any resumes received from such entities will be considered the property of Ascend Performance Materials, and we will not be obligated to pay any fees for such submissions. Our Talent Acquisition Team actively engages with preferred recruitment partners who have established agreements with us. We encourage all interested candidates to apply directly through our official channels to be considered for any open positions.
About Us:
Ascend Performance Materials is the premium provider of high-quality chemicals, fibers and plastics focused on improving quality of life and inspiring a better tomorrow through innovation. We are a fully integrated material solutions provider with manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.
Our global workforce makes the materials used to make safer vehicles, cleaner energy, better medical devices, smarter appliances, and longer-lasting apparel and consumer goods. We are committed to safety, sustainability, and the success of our customers and our communities.
Why work at Ascend?
Our vision is to be the recognized leader in the nylon 6,6 value chain, creating new possibilities with PA66 for everyone, everywhere, every day. We achieve that through living our Ascend values: OARS.
Our OARS values shape how we work, lead, and grow together. We take ownership, stay accountable, operate reliably, and support one another to deliver results safely and consistently. Through clear expectations, empowered decision-making, intentional communication, and continuous feedback, we create a culture built on action, visibility, and shared success.
Together, OARS gives us a shared language and clear direction. These values guide our decisions, shape priorities and set expectations as we move forward – aligned, focused and committed to creating performance materials that improve lives today and inspire a better tomorrow.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, citizenship, genetic information or other protected status under federal, state or local laws.
