Security Analyst

Job Title: Security Analyst – Consultant(14268)
Client: State of South Carolina – South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS)
Location: Columbia, South Carolina

Position Overview

The State of South Carolina is seeking an experienced Security Analyst – Consultant to support the Office of Cybersecurity in protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of enterprise systems and services.

The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience in network security, routing and switching, firewall management, security monitoring, vulnerability assessment, and secure network architecture. The candidate will support daily Security Operations Center (SOC) activities, investigate security alerts, assess network changes, and help ensure compliance with applicable cybersecurity and regulatory standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the development and improvement of network security and compliance solutions.
• Investigate, analyze, and respond to daily network security alerts and potential threats.
• Assess firewall, connectivity, website-blocking, and infrastructure change requests for security risks.
• Conduct technical analysis for network security planning, design, and engineering.
• Monitor on-premises and cloud networks for suspicious activity and security vulnerabilities.
• Analyze network traffic reports to identify violations of approved Ports, Protocols, and Services standards.
• Perform firewall configuration reviews, rule-set assessments, and periodic rule recertification.
• Utilize SIEM platforms to analyze logs, alerts, and network telemetry.
• Support intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) and network security monitoring.
• Perform vulnerability scanning and network security assessments using tools such as Nessus and Qualys.
• Support secure network changes, infrastructure enhancements, and cloud networking projects.
• Monitor emerging cyber threats and recommend appropriate security controls and countermeasures.
• Collaborate with technical teams, business units, vendors, and agency leadership to implement security best practices.
• Assist with KPI development, trend analysis, and security reporting.
• Ensure compliance with HIPAA, CMS ARC-AMPE, NIST, SCDIS-200, and other applicable security requirements.
• Support repeatable security processes for compliant enterprise architectures, multi-tenant cloud environments, and vendor integrations.
• Perform additional SOC and cybersecurity duties as assigned.

Required Skills and Qualifications

1. Approximately 3–5 years of hands-on experience in network design, implementation, or support.
2. Hands-on experience in IT security, cybersecurity operations, or system administration.
3. Working knowledge of secure network design, security architecture, compliance tools, data protection, and access control models.
4. Ability to analyze security logs, alerts, network traffic, and telemetry to identify potential threats.
5. Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.
6. Knowledge of routing and switching protocols and secure network configuration.
7. Experience with enterprise firewalls and firewall rule management.
8. Understanding of network auditing, IDS/IPS, and network security monitoring.
9. Experience with Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems.
10. Knowledge of on-premises networking and network security best practices.

Preferred Skills

• Experience working in regulated environments, healthcare IT, or state government.
• Familiarity with FISMA, NIST, CMS ARC-AMPE, HIPAA, and security/privacy compliance requirements.
• Experience with SIEM platforms such as IBM QRadar or Splunk.
• Knowledge of cloud infrastructure and network security controls in AWS or Microsoft Azure.
• Experience with vulnerability management tools such as Nessus and Qualys.
• Experience supporting enterprise security architecture, vendor integrations, and multi-tenant cloud environments.
• Familiarity with compliance monitoring, security assessments, and network traffic analysis.

Education and Certifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Cybersecurity, or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
• Network security-focused certification such as CCNA or PCNSE.

Preferred:

• CISSP
• CompTIA Security+