Microsoft Defender Administrator- SC Cleared

Our client, a leading global supplier for IT services, requires a Microsoft Defender Administrator- SC Cleared to be based in their client's office in Gloucester, UK.

This is a Hybrid role and you will be required to work onsite 3 days per week.

This is a 6 -Month temporary contract to start ASAP

Day rate: Competitative Market rate

Key Responsibilities

• The Defender Administrator will play a critical role in managing the transition from McAfee to Microsoft Defender on server environments, ensuring a secure, efficient, and seamless migration.
• This role will involve configuring, monitoring, and optimizing Defender installations across all Servers, aligning with the organization's security standards and compliance requirements.
• The Administrator will work closely with cross-functional teams to address potential issues, improve security posture, and deliver a smooth transition to Defender
• Plan and oversee the transition from McAfee to Defender on all server environments, ensuring compliance with organizational security policies and standards.
• Conduct pre-migration assessments to analyze current McAfee configurations, policies, and threat response protocols, ensuring a structured approach to the migration.
• Configure Defender settings for optimal protection on each server, including enabling and adjusting Threat & Vulnerability Management, Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR), and other Defender ATP features.
• Customize Defender policies according to the organization's security requirements and compliance standards.
• Continuously monitor Defender's performance and logs for suspicious activities, responding to alerts, and ensuring Servers remain secure post-migration.
• Act as the primary responder for security incidents detected by Defender, conducting investigations and implementing remediation efforts promptly.
• Develop and maintain PowerShell or similar scripts to automate Defender configurations, monitoring, and reporting processes, improving operational efficiency.
• Document Defender configurations, policies, and migration processes thoroughly, ensuring that knowledge is easily accessible for future reference.
• Prepare regular status reports for stakeholders on migration progress, incidents, and ongoing security improvements post-migration.
• Collaborate with IT and security teams to optimize Defender settings, enhance threat intelligence, and respond to security incidents.
• Conduct incident post-mortem analyses, identifying lessons learned and implementing preventive measures.

Key Requirements

• 6+ years' strong experience in deploying, configuring, and managing Microsoft Defender, particularly in server environments.
• Familiarity with McAfee ePO for managing McAfee security on Servers, along with a solid understanding of McAfee security products and policies.
• Proficiency in Windows Server environments
• Proficiency in Scripting languages like PowerShell to automate Defender configurations, monitoring tasks, and reporting.
• Familiarity with project management principles, especially in IT migration projects.
• Hands on Experience onboarding end Points to Microsoft Defender
• Provide design Inputs to Technical Architects
• Have knowledge and experience with Microsoft technologies such as but not limited to: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender for O365, Microsoft Defender for Identity, Microsoft 365 Defender and Microsoft Cloud App Security
• Good knowledge around Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Threat & Vulnerability Management (TVM), Attack Surface Reduction (ASR), and Auto Investigation and Remediation (AIR)
• Experience with Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEPM)
• Experience in McAfee/Windows Defender Antivirus Policy, Group and Task Configuration
• In depth knowledge of Windows operating systems including Client (7/8/10) and Server OS (2008/2012/2016)
• Investigative and analytical problem-solving skills across Windows Infrastructure
• Developing, coordinating, and maintaining organizational security procedures, processes, and practices and supporting security documentation activities.
• Hands on Experience in deploying ATP Package through GPO, SCCM or through Intune
• Good Understanding of Threat analysis, Threat Hunting, and remediating security issues on End Points
• Hands on Experience on Creation of Policy, file Exclusions, Monitoring Dashboard, Reporting. Etc

Special Working conditions:

• UK Security clearance (SC) - Mandatory
• During production migration, there will be a possibility for candidate to work out of hours - candidate should be ready to work out of hours for any migration work.

Due to the volume of applications received, unfortunately we cannot respond to everyone.

If you do not hear back from us within 7 days of sending your application, please assume that you have not been successful on this occasion.