Director, Cyber Security Detection Engineering at AstraZeneca
Gaithersburg, MD
$169,320–$253,980from the description
Aug 11, 2026
Gaithersburg, MD
Sep 24, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior detection engineering leadership role at a global pharmaceutical company, based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The Director will own the enterprise-wide detection strategy and roadmap across cloud, on-premises, and OT/ICS environments — covering SIEM/EDR/XDR content development, purple team operations, AI/ML-driven automation, and data pipeline governance. The role also carries significant people leadership responsibility, including team building, talent development, and executive-level reporting.
Senior level · 5+ years · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · Full-time
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 120 people in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (information security analysts). range 25–180
Applicant volume Moderate — A normal amount of company. The rare requirements below are what will separate a shortlisted application from the rest.
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $152,225 (middle half $125,286–$177,673). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Aug 12, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (6)
The role carries substantial people-management responsibilities (team leadership, recruitment, career development, goal-setting), making 11-3021 Computer and Information Systems Managers a genuine alternative SOC. However, the primary day-to-day work described — detection engineering strategy, SIEM/EDR/XDR content, purple teaming, threat detection frameworks — is squarely security analysis work, so 15-1212 is the primary classification.
The advertised title is 'Director', which maps to Principal on the advertised seniority scale. However, the actual hard requirements (5+ years managing detection engineering, enterprise-scale scope) are consistent with a Senior-level role; the Director framing at a large enterprise does not by itself indicate org-wide technical authority beyond a single function.
The degree requirement states 'Bachelor's degree… or equivalent experience', so no formal degree is hard-gated.
Security certifications (CISSP, CISM, GIAC variants, cloud certifications, ITIL) are listed under 'Preferred Skills & Experience' and are not hard gates.
The role requires a minimum of three days per week in the Gaithersburg, MD office — it is not fully remote.
OT/ICS detection experience appears in the required 'Knowledge, Experience, and Understanding Of' section, indicating it is a hard gate despite being a specialized sub-domain.
Read the full posting
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