University of South Carolina is hiring an Observability Operations Manager. The role leads day-to-day operations of the university's Network Operations and Security Center, a new blended model that combines security operations, enterprise observability, incident response, and service reliability. The manager supervises full-time staff and student analysts and works closely with the university's threat hunting, site reliability engineering, and IT teams.
Highlights
Run daily operations of the Network Operations and Security Center, including scheduling security operations coverage between full-time staff and student analysts and delivering metrics and reports to senior staff.
Manage and coordinate technology, process, and improvement projects for the center, translating operational needs into requirements, priorities, and status reporting for the site reliability engineering, automation, and analyst teams.
Serve as a rotating escalation point and handler for both security and availability incidents, following the department's six-step incident response process and coordinating with Risk Management, the USC Police Department, Audit, and the General Counsel's office.
Recruit student staff, maintain internship programs, and mentor student analysts as they build real-world security and operations skills.
Anticipated hiring range of $97,329 to $130,000 for a full-time position at 37.5 hours per week, with occasional evening, weekend, and holiday work for critical incidents.
Bachelor's degree in a job-related field and four or more years of related experience, which may be replaced by an equivalent combination of certification, training, and experience.
Preferred experience in a security operations center, network operations center, or blended center with incident response, plus familiarity with risk frameworks such as NIST and ISO and certifications such as CISSP or the SANS GIAC credentials.
Includes access to professional development such as SANS training and industry certifications.
Positions are advertised for a minimum of five (5) business days on our job website. After five (5) business days, positions can be closed at the discretion of the department at any time. This employment site is updated on a regular basis. The length of the recruitment and screening process may vary from position to position, depending upon a variety of factors. Should review of your qualifications result in a decision to pursue your candidacy, you will be contacted by phone or email.
We are only accepting applications submitted by December 11, 2026.
The University of South Carolina offers a valuable benefits package including but not limited to:
· Health and Life Insurance
· Retirement Programs
· Paid Tuition
· Dependent Scholarships
· Annual Leave
· Sick Leave
· 13 Paid Holidays (including an extended December holiday)
· Paid Parental Leave
· Professional Development Opportunities
Click here to learn more about why you should work at USC.
Posting Details
Posting Summary
Logo | Posting Number | STA00805PO26 Job Family | Information Technology Job Function | Cyber Security USC Market Title | IT Security Engineer Link to USC Market Title | https://uscjobs.sc.edu/titles/133182 Job Level | P4 - Professional Business Title (Internal Title) | Observability Operations Manager Campus | Columbia Work County | Richland College/Division | Division of Information Technology Department | IT Information Security State Pay Range | T08 USC Market Range | MRL - $97,329 $124,095 $150,860 Anticipated Hiring Range | $97,329 - $130,000; salary commensurate with experience. Location of Vacancy | Part/Full Time | Full Time Hours per Week | 37.5 Work Schedule | The standard work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, with an hour for lunch. The standard hours per week is 37.50. The Observability Operations Manager may be required to work outside of regularly scheduled hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, as necessary to address operational needs, critical incidents, or other business requirements. Basis | 12 months Job Search Category | Information Technology
About USC
About University of South Carolina | From the Upstate to the Lowcountry, the University of South Carolina system is transforming the lives of South Carolinians through the impact of our eight institutions and 20 locations throughout the state. More than 50,000 students are enrolled at one of eight institutions, including the research campus in Columbia and comprehensive four-year universities in Aiken, Upstate and Beaufort. In addition, our Palmetto College campuses in Salkehatchie, Union, Lancaster and Sumter enable students to earn associate or bachelor’s degrees through a combination of in-person, online or blended learning. All of our system institutions place strong emphasis on service — helping to build healthier, more educated communities in South Carolina and beyond. Veterans' Preference Statement | The University of South Carolina is committed to equal opportunity and proudly values the skills and experience military veterans bring to our workforce. Across South Carolina, we are making veterans a priority for employment and recognize their vital contributions to our state and our communities.
Benefits for FTE Positions The University of South Carolina (USC), through the State of SC and Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA), offers employees a valuable benefits package, including health and life insurance, generous paid leave and retirement programs. To learn more about USC benefits, access the "Working at USC" section on the Applicant Portal at https://uscjobs.sc.edu. Research Grant or Time-limited positions may be eligible for all, some, or no benefits, based on the grant or project funding.
Position Description
Advertised Job Summary | USC is evolving its traditional Security Operations Center into a Network Operations and Security Center (NOSC)—a blended operational model that brings security operations, enterprise observability, incident response, and service reliability together under one roof. We’re looking for an Operations Manager to lead the NOSC’s day-to-day operations, managing both full-time and student staff while coordinating closely with threat hunting, Security SRE, and IT teams across the University. This is a hands-on leadership role: you’ll manage operational coverage, serve as an escalation point for both security and availability incidents, and turn recurring operational problems into measurable improvement projects.
The Operations Manager leads the people, processes, and daily operations of USC’s Network Operations and Security Center (NOSC). The role combines team leadership, incident response, and operational improvement, working across security, observability, threat hunting, and SRE to keep critical university services secure and resilient.
Key Responsibilities:Lead the day-to-day operations of USC’s evolving Network Operations and Security Center (NOSC), integrating security operations, enterprise observability, incident response, and service reliability. Manage and mentor a blended team of full-time professionals and student analysts, including operational coverage, internships, and staff development. Serve as a senior escalation point for both cybersecurity and availability incidents, working across a large, complex university environment. What You’ll Bring:Experienced operations leader with a strong background in SOC, NOC, or blended security/network operations and incident response in a complex enterprise environment. Strong people leader and mentor who can manage professional and student staff, build effective teams, and work independently with sound judgement. Operational problem solver comfortable coordinating across security, infrastructure, SRE, and other teams to turn recurring problems into sustainable improvements. Why Join Us?Invest in your expertise with access to advanced professional development, including SANS training and industry certifications. Teach and mentor the next generation by working directly with student analysts and helping them develop real-world security and operations skills. Work alongside highly credentialed, experienced professionals across incident response, threat hunting, security engineering, SRE, networking, and enterprise IT. Help build something new as USC evolves toward an integrated NOSC model, with opportunities to shape its people, processes, tooling, and culture. Perks of the University of South Carolina:Downtown COLA Location: Enjoy working in the heart of Columbia, SC, with easy access to vibrant city life, dining, and cultural events. Energetic Leadership: Thrive under the guidance of an energetic and innovative leadership team dedicated to transforming IT at USC, making your role impactful and exciting. Competitive compensation: Some of the BEST benefits you can find! Paid tuition Parental leave Dependent scholarships State benefits State retirement plans Work-Life Balance: Full-time pay with a 37.50 hour work week and generous paid time off. (15 paid vacation days, 15 paid sick days, 13 paid holidays, including an extended December holiday!) Job Related Minimum Required Education and Experience | Requires a bachelor’s degree in a job related field and 4 or more years of job related experience, which may be substituted by an equivalent combination of job related certification, training, education, and/or experience. Required Certification, Licensure/Other Credentials | Preferred Qualifications | Extensive experience working in a Security Operations Center, blended Network / Security Operations Center, or Network Operations Center, including incident response, subject to federal and state regulatory requirements as applied in large multi-campus higher education environments or similarly complex enterprise or government environments. Experience with standards-based risk management frameworks (i.e. NIST SP-800, ISO, NIST CSF, HEISC, etc.). Experience in the evaluation of new technology and security threats as they arise. Familiarity with information security and privacy best practices and related laws, particularly within the context of higher education. Professional certifications such as GCFE, GCFA, GNFA, GCIH, GCIA, GSNA, GSLC, GSTRT, CISSP or other information security and privacy certifications are highly desired. Knowledge/Skills/Abilities | Advanced knowledge of information security, observability, and privacy best practices, with an emphasis on security operations center and incident response functions. Excellent interpersonal, customer service and written/oral communication skills. Demonstrated ability to develop an effective, collaborative working relationship with a variety of representative groups with potentially dissimilar priorities. Demonstrated judgment and discretion in working with sensitive, confidential information and matters. Project coordination experience across diversified operational units. Ability to work with minimal direction and guidance and is self-motivated while also serving as a mentor to more junior and less experienced staff.
Job Duties
Job Duty | Operations Management: Serve as the manager of the day-to-day operation of the Network Operations and Security Center (NOSC). Ensure coverage for security operations rotations between students and full-time staff. Act as a liaison with organizational units for the activities of the Network Operations and Security Center (NOSC). Coordinate regularly with the USC ISO Threat Hunting team to align NOSC operations, coverage, metrics, and escalations with active hunting priorities. Recruit student staff and maintain internship programs. Deliver metrics and reporting to senior staff as required. Essential Function | Yes Percentage of Time | 50Job Duty | Project Management: Manage and coordinate internal technology, process, and operational improvement projects used by the Network Operations and Security Center (NOSC). Serve as the NOSC liaison to the Security SRE team and other organizational units, translating operational needs into project requirements, priorities, acceptance criteria, and status reporting. Coordinate work assigned to SRE, SOAR, analyst, and partner teams without serving as the primary developer. Coordinate with the USC ISO Threat Hunting team on operational improvement projects, investigation support needs, detection feedback, and recurring work intake. Use DevOps practices, agentic coding tools, X-as-code, iteration, repeatability, automation, and measurement of efficacy to organize project work, validate outcomes, and improve daily operations.
Essential Function | Yes Percentage of Time | 20Job Duty | Incident Response: Serve as escalation point and handler for incidents both security related and availability related for DoIT on a rotating basis along with the Deputy CISO for Enterprise Observability and IR. Follow the six steps of incident response as used by the department. Maintain relationships with other organizational units in the University involved in incident response such as Risk Management, the USC Police Department, USC Audit, and the General Counsel’s office. Coordinate with the USC ISO Threat Hunting team on investigation context, escalation support, detection feedback, and recurring response priorities. Essential Function | Yes Percentage of Time | 20Job Duty | Training: Remain current on information security issues by attending conferences, self-study, and training. Essential Function | Yes Percentage of Time | 5Job Duty | Additional duties as assigned. Essential Function | No Percentage of Time | 5
Position Attributes Employees in Safety-Sensitive or Security-Sensitive positions will be subject to pre-employment and post-employment drug testing in accordance with University policy HR 1.95 Drug and Alcohol Testing.
Safety Sensitive or Security Sensitive | No Hazardous weather category | Non-Essential
Posting Detail Information
Number of Vacancies | 1 Desired Start Date | 12/01/2026 Job Open Date | 10/27/2026 Job Close Date | 12/11/2026 Open Until Filled | No Special Instructions to Applicant | Positions are advertised for a minimum of five (5) business days on our job website. After five (5) business days, positions can be closed at the discretion of the department at any time. This employment site is updated on a regular basis. The length of the recruitment and screening process may vary from position to position, depending upon a variety of factors. Should review of your qualifications result in a decision to pursue your candidacy, you will be contacted by phone or email. We are only accepting applications submitted by December 11, 2026. The University of South Carolina offers a valuable benefits package including but not limited to:· Health and Life Insurance· Retirement Programs· Paid Tuition· Dependent Scholarships· Annual Leave· Sick Leave· 13 Paid Holidays (including an extended December holiday)· Paid Parental Leave· Professional Development Opportunities Click here to learn more about why you should work at USC. Quicklink for Posting | https://uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/215086 EEO Statement | The University of South Carolina does not discriminate in employment opportunities or decisions for qualified persons on the basis of age, ancestry, citizenship status, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, military status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other protected category under applicable law.
Supplemental Questions
Required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*).
* Do you have at least a Bachelor's Degree in a job related field and 4 or more years of job related experience, which may be substituted by an equivalent combination of job related certification, training, education, and/or experience?
Yes
No
* Acknowledgement that this position is on-site, located on the Columbia, SC campus.
Yes
No
Applicant Documents
Required Documents
Cover Letter
Resume
List of References and Contact Information
Optional Documents
Other Supporting Documents
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