WHAT DOES AN IT SECURITY ENGINEER DO?

Published: Nov 10, 2025 - The Information Technology (IT) Security Engineer analyzes and improves security systems while developing standards and best practices to strengthen organizational defenses. This role involves implementing security tools, monitoring threats, and providing hands-on expertise in incident response and mitigation. The engineer also focuses on employee training, cross-department collaboration, and creating secure communication and software solutions that align with business objectives.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for IT Security Engineer

1. IT Security Engineer Duties

  • System Maintenance: Maintain day-to-day operational health and integrity of IT security systems, including the coordination, assessment, and implementation of security changes
  • Problem Solving: Conduct collaborative troubleshooting and problem-solving steps that emphasize root-cause analysis across a dynamic, multivendor enterprise
  • Solution Architecture: Architect and engineer new IT security solutions and services to continually mature the risk posture of the organization
  • Risk Assessment: Perform Risk Assessments for proposed new technologies, infrastructure architecture changes, third-party applications, and vendor solutions
  • Secure Development: Work with development teams to advocate secure coding practices, implement code management tools, and promote developing and deploying code updates in a secure manner
  • Event Monitoring: Ensure proper visibility into system and network events across the enterprise while working with an external MSSP and other security partners
  • Incident Response: Respond to security incidents, conduct incident investigations, lead incident recovery efforts, and generate incident reports
  • Compliance Validation: Participate in formal hardware, software and project assessments to validate secure deployment and PCI-DSS, SOX compliance
  • Audit Preparation: Participate in the preparation for PCI and SOX assessments

2. IT Security Engineer Details

  • Directory Administration: Daily administration of Directory Services and related identity and authentication technologies such as Dell/Quest suite, Office 365, Okta Federation (i.e., Domain Controller patching, proactive monitoring, troubleshooting, backup and object/disaster recovery, DFS, upgrade, etc.)
  • Identity Management: Design, implement, administer, transition, support, and improve Identity Management and Access Management technology (e.g., Multifactor Authentication, Federation, Cloud Integrations, Digital Certificates)
  • Technical Support: Process Level-2 and Level-3 escalation support cases (Incidents, Requests, and Problems) to meet defined service targets and operational goals
  • Security Monitoring: Monitor, configure, and tune Security Solutions to protect, detect, and respond to information security risks and vulnerabilities
  • Policy Enforcement: Assist with the development and enforcement of security policies, standards, procedures, SOPs, guidelines, and best practices to support Risk Management/Security/Legal/IT teams and Business Units
  • Audit Compliance: Technically support internal/external auditing activities, security investigation, and risk assessment, producing reports and monitoring systems to ensure they are compliant and meet performance and availability metrics within agreed SLAs
  • Solution Analysis: Assist with the analysis and selection of Security Solutions
  • Project Participation: Actively participate in Security projects, including M&A migration and authentication integration of Enterprise applications
  • Process Improvement: Continuously seek process improvement by implementing changes that meet project or operational requirements, following change management and mitigating the risk of service disruption
  • Documentation Development: Author technical documents to define architecture, topology, and configuration, as well as processes, procedures, and working instructions to effectively manage Security services and provide customers with reliable support

3. IT Security Engineer Responsibilities

  • Security Reporting: Oversee the delivery and analysis of periodic security reports to identify threats and stop attackers
  • Project Management: Responsible for managing IT Security projects
  • Metric Analysis: Report key security metrics and regularly review data with the team to determine process updates and improvements
  • Threat Prevention: Identify internal and external threats and trends and take steps to proactively prevent and/or solve problems
  • Team Mentoring: Provide guidance and mentoring to team members and IT staff
  • Regulatory Liaison: Perform as a liaison between regulators and IT team members
  • Threat Analysis: Analyze system logs, threat intelligence, and security event trends with an ongoing goal of improving efficiency and time to remediate
  • Vulnerability Management: Help manage vulnerabilities and remediation effectively and accurately
  • Policy Development: Work with the IT and Security teams to develop IT procedures and policies around risk management

4. IT Security Engineer Job Summary

  • Technical Expertise: Act as the technical expert for all IT-related security (business and IT)
  • Security Architecture: Architect effective security strategies for data access, systems, networks, and applications
  • Solution Implementation: Implement highly technical security solutions in a global environment
  • Access Monitoring: Monitor data access and data access rights
  • Log Reporting: Monitor and report on security logs
  • Committee Participation: Participate in data security committee meetings and initiatives
  • Vendor Auditing: Conduct vendor security audits
  • Access Management: Implement and monitor policies around application access requests
  • Compliance Enforcement: Monitor and enforce compliance
  • Certification Management: Manage Security certifications
  • Questionnaire Support: Support external IT Security questionnaires
  • Audit Response: Respond to customer and vendor security audits
  • Regulation Awareness: Stay current with global security requirements and changes

5. IT Security Engineer Accountabilities

  • System Security: Ensure the security of the company's systems and information assets
  • Access Protection: Protect against unauthorized access, modifications, and destruction to meet regulatory and contractual requirements
  • Security Management: Provide hands-on security systems management and support for Firewalls, SIM, IDS, Security Auditing, and Vulnerability Scanning
  • Procedure Documentation: Document and maintain IT Security Ops manuals and procedures
  • Incident Leadership: Lead remedial measures for security events, incidents, and vulnerabilities
  • Incident Handling: Direct technical resources to support network security incident handling for virus outbreaks
  • Security Reporting: Generate planned and ad hoc reports on network security posture, violations, and remedial actions
  • Governance Development: Aid in IT security governance development and gap analysis
  • Vulnerability Management: Advocate and organize vulnerability management services for the company
  • Continuity Support: Provide backup and support for business continuity services

6. IT Security Engineer Functions

  • O365 Security: Drive O365 to ensure security standards and best practices
  • Environment Review: Review the current environment, including migrations, and identify recommendations and remediations
  • Standard Development: Assist in the development of O365 Security standards and creative processes to support best practices
  • Platform Maintenance: Maintain the functionality of the platform
  • System Administration: Administer security-focused systems such as identity management, data loss prevention, PKI, and eDiscovery/forensics
  • Automation Development: Develop and orchestrate automation workflows, modules, and functions to satisfy security control automation
  • Threat Mitigation: Implement solutions for cybersecurity threats against email messaging environments, deterring attacks such as business email compromise and phishing
  • Operational Efficiency: Drive operational efficiencies for end-user productivity within the O365 environment

7. IT Security Engineer Job Description

  • Security Design: Design and implement a security solution to comply with each standard
  • Vulnerability Analysis: Analyze the results of security testing conducted
  • Impact Assessment: Identify the nature of vulnerabilities and estimate business impacts
  • Lifecycle Response: Respond to the Security Development Life Cycle
  • Hardware Implementation: Implement Security Hardware and Software to meet requirements
  • System Hardening: Implement and test Security Hardware hardening
  • Policy Management: Implement, monitor, and tune the policy of DLP and DDoS
  • Gateway Management: Implement, monitor, and tune the policy of Mail Gateway, Web Gateway, and Antivirus
  • Signature Management: Implement, monitor, and tune the policy and signature of IPS/IDS
  • Log Management: Implement, monitor, and tune the policy of Centralized Log
  • Service Support: Responsible for the day-to-day basis standby service

8. IT Security Engineer Overview

  • System Hardening: Configure and maintain security tools and hardening for KLD’s Linux systems
  • Policy Development: Develop procedures, standards, and guidelines to safeguard information systems, intellectual property, and customer data
  • Security Monitoring: Monitor and maintain Security Systems such as Firewalls, IPS, and Antivirus Systems
  • Access Review: Initiate and execute periodic reviews of system access and monitor access requests for compliance
  • Security Reporting: Perform regular reporting and metrics on Information Technology security and risk situations
  • Risk Mitigation: Ensure proper notification of heightened situations and recommend appropriate mitigation of risk
  • Risk Assessment: Perform IT Risk Assessments for IT projects and initiatives
  • Risk Identification: Identify and quantify Information Security risks and recommend mitigation strategies
  • Application Research: Research and implement Information Security applications and systems
  • Posture Enhancement: Monitor and enhance the security posture of the production environment

9. IT Security Engineer Details and Accountabilities

  • Ethical Conduct: Model ethical behavior and execute job responsibilities in accordance with Citizens' core values, ethics, and information protection policies
  • Access Management: Ensure that customer requests for security access are completed promptly
  • Technical Support: Provide second-level technical support to the project team, end-users, and IT functional groups
  • Ticket Management: Perform ticket management, user access management, use access attestations, and process compliance validations
  • Project Participation: Participate in project meetings, operational improvement, and issue resolution sessions
  • Identity Management: Manage identity and access within Active Directory, CyberArk, Oracle Security Console, and other provisioning systems
  • Work Ethic: Professional demeanor and strong work ethic required
  • Key Management: Be an important contributor to the Cryptography Key Management System, dealing with various other workers to ensure security is maintained and also implement and review controls
  • Customer Service: Work with customers to ensure they are happy with the Security Access Modules
  • System Assurance: Contribute to ensuring the security protection and management system is working correctly
  • Audit Review: Conduct Security Audit Trails and Account Review
  • Audit Assistance: Assist in all IT audits
  • Risk Follow-Up: Follow up with any potential Risk Owners to complete outstanding audit findings
  • Policy Development: Review and develop policy, procedure, and documentation for IT Security
  • Exercise Facilitation: Facilitate, plan, and participate in Cyber Security Exercises as well as Disaster Recovery activities
  • Vulnerability Assessment: Perform vulnerability assessment to identify the potential threats to the organization's IT assets and work with the respective teams to address them

10. IT Security Engineer Tasks

  • System Analysis: Analyze security systems and seek improvements continuously
  • Alert Monitoring: Create and monitor alerts to limit false positives
  • Threat Reporting: Report possible threats or software issues
  • Vulnerability Research: Research weaknesses and find ways to counter them
  • Solution Development: Find cost-effective solutions to cybersecurity problems
  • Technical Understanding: Understand software, hardware, and internet needs while adjusting them according to a business environment
  • Standard Development: Develop best practices and security standards for the organization
  • Employee Support: Assist fellow employees with cybersecurity, software, hardware, or IT needs
  • Department Collaboration: Collaborate with client-facing departments to ensure the creation of secure software and communication methods for delivered services
  • Tool Implementation: Implement security tools, develop user training material, and conduct security awareness training throughout the organization
  • Incident Response: Provide hands-on expertise in responding to security incidents, implementing tools, and monitoring threats
Relevant Information
What Does An IT Security Analyst Do?