AVP - Information Security (SOC Lead)

Job Title: SOC Lead (Security Operations Center Lead)Experience: Minimum 15 yearsLocation: Noida/Bangalore
About Us:  Paytm is India’s leading digital payments and financial services company, which is focused on driving consumers and merchants to its platform by offering them a variety of payment use cases. Paytm provides consumers with services like utility payments and money transfers, Paytm UPI. To merchants, Paytm offers acquiring devices like Soundbox, EDC, QR and Payment Gateway where payment aggregation is done through PPI and also other banks’ financial instruments. To further enhance merchants’ business, Paytm offers merchants commerce services through advertising and Paytm Mini app store. Operating on this platform leverage, the company then offers credit services such as merchant loans, personal loans and BNPL, sourced by its financial partners.
Job Overview :We are seeking an experienced SOC Lead with at least 15 years of expertise in cybersecurity and incident management to head our Security Operations Center (SOC). The SOC Lead will be responsible for overseeing the security operations team, managing security incidents, coordinating response efforts, and ensuring continuous security monitoring. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership, technical, and analytical skills to drive our organisation's security posture forward

Key Responsibilities :

• Lead and manage the SOC team, including Tier-1, Tier-2, and Tier-3 security analysts, engineers, and other cybersecurity personnel.
• Oversee the development and implementation of SOC processes, ensuring alignment with organisational security policies and industry best practices.
• Manage and respond to high-severity security incidents, coordinating across teams to contain, mitigate, and recover.
• Design and maintain the incident response playbooks, ensuring quick, effective handling of potential threats.
• Ensure continuous 24/7 monitoring of the organisation’s IT infrastructure, identifying security gaps, and implementing proactive measures to address vulnerabilities.
• Provide strategic recommendations to improve detection capabilities, incident response workflows, and overall SOC performance.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders (IT, engineering, compliance) to drive security initiatives, audits, and regulatory requirements.
• Lead regular threat hunting and proactive security assessments to identify emerging threats and vulnerabilities.
• Mentor and train SOC personnel, fostering an environment of continuous learning and development.
• Drive the deployment and integration of security tools (SIEM, IDS/IPS, endpoint security, etc.) to improve detection and incident management capabilities.
• Prepare and present security reports to senior leadership, highlighting key metrics, incident trends, and recommendations for risk reduction.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory standards (e.g., GDPR, ISO 27001, etc.) and manage external audits and assessments.

Qualifications :

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Computer Science, or related field.
• Minimum of 15 years of experience in cybersecurity, with at least 8 years in a SOC or incident response environment.
• Proven leadership experience managing SOC teams and large-scale security operations.
• Strong knowledge of security technologies such as SIEM, IDS/IPS, EDR, firewalls, and vulnerability management tools.
• Deep understanding of cyber threats, attack methodologies, and threat intelligence.
• Hands-on experience with incident response, threat hunting, forensics, and malware analysis.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence and guide decision-making at senior levels.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a proactive mindset for continuous improvement.
• Relevant certifications (CISSP, CISM, GCIH, CEH, etc.) are highly desirable.
• Preferred Qualifications:
• Experience with cloud security, DevSecOps, and emerging technologies.
• Familiarity with compliance frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, and GDPR.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Prior experience in high-demand industries such as finance, healthcare, or government is a plus.