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Mei Li

From B.Tech IT Student to Security Engineering Lead

Last updated: Jan 19, 2025

Cybersecurity Engineer in Cybersecurity · Shanghai, China

Cybersecurity engineer turned security engineering lead. This career journey covers SOC night shifts, my first major incident, and how a tier-2 college background became an advantage in adversarial thinking. Written for anyone weighing security as a path.

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Career Timeline

Education2011-2015
B.Tech IT Student
Tsinghua University
Joined every CTF I could find. Built a Raspberry Pi honeypot in the hostel as a final-year project. Spent more time on TryHackMe than on classes.
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ContextJoined every CTF I could find. Built a Raspberry Pi honeypot in the hostel as a final-year project. Spent more time on TryHackMe than on classes.
ChallengesCollege syllabus on security was a decade out of date. Self-study took over.
LearningsCuriosity beats certification. A persistent CTF habit will teach you more than a brand-name internship.
Skills acquired
NetworkingLinuxOS internalsbasic cryptoethical hacking labsCTF teams
First Job2015-2017
SOC Analyst
Capgemini
First job was a 24x7 security operations centre rotation. Most shifts were boring; the few that were not, I will remember forever.
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ContextFirst job was a 24x7 security operations centre rotation. Most shifts were boring; the few that were not, I will remember forever.
ChallengesSleep schedule destroyed for a year. Senior analysts gatekept knowledge until you proved you cared.
LearningsPattern recognition is muscle memory. Most alerts are noise; the one that matters does not announce itself.
OutcomeCaught a credential-stuffing campaign that the dashboard had missed. Trust earned, transferred to threat hunting.
Skills acquired
SIEM (SplunkQRadar)incident triagelog analysisMITRE ATT&CKnight shifts
Promotion2017-2019
Threat Hunter
Capgemini
Moved from reactive SOC into proactive hunting. Half the role was technical, half was writing reports executives would actually read.
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ContextMoved from reactive SOC into proactive hunting. Half the role was technical, half was writing reports executives would actually read.
ChallengesConvincing leadership that "no incident this week" was the product, not the absence of work.
LearningsAdversaries do not care about your org chart. Defenders should not either.
Skills acquired
EDR toolsscripting in Python and PowerShellthreat intelligencereport writing
Career Switch2019-Present
Security Engineering Lead
Microsoft
Switched from a services firm to a product company. Less ticket work, more design. Now I help engineering teams ship safely instead of cleaning up after them.
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ContextSwitched from a services firm to a product company. Less ticket work, more design. Now I help engineering teams ship safely instead of cleaning up after them.
ChallengesEarning credibility with developers who saw security as a blocker. Learned to be a partner before being a gate.
LearningsThe best security work is invisible. If the team did not feel us this sprint, we did the job well.
OutcomeBuilt a paved-road platform that cut critical findings by 60% within a year.
Skills acquired
Cloud security (AWSAzure)IAMthreat modellingsecure SDLCleadership
AdviceGet one cert that opens doors (Security+, OSCP) and then stop collecting them. Build instead.

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Mei Li

Career Timeline

B.Tech IT Student

SOC Analyst

Threat Hunter

Security Engineering Lead

Reflections & Questions from Readers