TLTR
- Career progression built internally: Ellinor Bergfeldt moved from SOC Engineer to Cybersecurity Consultant at Orange Cyberdefense Sweden;
- A career path shaped by learning:client onboarding, service activation and new responsibilities have enabled her to keep developing her skills;
- Tangible skills development: with eight to ten certifications gained since she started, Ellinor has strengthened her expertise and taken on new challenges;
- To develop your career, Ellinor recommends stayingcurious, building your network and getting to know other teams.
“The Lift”: Ellinor Bergfeldt’s professional development from SOC Engineer to Cybersecurity Consultant at Orange Cyberdefense Sweden
Ellinor Bergfeldt’s career path shows how a cybersecurity career can evolve through experience, learning and internal opportunities. From SOC engineering to a Cybersecurity Consultant role, she has gradually broadened her scope and strengthened her expertise. Her story also highlights the importance of progression opportunities, curiosity and support when developing your career.
The Lift: The floor is yours
There are all kinds of career opportunities at Orange Cyberdefense, including internal mobility. I’m a concrete example of that, reflects Ellinor Bergfeldt, Cybersecurity Consultant at Orange Cyberdefense Sweden.
When did your paths cross? In what context?
Ellinor Bergfeldt, Cybersecurity Consultant at Orange Cyberdefense Sweden: “I remember that even before I officially joined Orange Cyberdefense, I had been invited to a team building activity. Some frisbee was involved (laughs)! That’s where I met Alexander for the first time. We had an informal conversation.”
Alexander Thore, Technical Lead Managed Services, Security Operations Center, at Orange Cyberdefense Sweden:“Ellinor joined the same department I was working in and, as she says, she came to some team-building activities before officially starting. I quickly saw that she was already senior when she joined: she liked taking responsibility and having an overview of the bigger picture. Maybe one person out of ten has that kind of ability.”
When you joined Orange Cyberdefense, what was your skillset, and what did you learn?
Ellinor Bergfeldt: “I asked Alexander everything, all the time! I learned as I went along, through my day-to-day work and in a stimulating environment. Alexander trained me on the Delivery Clientplatform, then supported me with client onboarding and service activation.”
Alexander Thore: “Client service activation projects are always demanding, even for someone senior. You are dropped into a situation and the client immediately asks: how can you solve this problem? How do we fix this? You have to adapt very quickly and give relevant answers. Following the closure of one of our Security Operations Centres (SOCs), our office took over the management of several clients, which presented a major challenge for Ellinor, who took on a significant proportion of them. The documentation was out of date, and some components had not been fully delivered… Ellinor tackled this project head-on and got everything back on track. The clients were delighted.”
What piece of advice would you give to the person you were when you first joined Orange Cyberdefense?
Ellinor Bergfeldt: “No advice! I’m perfect (laughs). I’m joking. I think I found it difficult to accept criticism. I took comments too personally and judged myself too harshly when I made mistakes. So my advice would be to be less hard on myself.”
Alexander Thore: “Not to try to steamroller everything in my path! I came from a world where everyone barked orders and shouted, so I had to adapt.”
What has been your career evolution at Orange Cyberdefense?
Ellinor Bergfeldt: “I started in 2023 as a SOC Engineer working on firewall support and our managed firewall services. This winter, I applied to become a Cybersecurity Consultant without really expecting much. I had already spent three years in my role and had started thinking about my prospects and what my next move would be. I wanted more freedom and to work more closely with clients instead of being limited to an operational service or a contract. A week after speaking to the Consulting Manager, he wanted me to join the team. The decision was made within 24 hours.”
Alexander Thore: “I was surprised by the move because I wasn’t expecting it. But I’m always pleased when someone takes on a new challenge and finds that opportunity internally rather than elsewhere. Wanting to progress internally is a sign that you feel good in the company.”
What technical skills or certifications have you gained to hone your senior expertise at Orange Cyberdefense?
Ellinor Bergfeldt: “Since I started, I’ve gained eight or ten certifications. Developing your skills is important. Some training was encouraged by my Manager because he wanted me to progress in specific areas. Other courses were ones I requested myself, with the option to enrol free of charge. The training that helped me develop the most was the Check Point Certified Troubleshooting Expert (CCTE) course. It’s probably the certification I’m proudest of.”
What role did Alexander play in your professional development?
Ellinor Bergfeldt: “When I joined, Alexander helped me find the right information and documentation, and he often pointed me towards the right people who could help me explore a topic in more depth. He also trained me on new areas, particularly service activation. He helped me with the technical side, finding information and building a network of contacts. Alexander also encouraged me to change things when I wasn’t happy with them. He inspired me a lot, I wanted to be as skilled as he was!”
How do you breathe Orange Cyberdefense's Hacking spirit?
Taking initiative is strongly encouraged, and we are given the means to do it shares Ellinor.
What qualities in terms of skills and interpersonal skills did you quickly notice in Ellinor?
Alexander Thore: “Beyond her proven technical skills, Ellinor has a lot of soft skills. I noticed her leadership qualities and strong desire to learn. I would also say that Ellinor is very direct with her feedback, which is quite unusual for technical profiles. They generally tend to avoid conflict! Ellinor is very good at giving feedback.”
What is your shared vision regarding career development opportunities at Orange Cyberdefense?
Ellinor Bergfeldt: “There are all kinds of career opportunities at Orange Cyberdefense, including internal mobility. I’m a concrete example of that. I would advise people to stay curious, talk to others and find out what other departments are doing. We are a community of 3 300 experts! Taking initiative is strongly encouraged, and we are given the means to do it.”
Alexander Thore: “Of course, there are opportunities and a lot of benefits. At Orange Cyberdefense Sweden, the benefit package is very attractive for many people. It is also exciting to work with major companies, public-sector organisations and banks. There are opportunities to train either during working hours or in your own time. Here in Sweden, we have been working for five years on an "innovative autonomous employee" model that is now being replicated across Orange Cyberdefense. Being an autonomous employee means that everyone should be able to make all the decisions they need in order to do their job. For day-to-day activities, we should not need a manager. That is the idea behind the model, with as little micromanagement as possible. It is both very rewarding and demanding.”
Do you have an anecdote to share, a piece of advice that stayed with you, or something you’ve never dared to say before?
Alexander Thore:“I think if Ellinor were an animal, she would be a bee because she is intelligent and hardworking, and because she really wants to be part of a group.”
Ellinor Bergfeldt: “Alexander would be more of an owl, for his intelligence and wisdom!”
Artificial intelligence is rapidly advancing in cybersecurity: is it already impacting your work?
Ellinor Bergfeldt:“I use AI occasionally to generate text, rewrite an email or help with certain tasks. I don’t use it for anything else at the moment.”
Alexander Thore: “I’m a bit old-school and don’t use AI in my personal life. At work, I use it occasionally. I’m currently involved in a pilot for a new AI tool designed to assist us and train AI agents to take some of the day-to-day workload off us. As part of that, I received a list of the things AI is not good at. They are all the things that make up my job! So I’m not at risk of being replaced just yet. I think AI is very good at automating repetitive tasks. The area where we could save the most money, and where AI could be genuinely useful, is software development.”
Explore the other floors of "The Lift" series below.
