Principal Cybersecurity Engineer – Firewall Policy Implementation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Experienced

AT&T

. Operate, maintain, and optimize Firewall Platforms .

Posted 9/23/2026full-timeUnited StatesLead💰 $155,400 - $261,100 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates extensive experience in operating and maintaining Firewall Policies, with a strong focus on risk assessment, policy management, and automation. Proven ability to troubleshoot complex network and security issues while collaborating across multiple teams in large-scale environments.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Firewall Policy ManagementPalo Alto Networks (PAN-OS)Change Control ValidationCybersecurity Certification (CISSP)Python Policy Scripting

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Firewall Policy OperationsNetwork Security TroubleshootingPolicy AutomationIncident ResponseRisk AssessmentSSL Decryption StrategyMetrics-Driven OperationsAI/ML-Enabled OperationsBGP/OSPF BasicsIPsec Concepts

Soft Skills

CollaborationMentoringOperational DisciplineProblem SolvingCoaching

Tools & Technologies

Palo Alto CLIVisual Studio CodeJupyter NotebookGitHub CopilotAlgoSec

Certifications & Qualifications

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)Palo Alto Certifications (PCNSE / PCNSA)

Industry Keywords

CybersecurityFirewall PlatformsChange ProcessesEnterprise OperationsSecurity Policy

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Cyber SecurityDNSITSMPython

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Operate, maintain, and optimize Firewall Platforms
Drive Firewall policy quality and consistency across a complex global environment
Implement firewall rules to mitigate risk, harden perimeter defenses, and protect systems, infrastructure, and customer data
Own day-to-day firewall policy operations, management, tuning, cleanup, insertions, removals, and hardware decommissions
Execute approved firewall policy changes through defined change processes
Validate and document changes, perform post-change verification, and ensure intended outcomes
Troubleshoot connectivity, security policy issues, outages, and security incidents
Collaborate with architecture, engineering, operations, IT, network, and business teams
Identify and drive automation and AI opportunities using AT&T-managed AI tooling
Perform risk assessments and develop mitigation strategies to reduce attack surface exposure
Provide technical support for security-related rollouts, issues, and cyber-related projects
Complete onboarding, mentoring, coaching, proficiency checks, and shadowing
Earn authorization to independently execute Firewall policy changes and participate in an on-call rotation with AT&T’s Global Technology Operations Center
Deliver Firewall policy updates, removals, monitoring/soak, and incident troubleshooting at enterprise scale
Introduce and mature AI-assisted operations
Contribute documentation, playbooks, runbooks, process improvements, and audit-ready policy lifecycle practices
Lead critical, high-impact cybersecurity projects and mentor others

Requirements

What you’ll need

7+ years’ experience operating and maintaining Firewall Policies (Rule Sets)
Extensive hands-on experience managing enterprise Firewall Policy in production environments
Strong operational discipline: change control validation, documented processes, rollback planning, and post-change verification
Proven ability to troubleshoot Network/Security and Firewall Policy issues under time pressure
Experience working in large-scale, complex environments with multiple stakeholders
Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) or equivalent cybersecurity certification preferred
Palo Alto certifications such as PCNSE / PCNSA, or equivalent demonstrated experience, preferred
Experience with Palo Alto CLI policy automation, orchestration, or policy-as-code approaches and Python policy scripting
Experience with Visual Studio Code, Jupyter Notebook, and agentic coding using GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, or OpenAI Codex (ChatGPT)
8+ years of hands-on cybersecurity/network security engineering experience, including enterprise operations, preferred
5+ years of Palo Alto Networks (PAN-OS) Firewall platform and policy management in production environments, preferred
Exposure to AI/ML-enabled operations, AIOps, or AI tooling for incident reduction and efficiency
Familiarity with metrics-driven operations
Experience with AlgoSec, URL Filtering, WildFire, Threat Prevention, DNS Security, and security profile tuning
Experience with SSL decryption strategy/operations, including break/fix and exception handling
Exposure to AIOps / Operational AI use cases
Experience integrating Firewall operations with ITSM and CI/CD tooling
Familiarity with BGP/OSPF basics, VRFs, VLANs, IPsec concepts, DNS, and load-balancing impacts on traffic paths
Bachelor’s degree (BS/BA) in Computer Science or Cybersecurity desired
Certification is required in some areas

Benefits

Comp & perks

Medical/Dental/Vision coverage
401(k) plan
Tuition reimbursement program
Paid Time Off and Holidays (at least 23 days of vacation each year and 9 company-designated holidays)
Paid Parental Leave
Paid Caregiver Leave
Additional sick leave beyond what state and local law require may be available but is unprotected
Adoption Reimbursement
Disability Benefits (short term and long term)
Life and Accidental Death Insurance
Supplemental benefit programs: critical illness/accident hospital indemnity/group legal
Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)
Extensive employee wellness programs
Employee discounts up to 50% off on eligible AT&T mobility plans and accessories, AT&T internet (and fiber where available) and AT&T phone