Network Security Engineer

GovCIO

. Lead the design, deployment, administration, and lifecycle management of Palo Alto Networks NGFW environments running PAN-OS .

Posted 11/2/2026full-timeRemote • United StatesSeniorLead💰 $125,000 - $150,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates extensive expertise in Palo Alto Networks NGFW environments, including design, deployment, and lifecycle management. Proficient in network security principles, troubleshooting, and leading technical discussions while mentoring junior engineers.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Palo Alto Networks NGFW ManagementPalo Alto Panorama AdministrationNetwork Segmentation and MicrosegmentationTCP/IP and Packet-Level TroubleshootingCortex XSIAM and Security Event Correlation

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Palo Alto Networks Firewall ConfigurationHigh Availability DeploymentRouting and NAT ConfigurationSecurity Policy DesignPacket Capture AnalysisCisco Catalyst and Nexus SwitchingVPN ConfigurationLog Monitoring and AnalysisZero-Trust Security PrinciplesDisaster Recovery Planning

Soft Skills

Technical LeadershipDocumentation SkillsChange ManagementIncident ManagementCommunication Skills

Tools & Technologies

Cortex XSIAMStrata Logging ServicePAN-OSCisco Switching TechnologiesGlobalProtectWildFireURL FilteringThreat PreventionAnsibleTerraform

Certifications & Qualifications

Palo Alto Networks CertificationsCisco Certifications

Industry Keywords

Network SecurityFirewall AdministrationCybersecurityInformation TechnologyNetwork Engineering

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AnsibleCloudCyber SecurityDNSPythonSwitchingTCP/IPTerraform

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead the design, deployment, administration, and lifecycle management of Palo Alto Networks NGFW environments running PAN-OS
Own centralized firewall management through Palo Alto Panorama, including device groups, templates, policy inheritance, upgrades, configuration backups, log monitoring, and firewall onboarding
Design and govern security policies using zero-trust, least-privilege, application-aware, and risk-based principles
Configure and troubleshoot security zones, NAT, virtual routers, routing, IPsec VPN, GlobalProtect, decryption, URL Filtering, Threat Prevention, WildFire, DNS Security, and App-ID policies
Lead enterprise network-segmentation and microsegmentation initiatives
Architect, configure, test, and troubleshoot Palo Alto High Availability deployments
Plan and execute HA failover testing, PAN-OS upgrades, disaster-recovery exercises, and maintenance procedures
Lead configuration, support, and troubleshooting of Cisco Catalyst and Nexus switching environments
Diagnose complex connectivity and performance issues using firewall logs, packet captures, CLI diagnostics, switch counters, flow data, and monitoring platforms
Analyze TCP/IP behavior and verify packet flow across firewall, routing, NAT, VPN, switching, and server/application layers
Monitor firewall management-plane and dataplane health
Integrate Palo Alto NGFWs and Panorama with Strata Logging Service and Cortex XSIAM
Ensure reliable firewall log forwarding, cloud logging, log ingestion, data normalization, event availability, retention, and telemetry quality
Use Cortex XSIAM and XQL Search to investigate, correlate, and respond to security events
Partner with SOC teams to tune detections, investigate alerts, develop response procedures, and support incident containment and remediation
Lead root-cause analyses for major network or security incidents and deliver corrective and preventive action plans
Develop and maintain network diagrams, firewall-policy documentation, HA designs, runbooks, change plans, architecture standards, and operational procedures
Mentor junior engineers and provide technical leadership during projects, production incidents, and security reviews

Requirements

What you’ll need

Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (three additional years if Bachelor’s degree); equivalent relevant experience may be considered
10+ years of progressive experience in network engineering, network security, firewall administration, or security infrastructure operations
6+ years of hands-on Palo Alto Networks firewall experience in a production enterprise environment
Advanced operational experience with Palo Alto Panorama
Strong hands-on experience designing, maintaining, and troubleshooting Palo Alto High Availability environments
Advanced understanding of HA1, HA2, HA3, configuration synchronization, session synchronization, failover behavior, link monitoring, path monitoring, peer health, and recovery processes
Strong expertise in TCP/IP, IPv4/IPv6, DNS, DHCP, ARP, routing, NAT, VPNs, and packet-level troubleshooting
Demonstrated ability to investigate TCP handshakes, resets, retransmissions, MTU/MSS issues, asymmetric routing, connection timeouts, and firewall session behavior
Extensive experience with Cisco Catalyst and/or Nexus switching technologies
Strong knowledge of enterprise switching and routing, including VLANs, trunking, STP/RSTP/MST, EtherChannel, HSRP/VRRP, routing protocols, ACLs, QoS, and switch-security controls
Proven experience designing or implementing network segmentation and microsegmentation solutions
Working knowledge of Cortex XSIAM, Strata Logging Service, security-event correlation, alert investigation, XQL Search, and firewall log ingestion
Ability to lead technical design discussions, independently manage complex workstreams, and communicate risks and recommendations to technical and nontechnical stakeholders
Strong documentation, change-management, incident-management, and root-cause-analysis skills
Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance
Preferred: Palo Alto Networks certifications, Cisco certifications, Prisma Access/Prisma Cloud/Cortex XDR/Cortex XSOAR, Cisco ISE/ACI/SD-Access, Fortinet technologies, cloud platforms, SIEM/SOAR/EDR/XDR, Python, Ansible, Terraform, REST APIs, 24x7/on-call support