Network Engineer III

The Senior Enterprise Network Security Engineer designs, secures, and operates UT Dallas's enterprise network across campus, data centers, and cloud interconnects. The role blends advanced network engineering with cybersecurity, emphasizing Palo Alto (PAN OS/Prisma Access) and Juniper (EX/QFX/SRX/Junos). The engineer is responsible for complex projects, training staff, and uses network automation (Ansible, Python, Git/Terraform) to increase reliability, security, and delivery speed. Scope includes Internet and research/education network connectivity; campus LAN/WLAN; firewalls and VPN; segmentation and NAC/802.1X; and integration with monitoring, logging, and incident response., * Engineer, configure, secure, and maintain campus and data center LAN/WAN, including BGP/OSPF/EVPN and high availability designs across Juniper switching/routing and Palo Alto firewalls.

• Lead troubleshooting and root cause analysis; implement durable fixes aligned to SLAs/SLOs.
• Maintain accurate diagrams, standards, runbooks, and asset documentation under change control.
• Serve as primary technical liaison to stakeholders, vendors, and OIT teams.
• Monitor performance and capacity; implement improvements for availability, reliability, and security.
• Deliver changes via automation pipelines and change management; operate LAN/WAN, WLAN, VPN, and firewall services.
• Lead security projects end to end-requirements through turnover-with clear timelines, risks, and communications.
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring; conduct design reviews and knowledge sharing.
• Participate in the 24×7 on call rotation and incident response; maintain current technical knowledge.

Role-Relevant Tasks

• Network and security design
• Palo Alto/Juniper policy/filter design
• NAC/802.1X
• VPN architecture/operations
• Documentation and diagramming
• Project and capacity planning
• Device implementation
• VLAN planning
• Performance monitoring
• Incident response
• Lifecycle/technology refresh
• Contribution to project budgets

Security Engineering

• Engineer and operate Palo Alto firewalls (policy, NAT, User ID, GlobalProtect), Juniper SRX (zone policies), threat prevention, and segmentation aligned to Zero Trust.
• Maintain NAC/802.1X and identity based access; Manage Juniper firewall filters and campus ACL standards.
• Provide secure remote access, site to site VPNs, and cloud interconnectivity with appropriate encryption and routing controls.
• Integrate telemetry with monitoring and SIEM/SOAR; define alerting thresholds and playbooks with the UTD ISO office.

Automation & Reliability

• Maintain network automation for configuration compliance, golden config deployment, and drift detection (Ansible, Python, Git; Terraform where applicable).
• Champion infrastructure as code, peer reviews, and CI/CD practices with automated testing and guardrails.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions Physical Activities, 1) All employees serve as a representative of the University and are expected to display respect, civility, professional courtesy, consideration of others and discretion in all interactions with members of the UT Dallas community and the general public.

Associate's degree and four (4) years of related experience or an equivalent combination of related education and experience may be considered. Preferred Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in a related field and four (4)+ years of progressive network engineering and security experience, including hands on administration of Palo Alto and Juniper platforms.
• Five (5)+ years in large scale/complex networks; higher education experience preferred.
• Advanced certifications (one or more): Palo Alto and/or Juniper, or equivalent expertise.
• Proficiency with Ansible, Python, and Git; experience with Terraform or templating frameworks.
• Deep knowledge of routing (BGP, OSPF; EVPN/MPLS desirable), QoS, VPN, and HA designs. Demonstrated success leading projects, coordinating cross functional teams, and mentoring engineers.
• Strong troubleshooting methodology, communication skills, and customer focus., * Expert configuration/policy management on Palo Alto and Juniper (Junos), including Juniper firewall filters.
• Network security architecture (segmentation, least privilege, Zero Trust), VPN design/operations, and NAC implementations.
• Automation, scripting, and infrastructure as code practices; comfort with code reviews and CI/CD workflows.
• Clear documentation and diagramming; ability to explain complex topics to non technical audiences.

Other Qualifications To the extent this position requires the holder to research, work on, or have access to critical infrastructure as defined in Section 117.001(2) of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the critical infrastructure is a minimum qualification to be hired and to continue to be employed in the position.