Senior Firewall Engineer (Palo Alto/Panorama)

Description: Our client is currently seeking a Senior Firewall Engineer (Palo Alto / Panorama / Ansible / Cisco) W2 Only (NO SPONSORSHIP AVAILABLE/ NO C2C) Locations : Irving, TX/ Charlotte, NC/ Phoenix, AZ Duration: 12+ Months (Extension/Conversion), * Design, implement, and maintain secure network infrastructures utilizing Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, and Cisco routing and switching technologies.

• Lead firewall migration projects, including policy analysis, configuration conversion, validation, and deployment using tools such as Expedition, FortiConverter, SmartMove, and similar migration utilities.
• Build and deploy new network security architectures, including greenfield implementations and enhancements to existing environments.
• Configure and manage Panorama, including: Device Groups, Template Stacks, Policy Hierarchy, Logging & Reporting, Custom Dashboards, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).
• Develop and maintain automation workflows using Ansible to streamline firewall management and operational processes.
• Perform security policy reviews, firewall rule optimization, and threat prevention tuning in alignment with security best practices and compliance requirements.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex network security issues across multi-vendor environments while minimizing downtime.
• Partner with network, cloud, infrastructure, and application teams to integrate security controls into enterprise architectures.
• Maintain comprehensive network and security documentation, including diagrams, standards, and operational procedures.
• Monitor and respond to security incidents, alerts, and events while contributing to root cause analysis and remediation efforts.
• Participate in an on-call rotation supporting critical network security incidents and maintenance activities.
• Stay current on emerging cybersecurity threats, vulnerabilities, and industry technologies.

• 4+ years of Information Security Engineering experience, or equivalent demonstrated through work experience, military experience, education, or training.
• 2+ years of hands-on network security engineering experience with enterprise firewall platforms and secure network architecture.
• 2+ years of experience configuring, managing, and troubleshooting Palo Alto Networks firewalls and security management systems.
• 2+ years of experience with Panorama, including template stacks, device groups, centralized policy management, logging, reporting, dashboards, and RBAC.
• 2+ years of experience in security policy design, firewall rule optimization, and hardening multi-vendor firewall environments.
• Experience with firewall migration methodologies and migration tools such as Expedition, FortiConverter, and SmartMove.
• Strong understanding of TCP/IP, routing, switching, VPNs, security zones, NAT, and threat prevention technologies.
• Experience working within enterprise-scale network environments., * Experience with Ansible for network and security automation.
• Experience with Cisco routing and switching technologies.
• Experience supporting Fortinet security platforms.
• Palo Alto certifications such as PCNSA or PCNSE.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in fast-paced enterprise environments.