Sr Palo Alto Network Security Engineer

About

A direct client is seeking a Senior Palo Alto Network Security Engineer to provide immediate, hands-on support and technical leadership within a complex enterprise environment. This role is critical to ensuring continuity and stability as senior team members transition out, while also driving key security initiatives and mentoring junior engineers.

The ideal candidate is a true SME who can step in quickly, operate independently, and elevate the overall security posture and technical maturity of the team.

Key Responsibilities

Firewall & Security Operations

• Manage and support day-to-day operations of the Palo Alto firewall environment
• Perform advanced rule creation, tuning, and optimization
• Evaluate and implement changes with a strong focus on risk assessment and security best practices
• Support IPSec VPN configurations, HIP checks, and firewall upgrades

Projects & Engineering

• Lead Panorama migration and firewall centralization efforts
• Conduct large-scale firewall rulebase audits (1,000+ rules), identifying redundancies and optimization opportunities
• Drive redesign and optimization of IPSec tunnels across enterprise environments
• Remediate findings from security and optimization assessments
• Partner closely with vendor professional services to maximize engagement value

Mentorship & Knowledge Transfer

• Provide hands-on mentorship and technical guidance to junior engineers
• Coach team members on risk-based decision making, change validation, and impact analysis
• Promote and enforce security best practices
• Ensure thorough documentation and knowledge transfer for long-term sustainability

Required Qualifications

• 5–10+ years of network security engineering experience
• Strong hands-on expertise with Palo Alto Firewalls (PAN-OS) and Panorama
• Deep experience in:
  • Firewall rule management and optimization
  • IPSec VPNs and network segmentation
  • Security policy design and enforcement
• Proven ability to operate in complex enterprise environments and challenge decisions based on risk
• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Palo Alto certifications (e.g., PCNSE)
• Experience in regulated or public sector environments
• Experience working alongside vendor professional services teams
• Prior mentorship or team leadership experience