Senior Network Engineer

We are hiring a Senior Network Engineer to provide expertise to a federal client in support of their mission-critical systems in defense of our nation. We are seeking an experienced Senior Network Engineer to join our team. As a Senior Network Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining our organization's network infrastructure. Your role will involve overseeing network administration, troubleshooting complex issues, and ensuring the performance, availability, and security of our network systems.

This position is on-site 5 days a week and requires an active Secret security clearance.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Serve as the lead engineer for perimeter firewall defense, with deep specialization in Palo Alto Networks firewalls.
• Design, implement, and manage dual-site, geographically separated firewall environments, ensuring high availability and resiliency.
• Build, configure, and maintain GFE (Government Furnished Equipment) tunnels between sites to ensure secure and reliable connectivity.
• Configure, monitor, and optimize firewall policies, security rules, VPNs, and threat prevention features to protect enterprise network perimeters.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex firewall and network security issues using logs, packet captures, and tools such as Wireshark; act as the escalation point for Palo Alto-related incidents.
• Collaborate with network architecture, security, and infrastructure teams to integrate firewall solutions into broader enterprise and zero-trust security strategies.
• Support related network components as required (routers, switches, load balancers, VPN concentrators), with primary emphasis on firewall engineering.
• Monitor network performance and capacity, identify bottlenecks, and implement optimization strategies to ensure throughput, reliability, and scalability.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, including network diagrams, configurations, SOPs, and troubleshooting guides.
• Stay current on Palo Alto technologies, emerging threats, and industry best practices; recommend enhancements and improvements as appropriate.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers and contribute to operational excellence across the team.

Job-Specific Minimum Requirements:

• Active Secret clearance is required.
• Due to contract requirements, only US Citizens can be considered. Candidates with dual citizenship cannot be considered.
• 12+ years of experience in a Senior Network Engineer role or in a related field.
• Must possess ONE of the following certifications: Certified as a Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) OR Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE) OR Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE).
• 3+ years of hands-on experience with Palo Alto Networks firewalls.
• 3+ years of experience working directly with government customers, stakeholders, and third-party vendors, including requirements gathering, technical discussions, issue resolution, and coordination of support activities.
• Proven technical leadership experience, including leading networking efforts, mentoring junior staff, and serving as a technical point of contact.
• Candidates must reside within a commutable distance for daily onsite work and on-call requirements.
• This contract supports systems that require 24x7x365 uptime. Candidates must be willing and able to meet recall requirements, including participation in a rotational on-call schedule.

Preferred Skills and Qualifications:

• DHS Suitability
• Additional Palo Alto Networks certifications (e.g., PCNSA, PCNSE, or equivalent) strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting or integrating cloud infrastructure environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, or hybrid cloud) with on-premise firewall and security architectures.