Firewall Engineer (PAN specifically)

Position: Firewall Engineer (PAN specifically)

Location: Bay Area - Santa Clara, CA (2-3 days onsite each week)

Hiring Mode: 12+ Months Contract

Job Description:

We are seeking a skilled and motivated Palo Alto Networks Firewall Engineer to join our IT security team. In this role, you will be responsible for the design, implementation, management, and troubleshooting of network security infrastructure with a focus on Palo Alto Networks firewalls. You will work closely with IT, DevOps, and InfoSec teams to ensure the organization s network is secure, scalable, and resilient

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, deploy, and maintain Palo Alto firewalls (physical and virtual) across multiple environments.
• Manage and optimize security policies, NAT rules, and VPN configurations (site-to-site and remote access).
• Monitor firewall logs, investigate incidents, and respond to alerts from threat intelligence systems.
• Work with the Security Operations Center (SOC) to analyze potential threats and respond to intrusions.
• Perform regular firmware upgrades and patch management for Palo Alto appliances.
• Implement and manage advanced features such as App-ID, User-ID, Content-ID, WildFire, and GlobalProtect.
• Collaborate with other IT teams on architecture design, network segmentation, and access control.
• Maintain documentation for system configurations, processes, and policies.
• Participate in network and security audits, including compliance with standards like ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, or NIST.
• Provide Level 2/3 support and training for firewall-related issues.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Proven experience with Palo Alto Networks firewall platforms (PA-Series and VM-Series).
• Strong understanding of networking protocols (TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, NAT, VPN, VLANs).
• Experience with Panorama for centralized management of multiple firewalls.
• Familiarity with threat detection, intrusion prevention, and zero-trust architectures.
• Hands-on experience with GlobalProtect, URL filtering, and security policy tuning.
• Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and documentation skills.

Preferred:

• Palo Alto Networks certifications such as PCNSE or PCNSA.
• Experience with cloud-based firewalls (e.g., Palo Alto in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform).
• Background in scripting/automation (Python, Ansible, etc.) for network/security tasks.
• Exposure to SIEM platforms, endpoint protection, and other cybersecurity tools.

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience with enterprise-level firewall infrastructure.