Network Security Engineer

Senior Network Security Engineer / Cisco & Palo Alto / Remote / Preferred locations: Atlanta, GA; Dallas, TX; New York Metro; Chicago, IL

We are seeking a highly experienced Senior Network Security Engineer / Lead Consultant with deep technical expertise in Cisco and Palo Alto security technologies. This is a hands-on, customer-facing consulting position responsible for designing, implementing, and optimizing enterprise network security solutions across complex customer environments.

The ideal candidate brings a strong professional services background, extensive experience leading customer implementations, and the ability to independently manage technical engagements from initial discovery and solution design through deployment and knowledge transfer.

Success in this role requires more than technical expertise. We are looking for a confident, collaborative consultant who can build trusted customer relationships, lead technical discussions, communicate complex solutions effectively, and take ownership of successful project delivery.

Contract Duration: 6+ Month Contract to Hire

Required Skills & Experience

• 10–15 years of experience in enterprise networking and network security engineering, including substantial customer-facing consulting or professional services experience.
• Extensive hands-on experience implementing Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), including 802.1X, MAB, Guest Portal, and Active Directory / Microsoft Entra ID integrations across wired and wireless networks.
• Strong implementation experience with Palo Alto Next-Generation Firewalls, including User-ID, Cloud Identity Engine, GlobalProtect, security policies, NAT, routing, site-to-site VPNs, Panorama, and Strata Cloud Manager.
• Experience implementing Cisco Secure Firewalls, including Secure Client, access policies, NAT, routing, VPNs, Secure Firewall Management Center, and Secure Cloud Control.
• Experience implementing Palo Alto Secure Service Edge (SSE), Cisco routing and switching, and Cisco/Palo Alto SD-WAN solutions.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft technologies, enterprise identity services, authentication, network segmentation, and security architecture.
• Experience leading customer workshops, developing project estimates and SOWs, and independently delivering technical assessments and recommendations.
• Ability to develop detailed technical documentation, complex workflow diagrams, and implementation procedures.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to lead customer discussions and communicate effectively with technical and business stakeholders.
• Experience supporting NOC and Tier 1 personnel as a senior technical escalation resource.
• Active Cisco CCNP Security certification and Palo Alto NGFW certification.

Desired Skills & Experience

• Experience implementing HPE Aruba ClearPass, including 802.1X, MAB, Guest Portal, and Microsoft identity integrations.
• Experience supporting large enterprise environments and complex network security modernization initiatives.
• Background working for a systems integrator, managed services provider, or IT consulting organization.
• Experience with Zero Trust architecture, network segmentation, and multi-vendor security environments.

What You Will Be Doing

Daily Responsibilities

• Lead the design, implementation, configuration, and troubleshooting of Cisco ISE, Cisco Secure Firewalls, Palo Alto NGFW, and related enterprise network security technologies.
• Deliver customer-facing network security projects involving 802.1X, MAB, network access control, identity integrations, security policies, VPNs, routing, switching, and SD-WAN.
• Conduct customer assessments, technical discovery sessions, solution design workshops, and implementation planning.
• Serve as a trusted technical advisor, leading customer conversations, communicating technical recommendations, and managing project expectations.
• Develop technical documentation, architecture and workflow diagrams, implementation plans, project estimates, Statements of Work (SOWs), and customer-facing presentations.
• Provide advanced troubleshooting and escalation support while collaborating with customer engineering, security, infrastructure, and operations teams.
• Lead remote consulting engagements, coordinate project deliverables, identify technical risks, and provide knowledge transfer to customer teams.

You will receive the following benefits:

• Medical Insurance - Four medica…