Network Security Engineer - Firewall SME (Palo Alto & Cisco) - L2

Network Operations & Change Management -Level 2

Job Description Palo Alto & Cisco Firewall SME (Level 2)

Role Title: Network Security Engineer Firewall SME (Palo Alto & Cisco) L2

Location: Delhi NCR, HYD / Hybrid

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly skilled Firewall SME (Level 2) to manage, support, and optimize enterprise firewall infrastructure across Palo Alto and Cisco platforms . The role focuses on incident resolution, change management, security policy governance, and continuous improvement of firewall operations.

The ideal candidate should demonstrate strong troubleshooting skills, operational discipline, and ownership mindset to ensure secure, stable, and high-performing network environments .

Key Responsibilities

1. Operations & Incident Management

• Provide L2 support for firewall-related incidents (P1/P2/P3)
• Provide advanced troubleshooting on Palo Alto & Cisco firewalls (ASA/FTD)
• Analyze logs, traffic flows, and security events to identify root causes.
• Ensure timely resolution within SLA commitments
• Support major incident calls and provide technical inputs during escalations

2. Change Management & Firewall Policy Execution

• Implement firewall rule changes (add/modify/delete) as per approved requests
• Validate rule design, risk impact, and compliance alignment
• Perform pre/post change validation and impact analysis
• Ensure adherence to CAB processes and change governance
• Hardware Replacement of EOS /EOL infra.

3. Security Policy Management

• Manage and maintain firewall policies ensuring:
  • Least privilege access
  • Compliance with enterprise security standards
• Conduct rule reviews, cleanup, and optimization
• Identify and eliminate redundant, unused, or risky firewall rules

4. Monitoring, Troubleshooting & Optimization

• Monitor firewall performance, utilization, and health
• Diagnose issues related to:
  • NAT, VPN (IPSec/SSL)
  • Routing and traffic flow
  • Application filtering and security policies
• Work with tools like:
  • Palo Alto Panorama
  • Cisco FMC / ASDM
• Support capacity planning and performance tuning

5. Automation & Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to automate repetitive firewall tasks
• Support integration with automation tools (e.g., Tufin, Ansible, APIs)
• Contribute to standardization, SOPs, and runbooks
• Drive improvements in MTTR, change success rate, and operational efficiency

6. Compliance, Audit & Documentation

• Maintain audit-ready documentation for firewall configurations and changes
• Support internal/external security audits & compliance requirements
• Ensure adherence to ISO, SOC, and enterprise InfoSec policies

7. Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Work closely with:
  • Network teams
  • Security/InfoSec teams
  • Application teams
  • Vendors (Palo Alto, Cisco)

Technical Skills

Mandatory

• Strong hands-on experience with:
  • Palo Alto Firewalls (PAN-OS, Panorama)
  • Cisco Firewalls (ASA / Firepower / FTD, FMC)
• Deep understanding of:
  • Firewall policies, NAT, VPNs (IPSec/SSL)
  • TCP/IP, routing (BGP/OSPF basics), network fundamentals
• Log analysis and packet flow troubleshooting expertise

Preferred / Good to Have

• Experience with:
  • Tufin / AlgoSec / Firewall automation tools
  • SIEM tools (Splunk, QRadar, etc.)
  • Cloud firewall exposure (AWS, Azure)
• Basic scripting (Python / Shell) for automation
• Knowledge of Zero Trust / micro-segmentation concepts

Certifications (Preferred)

• Palo Alto:
  • PCNSA / PCNSE
• Cisco:
  • CCNA Security / CCNP Security
• Other:
  • ITIL Foundation

Experience

• 4 8 years in network security / firewall operations
• Minimum 3 4 years hands-on with Palo Alto & Cisco firewalls

Key Competencies (Aligned to Leadership Expectations)

• Strong ownership and accountability mindset
• Ability to work in high-pressure incident environments
• Focus on SLA adherence and measurable outcomes
• Excellent analytical and troubleshooting capability

Shift Requirements

• Willingness to work in 24x7 rotational shifts / on-call support