Senior Network and Security Operations Specialist

Canada Life; Winnipeg; On-site; CAD 105,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Education reimbursement up to 2000 CAD

Health and dental benefits

Volunteer day

Pension plan

Employee recognition programs

ERGs and mentoring

Job summary

Canada Life in Winnipeg is seeking a Senior Network and Security Specialist to lead operations across enterprise network and security platforms. This role is hands-on, focusing on stability, resilience, and reliable operation of tools that protect the organization, while guiding a team of senior technical practitioners.

You will drive operational maturity, automation, and secure, efficient tooling with strong communication and collaboration across engineering, architecture, and vendors.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of hands-on operations experience in enterprise network and/or security environments.
• Experience with large-scale tooling from multiple vendors (Cisco/Meraki, Palo Alto, Check Point, F5, Microsoft, Cloudflare).
• Familiarity with automation, scripting, IaC (Terraform, Ansible), and DevSecOps practices.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational support for network & security tooling issues, delivering expert troubleshooting and deep technical analysis.
• Lead and coordinate technical bridge during major incidents, ensuring quick mitigation and clear communication.
• Guide L1/L2 teams and managed service partners during escalations, ensuring efficient triage and resolution.
• Participate in post-incident reviews focused on systemic fixes, stability improvements, and learning.
• Lead cross-functional root cause investigations and problem management to improve reliability across Network & Security Services.

Skills

Network engineering

Security tooling

Incident response

Automation

DevSecOps

Stakeholder management

Technical leadership

Education

Post-secondary IT degree/diploma or equivalent

Certifications: CCIE, PCNSE, CISSP, CISM, AZ‑500/700

Tools

Cisco/Meraki

Palo Alto/NGFW/Prisma

Check Point

F5

Microsoft

Cloudflare

Terraform

Ansible

Job description

Role Description

Permanent Full Time

We are seeking Senior Network and Security Specialist for our Network & Security Response team, responsible for providing technical expertise across our enterprise network and security platforms. This role is deeply technical and hands‑on, focused on ensuring the stability, resilience, and effective operation of the tools and systems that protect and connect the organization.

Our ideal candidate possesses broad technical knowledge across network and security technologies, extensive experience managing complex tooling ecosystems, and a proven ability to lead during high‑pressure major incidents. You will guide a team of senior technical practitioners, drive operational maturity, and ensure our network & security tools run reliably, securely, and efficiently.

What you will do:

Operational Support & Major Incidents

• Provide operational support for network & security tooling issues, delivering expert troubleshooting and deep technical analysis.
• Lead and coordinate technical bridge during significant (Major Incident) network or security platform–related incidents, ensuring quick mitigation and clear communication.
• Guide L1/L2 teams and managed service partners during escalations, ensuring efficient triage and resolution.
• Participate in post‑incident reviews focused on systemic fixes, stability improvements, and operational learning.
• Lead cross‑functional root cause investigations and Problem Management efforts to improve service reliability, reduce recurring incidents, and enhance operational resilience across Network & Security Services.

Operational Excellence & Automation

• Develop automation that improves repeatability, speeds up issue detection, and reduces manual effort in daily operations.
• Improve alert quality, tooling integration, and operational workflows to enhance response effectiveness and reduce noise.

Partnership & Delivery

• Collaborate with engineering and architecture teams to ensure new tools and capabilities are operationalized methodically with strong handoffs.
• Work with vendors and managed service partners to ensure accountability, quality, and timely resolution of issues.

Governance, Compliance & Risk

• Ensure alignment with technology, change, and security standards across all supported tooling.
• Support compliance audits, risk assessments, and vulnerability remediation planning.

What You Will Bring

• Post‑secondary degree/diploma in IT or equivalent experience.
• Certifications in networking, cloud, or security (CCIE, PCNSE, CISSP, CISM, AZ‑500/700, etc.) preferred.
• 7+ years of hands‑on operations experience in enterprise network and/or security environments.
• Strong technical understanding of network protocols, security tooling, and complex infrastructure operations.
• Experience supporting or managing large‑scale tools from multiple vendors (Cisco/Meraki, Palo Alto/NGFW/Prisma, Check Point, F5, Microsoft, Cloudflare, etc.).
• Familiarity with automation, scripting, IaC (Terraform, Ansible), and DevSecOps operating practices.
• Ability to lead during high‑impact situations while balancing long‑term operational resilience.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and collaboration skills.
• Familiar with Infrastructure as Code and delivering infrastructure change via DevSecOps pipelines including Terraform and Ansible.
• Proven ability to develop and maintain collaborative business relationships.
• Able to pivot and quickly change direction in response to changing priorities.
• Experience coaching and mentoring technical practitioners.
• Strong communication, collaboration, and relationship building skills.
• Experience working in financial services industry an asset.
• You can balance pressure to deliver with the need to deliver a secure, resilient platforms
• You demonstrate approachability, innovation and thought leadership
• You are a systems thinker, an effective communicator, and can find the balance between when to be tactical vs. strategic.

The base salary for this position is between $105,000 - $120,000 annually. This represents base salary only and does not represent other variable compensation components of our total compensation ( i.e. annual bonus, commission etc). If you are selected to move forward in our recruitment process, your recruiter will be able to discuss additional details of our total rewards program with you.

Career opportunities will be open a minimum of 5 business days from the date of posting, closing dates will vary depending on the search activity. All applications received will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Grow with Canada Life

We’re united by a shared purpose: to improve the financial, physical and mental well-being of Canadians. Our company is trusted by 1 in 3 Canadians and contributes to the strength of communities across the country.

We’re looking for people who live our values everyday: we step up, we do the right thing, and we deliver – for our customers, communities and each other. Are you someone who always strives to do the right thing, who steps up for themselves and others, and who delivers with impact? Then we want to hear from you!

What we offer

• Career Development: Opportunities for career advancement, access to industry‑leading learning programs and up to$2,000 annually towards education reimbursement.
• Health & Wellness: Flexible health and dental benefits, plus a $5,000 mental health benefit to support your well‑being.
• Time Off: In addition to regular vacation and personal days, we support community involvement with a volunteer day.
• Financial Security:Company-matching pension plan,share ownership program and additionalinvestment options.
• Rewards and Recognition: Employee recognition programs, service milestone celebrations, employee discounts and more!
• Emphasis on Community: We provide a workplace where employees feel connected and supported through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), mentorship programs, social clubs and events.

Learn more about Canada Life.

We’re committed to removing barriers and ensuring equal access to employment. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation during the application process may contact [e-mail]. All information provided will be handled in accordance with applicable laws and Canada Life policies.

Canada Life would like to thank all applicants, however only those who qualify for an interview will be contacted.