Director of Network Security

Ascension; United States; Remote; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking healthcare organization as the Director of Network Security, where you will play a pivotal role in safeguarding critical systems and ensuring secure access across various platforms. This position offers the opportunity to lead a team dedicated to protecting sensitive patient data while supporting innovative healthcare initiatives. As a key player in network security, you will manage firewalls, VPNs, and DDoS mitigation strategies, ensuring compliance with stringent regulations. If you are passionate about making a difference in patient care through technology, this role is perfect for you.

Benefits

Paid Time Off (PTO)

Health Insurance Options

Retirement Benefits

Tuition Reimbursement

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)

Parental Leave

Adoption Assistance

Qualifications

• 10+ years of network security experience, including leadership roles.
• Expertise in firewall management and compliance with healthcare regulations.
• Strong troubleshooting skills in complex multi-site environments.

Responsibilities

• Oversee implementation and management of network security technologies.
• Lead operational support for firewalls and VPNs, ensuring uptime.
• Develop compliance strategies aligned with regulatory frameworks.

Skills

Network Security Implementation

Firewall Management

VPN Solutions

DDoS Mitigation

Data Loss Prevention

Regulatory Compliance (HIPAA, NIST)

Incident Response

Vendor Management

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

Master's Degree in Information Technology

Industry Certifications (CCNP Security, CISSP)

Tools

Cisco Firewalls

Palo Alto Firewalls

Fortinet Firewalls

AWS Security

SIEM Platforms

Job description

We Are Hiring

• Department:Infrastructure
• Schedule:Full-time, 8 hour day shift, Monday - Friday
• Location:Remote

What You Will Do

Position Overview

The Director of Network Security is responsible for the implementation, support, and lifecycle management of the hospital system’s firewalls, VPNs, application firewalls, data loss prevention (DLP), and DDoS mitigation solutions. This role ensures the availability, performance, and security of network perimeter defenses and secure remote access across hospitals, clinics, data centers, and cloud environments.

As a leader in network security for a mission-driven healthcare organization, this individual will play a key role in maintaining the integrity of network security infrastructure while supporting clinical operations, electronic health records (EHRs), and telemedicine initiatives. The ideal candidate must be a technical expert in firewall management, secure access solutions, and network security infrastructure, with a strong background in implementation, operational support, and vendor management.

This role aligns with Ascension Health's mission to provide compassionate, personalized care to all, with a special focus on the underserved and vulnerable populations. By securing network access and protecting critical systems, this leader will directly contribute to safe and uninterrupted patient care.

Key Responsibilities

Network Security Infrastructure Implementation & Management

• Oversee the implementation, configuration, and support of network security technologies, including:

• Firewalls (Cisco, Palo Alto, Fortinet, FS, and similar platforms).
• VPNs and remote access solutions for clinicians, staff, and vendors.
• Application firewalls to secure web-based healthcare applications and patient portals.
• Data loss prevention (DLP) solutions to protect sensitive patient data and electronic health records (EHRs).
• DDoS mitigation strategies and services to ensure availability of public-facing applications and critical hospital services.

• Develop and maintain firewall policies, VPN configurations, and access controls, ensuring compliance with hospital security and regulatory standards (HIPAA, HITECH, NIST, HITRUST, etc.).
• Ensure high availability and performance of security appliances across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments.
• Conduct regular firewall rule reviews, access audits, and policy optimizations to minimize risk and improve network efficiency.
• Oversee patching, firmware updates, and lifecycle management of all network security infrastructure.

Operational Support & Incident Response

• Lead the day-to-day operations of firewalls, VPNs, and security appliances, ensuring uptime, resilience, and rapid troubleshooting.
• Work closely with network operations and IT support teams to resolve connectivity issues related to firewall rules, VPN access, and traffic filtering.
• Ensure DDoS detection and mitigation strategies are in place to protect against service disruptions.
• Oversee DLP enforcement, ensuring data protection policies are properly configured and monitored.
• Support incident response teams by providing network security logs, forensics, and firewall event data for investigation and resolution.

Lifecycle Management & Optimization

• Develop and maintain a firewall and network security infrastructure roadmap, ensuring timely hardware refreshes, software upgrades, and capacity planning.
• Assess and recommend new technologies and automation strategies to enhance firewall and VPN management efficiency.
• Implement firewall automation tools to improve rule deployment, configuration management, and change control processes.
• Collaborate with IT infrastructure, cloud, and application teams to ensure firewall and security solutions support digital healthcare transformation initiatives.

Regulatory Compliance & Vendor Management

• Ensure firewall and network security infrastructure aligns with HIPAA, HITECH, HITRUST, and NIST security frameworks.
• Work with compliance and risk teams to support audits, security assessments, and regulatory reporting.
• Manage vendor relationships, contracts, and support agreements for firewall, VPN, OLP, and DDoS mitigation solutions.
• Oversee third-party assessments and penetration tests related to firewall security and external access controls.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in network security implementation and operations, with at least 5 years in a leadership role in a large healthcare system or similarly complex environment.
• Deep technical expertise in managing firewalls, VPNs, application firewalls, DLP, and DDoS mitigation solutions.
• Experience with security appliances and tools from:
• Primary vendors: Cisco, Palo Alto, FS, Fortinet, and Forescout.
• Additional familiarity with: Gigamon, AWS/Azure Security, SIEM platforms, and cloud-based security solutions.
• Strong knowledge of network security protocols, access control models, and encryption technologies.
• Hands-on experience with firewall automation, configuration management, and policy optimization.
• Experience working in healthcare IT environments, ensuring compliance with HIPAA, HITECH, and NIST regulations.
• Strong ability to troubleshoot complex firewall, VPN, and application security issues in multi-site, cloud, and hybrid environments.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field preferred, with a Master’s strongly preferred.
• Industry certifications such as CCNP Security, PCNSE (Palo Alto), and CISSP, are a plus.

What You Will Need

Education:

• High School diploma equivalency with 5 years of applicable cumulative job specific experience required, with 2 of those years being in leadership/management OR Associate's degree/Bachelor's degree with 3 years of applicable cumulative job specific experience required, with 2 of those years being in leadership/management.

Additional Preferences

No additional preferences.

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Why Join Our Team

When you join Ascension, you join a team of over 134,000 individuals across the country committed to a Mission of serving others and providing compassionate, personalized care to all. Our inclusive culture, continuing education programs, career coaches and benefit offerings are just a few of the resources and tools that team members can use to create a rewarding career path. In fact, Ascension spent nearly $46 million in tuition assistance alone to support associate growth and development. If you are looking for a career where you can grow and make a difference in your community, we invite you to join our team today.

Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

Ascension will provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all associates and applicants for employment regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification or expression, age, disability, marital status, amnesty, genetic information, carrier status or any other legally protected status or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws.

For further information, view the EEO Know Your Rights (English) poster or EEO Know Your Rights (Spanish) poster.

As a military friendly organization, Ascension promotes career flexibility and offers many benefits to help support the well-being of our military families, spouses, veterans and reservists. Our associates are empowered to apply their military experience and unique perspective to their civilian career with Ascension.

Pay Non-Discrimination Notice

Please note that Ascension will make an offer of employment only to individuals who have applied for a position using our official application. Be on alert for possible fraudulent offers of employment. Ascension will not solicit money or banking information from applicants.

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Benefits

Paid time off (PTO) Various health insurance options & wellness plans Retirement benefits including employer match plans Long-term & short-term disability Employee assistance programs (EAP) Parental leave & adoption assistance Tuition reimbursement Ways to give back to your community

Benefit options and eligibility vary by position. Compensation varies based on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, education, performance and salary range at the time of the offer.