Firewall Engineer

Saigepartners; Iowa City (IA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Saige Partners is seeking an experienced Firewall Engineer to design, implement, and optimize enterprise Palo Alto firewall infrastructure in a remote capacity. The role emphasizes Zero Trust architecture, OT environments, and regulatory compliance in enterprise settings.

You will configure policies, VPNs, and high-availability setups, and you will document architectures and security controls while collaborating with cybersecurity, OT, and IT teams.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience administering Palo Alto Networks firewalls.
• Expertise with security policy and rule-set design.
• Experience with GlobalProtect VPN and site-to-site VPN configurations.
• Strong documentation of configurations, changes, and network flows.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, maintain, and optimize Palo Alto firewall configurations and policies.
• Review existing firewall policies to identify gaps and optimize rules.
• Document application flows, network architecture, and security controls.
• Lead zero-trust initiatives for OT environments and critical systems.

Skills

Security policy design

Network routing

Documentation

Troubleshooting

Tools

Palo Alto Networks firewalls

GlobalProtect VPN

Site-to-site VPN

NAT & security zones

Job description

Position: Firewall Engineer (Remote)

Job Overview: We are seeking an experienced Firewall Engineer to support the design, administration, optimization, and security of enterprise firewall infrastructure. This role will have a strong focus on Palo Alto Networks firewalls, network security, Zero Trust architecture, OT environments, and critical infrastructure. The ideal candidate will have hands‑on firewall engineering experience, a strong understanding of network architecture and routing, and the ability to operate effectively in highly regulated and compliance‑driven environments. This is a contract position and is not eligible for C2C or W2 referral candidates.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, implement, maintain, and optimize Palo Alto Networks firewall configurations, including security policies, rule sets, NAT, security zones, GlobalProtect VPN, and site‑to‑site VPNs.
• Review existing firewall policies to identify security gaps, redundant rules, overly permissive access, and opportunities for optimization.
• Analyze firewall traffic, flow data, and network information to develop and maintain accurate application, port, protocol, IP address, and communication‑flow mappings.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive documentation of application communication flows, firewall configurations, network architecture, and security controls.
• Lead initiatives to evolve firewall policies toward a Zero Trust security model, with particular emphasis on OT environments and other critical systems.
• Partner with Cybersecurity, OT, Network Infrastructure, and other stakeholders to define and enforce least‑privilege access controls.
• Design, test, and validate high‑availability (HA) firewall configurations, including failover functionality, resilience, and operational continuity.
• Plan, execute, and validate firewall OS and code upgrades, minimizing operational risk and service disruption.
• Author detailed Methods of Procedure (MOPs) for maintenance activities, upgrades, configuration changes, and other significant network changes.
• Follow established Change Advisory Board (CAB) processes, including risk assessments, change documentation, approvals, implementation, and post‑change validation.
• Perform scheduled and emergency firewall maintenance in accordance with approved change plans and operational procedures.
• Validate firewall and network changes following implementation and ensure all documentation accurately reflects current‑state configurations.
• Support cybersecurity, audit, and regulatory compliance initiatives by maintaining secure, testable, and well‑documented firewall and network controls.
• Troubleshoot complex firewall, VPN, routing, and connectivity issues within enterprise and data center environments.

Required Qualifications

• Strong hands‑on experience administering and engineering Palo Alto Networks firewalls.
• Demonstrated expertise with:
  • Security policy and rule‑set design
  • NAT and security zones
  • GlobalProtect VPN
  • Site‑to‑site VPN configuration
  • IP routing and network architecture
• Strong understanding of network security principles and routing within complex enterprise environments.
• Experience supporting enterprise or service provider network operations, preferably within data center environments.
• Experience working in regulated, highly controlled, or compliance‑driven environments.
• Strong technical documentation skills with the ability to clearly document configurations, changes, network flows, and architecture decisions.
• Ability to work collaboratively across cybersecurity, OT, infrastructure, and network engineering teams.
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and problem‑solving skills.
• Ability to manage planned and emergency changes while maintaining a high level of operational discipline.

About Saige Partners

Saige Partners, one of the fastest growing technology and talent companies in the Midwest, believes in people with a passion to help them succeed. We are in the business of helping professionals Build Careers, Not Jobs. Saige Partners believes employees are the most valuable asset to building a thriving and successful company culture, which is why we offer a benefit package and convenient weekly payment solutions that helps our employees stay healthy and maintain a positive work/life balance.