Firewall Operations Engineer

SkyePoint Decisions, Inc.; Vansville (MD); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Certification incentive program

PTO

Floating federal holiday options

Insurance options including HMO and HD

401k matched

Job summary

SkyePoint Decisions is seeking a Network Engineer to support a Department of State's foreign post network integrations, including firewall, proxy, and cloud environments. The role offers a hybrid schedule (~3 days onsite) at the discretion of the customer and can be located in Beltsville, MD or Springfield, VA.

The engineer will provide Tier 2 firewall operations, monitor incidents in ServiceNow, implement firewall rules, and update SOPs while collaborating across bureaus to secure network

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of experience (or Master’s with 3+ years).
• Deep experience with Palo Alto Firewalls and Panorama.
• 3–5 years IT customer support (Tier I/II).
• Experience configuring Firewall/DMZ infrastructure (Palo Alto, Palo Alto cloud, FortiGate, Azure Firewall, ESA, A10, proxies).
• CLI experience preferred.
• Familiar with NeuralStar and TCP/IP networking.
• U.S. citizenship required; interim Secret clearance with TS eligibility.

Responsibilities

• Provide Tier 2 support for perimeter devices (firewalls, proxies, ESA, load balancers).
• Monitor Service Now FWOPS incidents and requests.
• Implement firewall rules and troubleshoot devices (Palo Alto, FortiGate, Azure Firewall, ESA, A10).
• Escalate to Tier 3 and track issue lifecycle.
• Perform maintenance such as reboots and software upgrades.
• Update architecture diagrams using Visio.
• Draft outage notifications and reports.
• Maintain SOPs and work instructions.
• Attend FWOPS calls for troubleshooting.

Skills

Palo Alto Firewall

Panorama monitoring

Firewall configuration

DMZ infrastructure

Network monitoring

NeuralStar

CLI experience

TCP/IP networking

U.S. citizenship

Security clearance eligibility

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Palo Alto

FortiGate

Azure Firewall

Cisco ESA

A10 Load Balancer

Proxy platforms

Job description

SkyePoint Decisions is a leading Cybersecurity Architecture and Engineering, Critical Infrastructure and Operations, and Applications Development and Maintenance IT service provider headquartered in Dulles, Virginia with operations across the U.S. We provide innovative enterprise-wide solutions as well as targeted services addressing the complex challenges faced by our federal government clients. Our focus is on enabling our clients to deliver their mission most efficiently and effectively - anytime, anywhere, securely. We combine technical expertise, mission awareness, and an empowered workforce to produce meaningful results.

SkyePoint Decisions is seeking a Network Engineer to support a Department of State (DOS) customer. This position primarily supports operations and maintenance of foreign post network integrations with the DoS Core and other network integrations comprising a large and complex network infrastructure and cloud environments, with engineering and design responsibilities as warranted.

This role offers a hybrid schedule (~3 days onsite) at the discretion of the customer. The role can be located in Beltsville, MD or Springfield, VA.

Shift is Tuesday - Saturday 3:00PM -11:30PM subject to mission priorities. During the ~6-8-week training period, it will be 5 days on-site Mon-Fri (7:00am-3:30pm).

Responsibilities:

• Provides Tier 2 support in the monitoring, management, and troubleshooting of perimeter devices to include firewalls, proxies, and mail transport agents.
• Monitor Service Now application for Firewall Operations (FWOPS) incident and service requests.
• Implements firewall rules and policies, perform troubleshooting of firewalls (Palo Alto, Cloud Palo Alto, and FortiGate), CISCO Email Security Appliance (ESA), A10 (load balancer), Proxy platforms, URL filtering across platforms, and analyzing network traffic captures.
• Escalates issues as required to Tier 3 staff and monitors issues throughout a problem's life cycle.
• Performs recurring maintenance activities such as device reboots and software upgrades on all devices underneath the Firewall Operations Team.
• Records and reports on firewall operations, utilization, and maintenance.
• Collaborate across Bureaus and Agencies to implement and repair network changes as they relate to perimeter security devices.
• Support Diplomatic Security Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) by implementing block requests for IP's, Websites, and Email addresses.
• Update architecture diagrams using Visio.
• Monitor and perform health checks on multiple perimeter security devices.
• Draft, coordinate and publish outage notifications as required.
• Update shift logs and provide reports to leadership as needed.
• Maintain standard operating procedures (SOP), work instructions, and other working documents.
• Attend calls requiring a FWOPS team to attend, to include troubleshooting calls.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelors and five (5) years or more experience; Masters and three (3) years or more experience; may accept additional experience in lieu of degree.
• In Depth experience using Palo Alto Firewalls and Panorama monitoring tools to troubleshoot and configure a Firewall infrastructure. Strong understanding of networking, proxy, and packet filtering technologies.
• Minimum 3-5 years of IT Customer Support experience (Tier I and/or Tier II).
• First-hand experience with supporting the monitoring and configuration of Firewall/DMZ infrastructure including Network and Application Firewall Packet Filtering technologies (Palo Alto, Palo Alto virtual FW (cloud), FortiGate, Azure Firewall, Cloudflare, Cisco Email Security Appliances (ESA), A10 (Load Balancer), and proxy devices.
• CLI experience preferred.
• Experienced in utilizing network monitoring tools such as NeuralStar.
• Experienced with TCP/IP network implementation and troubleshooting.
• Must be a U.S. citizen.
• Active interim Secret clearance with the ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance.

Compensation:

Salary Range: TBD

The SkyePoint Decisions salary range for this position is a general guideline only. It represents an estimated range for this position and is just one piece of our total compensation package.

Salary at SkyePoint is determined by various factors, including but not limited to location, work schedule, the candidate's combination of education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, as well as contract-specific affordability, market data and business considerations.

In addition to a competitive salary, SkyePoint offers benefits including a certification incentive program, PTO, floating federal holiday options, several insurance options including HMO and High Deductible plans with Health Savings Accounts [HSAs], Flex Spending Accounts [FSAs], Full Dental Plans, Vision, ST/LT Disability, Life Insurance, and 401k matched.

What We Can Offer You:

• At SkyePoint, we go B.I.G. (beginning in GRATITUDE) by recognizing all we have and giving back to our employees, families, and communities. It instills a positive mindset that permeates all we do. By beginning in gratitude, SkyePoint can continue to spread living in gratitude each day.
• Great Benefits: Several insurance options including HMO and High Deductible plans with Health Savings Accounts [HSAs], Flex Spending Accounts [FSAs], Full Dental Plans, ST/LT Disability, Life Insurance, floating federal holiday options, and 401k matched
• Certificate Incentive Program: To promote professional development, we recognize and reward employees who obtain new certifications aligned with business needs.
• Flexible Work Environment

SkyePoint Decisions is an established ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified small business and appraised at CMMI Level 3 for Services and Development. We possess a common vision of excellence and foster a collaborative team culture built upon individual performance and accountability. We invest in our people and systems to create value for our clients. It is the SkyePoint Way. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with exceptional people and give back to the communities we serve. Our employees value the flexibility at SkyePoint that allows them to balance quality work and their personal lives.

SkyePoint Decisions is a participating E-Verify Employer.

U.S. Citizenship is required for most positions.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.