Mid-Level Firewall Engineer: Palo Alto & DoD

Chenega Professional Services Strategic Business Unit; Oakton (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Chenega MIOS in Oakton, Virginia is seeking an Intermediate Firewall Engineer to manage Palo Alto Networks NGFWs via Panorama, implement policies, and maintain secure boundary defenses across on-prem and classified enclaves.

The role requires 4+ years of hands-on firewall engineering, DoD 8140/8570 IAT II, PCNSA certification, active Secret with TS/SCI/SAP eligibility, and mentoring junior engineers; you will coordinate maintenance, support SOC, and ensure compliance with DISA STIGs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, IT, CS or related field with 4+ years of hands-on network security/firewall engineering experience; OR HS with 8+ years of demonstrable operational experience
• Must meet DoD 8140 / 8570.01-M IAT Level II baseline certification requirements (e.g., Security+ CE, CCNA Security, CySA+)
• Vendor certification: PCNSA required; PCNSE preferred
• Active Secret security clearance with eligibility to obtain TS/SCI/SAP

Responsibilities

• Administer, configure, and maintain Palo Alto NGFWs via Panorama and direct interfaces
• Provision and deploy security policies, App-ID rules, TLS/SSL decryption, NAT/PAT across multi-tenant environments
• Serve as Tier 2/3 escalation point for complex network issues, VPNs, routing, and performance
• Implement BGP/OSPF, VLAN segmentation, and perimeter access controls for resilient edge connectivity
• Lead remote site management across classified networks, establish VPNs and telemetry
• Coordinate PAN-OS maintenance, updates, and threat content releases
• Maintain ATO posture by following DISA STIGs and updating SOPs/documents
• Provide incident support to SOC and validate telemetry pipelines
• Maintain network diagrams, change logs, and ITSM ticketing records
• Mentor Junior Engineers and assist in complex troubleshooting

Skills

Palo Alto NGFW

PAN-OS

VPN Troubleshooting

BGP/OSPF

DISA STIGs

SIEM/SOAR

Jira/ServiceNow/Redmine

Packet capture & analysis

Mentorship

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity/IT/CS

HS diploma or GED with 8+ years experience

Tools

Jira

ServiceNow

Redmine

Splunk

Cribl

XSOAR

IXIA Packet Brokers

Job description

Chenega MIOS in Oakton, Virginia is seeking an Intermediate Firewall Engineer to manage Palo Alto Networks NGFWs via Panorama, implement policies, and maintain secure boundary defenses across on-prem and classified enclaves.

The role requires 4+ years of hands-on firewall engineering, DoD 8140/8570 IAT II, PCNSA certification, active Secret with TS/SCI/SAP eligibility, and mentoring junior engineers; you will coordinate maintenance, support SOC, and ensure compliance with DISA STIGs.