Principal Palo Alto Networks SME

General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc.; Fairfax (VA); On-site; USD 153,000 - 207,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) with company match

Comprehensive health and wellness

Paid vacation and holidays

Full-flex work week

Job summary

General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc. is seeking a Principal-level Palo Alto Networks Subject Matter Expert to lead design, deployment, and optimization of enterprise firewall architectures.

You will provide senior technical leadership across firewall engineering, Zero Trust integration, and security policy design, with hands-on PAN-OS platforms across NGG environments. The role requires 10+ years in network security, 5+ years with Palo Alto, and a Secret clearance.

Qualifications

• BA/BS or equivalent in a technical field.
• 10+ years in network security engineering with 5+ years Palo Alto experience.
• Secret security clearance and PAN-OS expertise required.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, engineering, and configuration of Palo Alto firewalls.
• Design and deploy security policies, NAT, app-ID, user-ID, and threat profiles.
• Architect and optimize Panorama for centralized management and scale.
• Implement Zero Trust segmentation aligned with NGG security requirements.
• Mentor junior engineers and provide technical decision making.

Skills

Palo Alto Networks

Firewall engineering

Zero Trust

Network security

Routing/VLANs

Mentorship

Stakeholder briefing

Education

BA/BS or equivalent

Secret Security Clearance

PCNSE or higher

Tools

Panorama

GlobalProtect

Threat Prevention

URL Filtering

WildFire

PanOS APIs

Terraform

Ansible

Job description

Overview

The NGG program is seeking a Principal‑level Palo Alto Networks Subject Matter Expert to lead the design, deployment, and optimization of advanced network security architectures. This role provides senior‑level technical leadership across firewall engineering, network segmentation, threat prevention, and Zero Trust integration. The ideal candidate has deep, hands‑on expertise with Palo Alto Networks platforms and can drive enterprise‑scale solutions from strategy through implementation.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, engineering, and configuration of Palo Alto firewalls across NGG environments
• Own the design and deployment of security policies, NAT, app‑ID, user‑ID, and threat profiles
• Architect and optimize Panorama for centralized management, multi‑tenant configurations, and scale
• Implement Zero Trust segmentation aligned with NGG security requirements
• Support migration from legacy security stacks to Palo Alto platforms
• Develop high‑quality design artifacts: HLDs, LLDs, diagrams, runbooks, implementation plans
• Conduct advanced troubleshooting, packet analysis, and platform tuning
• Advise program leadership on best practices, risks, and roadmap recommendations
• Collaborate with cross‑functional engineering teams (network, cloud, cyber, operations)
• Provide mentorship to junior engineers and serve as authoritative technical decision maker

Required Qualifications

• BA/BS or equivalent, 10+ years of experience
• 10+ years in network security engineering with 5+ years hands‑on Palo Alto Networks experience
• Deep expertise in: Panorama, virtual and hardware firewalls, GlobalProtect, Threat Prevention, URL Filtering, WildFire
• Proven experience architecting large‑scale, mission‑critical firewall infrastructures
• Strong understanding of routing, VLANs, IPSec VPN, BGP/OSPF, and network segmentation
• Experience with Zero Trust frameworks and micro‑segmentation strategies
• Ability to create detailed engineering documentation and lead complex deployments
• Strong communication skills with ability to brief leadership and stakeholders
• Secret Security Clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Candidate has hands‑on experience with Palo Alto WildFire, including deployment, configuration, policy integration, and operational troubleshooting in enterprise environments.
• PCNSE or higher (PCSNE, PSE certifications)
• Experience with automation frameworks (Terraform, Ansible, PanOS APIs)
• Background supporting federal or regulated environments
• Experience integrating Palo Alto with SIEM, SOAR, and identity platforms

Deliverables

• Architecture designs, implementation plans, and technical documentation
• Configured firewalls, Panorama templates, and policy baselines
• Migration plans and cutover support
• Ongoing engineering support, optimization, and troubleshooting

GDIT Is Your Place

• Full-flex work week (where eligible and approved).
• 401(k) with company match.
• Comprehensive health and wellness packages.
• Professional growth opportunities, internal mobility, paid education, and certifications.
• Paid vacation and holidays.

The likely salary range for this position is $153,000 - $207,000. This is not, however, a guarantee of compensation or salary. Rather, salary will be set based on experience, geographic location and possibly contractual requirements and could fall outside of this range.

Total Rewards at GDIT

• Our benefits package for all US‑based employees includes a variety of medical plan options, some with Health Savings Accounts, dental plan options, a vision plan, and a 401(k) plan offering the ability to contribute both pre and post‑tax dollars up to the IRS annual limits and receive a company match.
• To encourage work/life balance, GDIT offers employees full flex work weeks where possible and a variety of paid time off plans, including vacation, sick and personal time, holidays, paid parental, military, bereavement and jury duty leave.
• GDIT typically provides new employees with 15 days of paid leave per calendar year to be used for vacations, personal business, and illness and an additional 10 paid holidays per year.
• Paid leave and paid holidays are prorated based on the employee’s date of hire.
• The GDIT Paid Family Leave program provides a total of up to 160 hours of paid leave in a rolling 12 month period for eligible employees.
• To ensure our employees are able to protect our income, other offerings such as short and long‑term disability benefits, life, accidental death and dismemberment, personal accident, critical illness and business travel and accident insurance are provided or available.
• We regularly review our Total Rewards package to ensure our offerings are competitive and reflect what our employees have told us they value most.

Our Identity Verification Process

As part of the hiring process, we will ask you to complete an identity verification process that leverages advanced biometrics and artificial intelligence to ensure authenticity and protect against identity fraud. You are expected to be on camera during virtual interviews. We reserve the right to take your picture to verify your identity and prevent fraud. By proceeding, you authorize the collection, processing, and use of your biometric data for identity verification and security purposes.

About Our Work

We are GDIT. A global technology and professional services company that delivers technology solutions and mission services to every major agency across the U.S. government, defense and intelligence community. Our 26,000 experts extract the power of technology to create immediate value and deliver solutions at the edge of innovation. We operate across 50+ countries worldwide, offering leading mission‑ready capabilities in AI, cloud, cyber and software development.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Individuals with Disabilities / Protected Veterans