Security Engineer IDS & Vulnerability Infrastructure

Verizon; Irving (TX); Hybrid; USD 101,000 - 194,000; Full time

Job summary

Verizon is seeking a Security Engineer to manage 900+ Suricata IDS sensors across data centers, handling performance tuning and automated configurations. You will develop Logstash pipelines and Suricata rules to keep telemetry accurate and threats detected across the fleet.

Responsibilities include automating Nessus scanning via Python/Bash, and overseeing Dell hardware lifecycle (iDRAC, RAID, firmware) plus in‑data center logistics for reliable signal delivery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or four or more years of work experience.
• Four or more years of relevant experience required, demonstrated through work or military experience or specialized training.
• Linux system administration (RHEL/ROCKY/CentOS) incl. package management and repos.
• Network traffic and protocol analysis (tcpdump, pcap, Wireshark, BPF).
• Ability to diagnose encapsulation types and inspect protocols (DNS, TLS, HTTP, SSH, SNMP, SMTP, NTP).
• Python or scripting for infrastructure and backend automation.
• Hands-on experience managing enterprise physical server hardware, out-of-band admin, and data center fiber infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Orchestrate the operational lifecycle of 900+ Suricata IDS sensors, tuning performance to prevent packet loss.
• Develop and refine Logstash configurations for telemetry accuracy and data integrity.
• Engineer and deploy custom Suricata rules and signatures with suricata-update.
• Automate the vulnerability management pipeline with Python and Bash for Nessus scanning.
• Manage physical Dell servers including iDRAC, RAID, and firmware updates.
• Execute data center logistics like cabling, optics, taping, power, cooling, and rack-space ticketing.

Skills

Python

Linux administration

Network analysis

Suricata

Logstash

Nessus

Ansible

Education

Bachelor's degree or 4+ years experience

Tools

Suricata

Logstash

Nessus

iDRAC

Dell servers

Job description

When you join Verizon

You want more out of a career. A place to share your ideas freely - even if they're daring or different. Where the true you can learn, grow, and thrive. At Verizon, we power and empower how people live, work and play by connecting them to what brings them joy. We do what we love - driving innovation, creativity, and impact in the world. Our V Team is a community of people who anticipate, lead, and believe that listening is where learning begins. In crisis and in celebration, we come together - lifting our communities and building trust in how we show up, everywhere & always. Want in? Join the #VTeamLife.

Verizon is looking for a Security Engineer to join a specialized team responsible for the deployment, scaling, and operational health of our distributed intrusion detection systems and vulnerability scanning infrastructure. In this role, you will manage a fleet of over 900 Suricata IDS sensors across data center boundaries to monitor traffic on Verizon's management network. You will own the operational lifecycle of this environment, combining physical data center systems engineering with Python and other scripting automation to maintain network visibility, while supporting vulnerability management workflows as needs arise. Managing this volume of sensors requires a deep understanding of kernel-level performance and automated configuration management to ensure consistent telemetry across the footprint.

Job Responsibilities:

• Orchestrate the operational lifecycle of 900+ Suricata IDS sensors, including system-level performance tuning (CPU affinity, NUMA nodes, and other methods to prevent packet loss on high-throughput interfaces.

• Develop and refine Logstash configurations, utilizing input, filter, mutate, and output stages to ensure telemetry accuracy and downstream data integrity for security analysis.

• Engineer and deploy custom Suricata IDS rules and signatures, utilizing suricata-update to ensure the distributed fleet remains synchronized against evolving threats without manual intervention.

• Automate the vulnerability management pipeline by maintaining and debugging Python and Bash backend code for Nessus scanning to ensure the pipeline runs autonomously via cron.

• Manage the physical hardware lifecycle for Dell servers, including iDRAC administration, RAID configurations, and firmware updates to prevent hardware failures from degrading sensor uptime.

• Execute data center logistics, including cabling, optics selection, passive tapping (Brocade/Gigamon), and the management of power, cooling, and rack-space ticketing to secure physical signal delivery.

  We need a collaborative, forward-thinking engineer who actively hunts down coverage gaps, refines logging mechanisms to eliminate false positives, and ensures the uninterrupted visibility of our 900+ sensor fleet.***This role can be located in any US based Verizon hub location.***

What we're looking for...

You'll need to have:

• Bachelor's degree or four or more years of work experience.

• Four or more years of relevant experience required, demonstrated through one or a combination of work and/or military experience, or specialized training.

• Enterprise Linux systems administration (RHEL, Rocky, CentOS) including package management and repository administration.

• Network traffic and protocol analysis (tcpdump, pcap collection, Wireshark, BPF filtering).

• Demonstrated ability to diagnose common encapsulation types and perform deep inspection of protocols including DNS, TLS, HTTP, SSH, SNMP, SMTP, NTP.

• Python or any scripting for infrastructure and backend automation.

• Hands‑on experience managing enterprise physical server hardware, out-of-band administration, and data center fiber infrastructure.

Even better if you have one or more of the following:

• Experience with Suricata IDS rule basics, rule creation, and suricata-update rule builds.

• Competency in compiling custom Suricata plugins for feature enhancement.

• Ansible fleet orchestration using playbooks and Jinja templates.

• Experience with Logstash pipelines (input, filter, mutate, output) and Splunk telemetry/dashboards.

• Knowledge of Netflow collection and analysis.

• Understanding of carrier-grade protocols including GTP, Diameter, SIP, and LDAP.

• Experience in data center project management, including hardware build planning, purchasing, and facilities ticketing.

Where you'll be working

In this hybrid role, you'll have a defined work location that includes working from home and a minimum of three days per week in the office, which will be set by your manager. Employees are responsible for maintaining compliance with hybrid work policies.

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Equal Employment Opportunity

Verizon is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to veteran status, disability or other legally protected characteristics.

Benefits and Compensation

Our benefits are designed to help you move forward in your career, and in areas of your life outside of Verizon. From health and wellness benefit options including: medical, dental, vision, short and long term disability, basic life insurance, supplemental life insurance, AD&D insurance, identity theft protection, pet insurance and group home & auto insurance. We also offer a matched 401(k) savings plan, up to 8 company paid holidays per year and up to 6 personal days per year, paid parental leave, adoption assistance and tuition assistance, plus other incentives, we've got you covered with our award-winning total rewards package. Depending on the role, employees have the opportunity to receive compensation in the form of premium pay such as overtime, shift differential, holiday pay, allowances, etc. Newly hired employees receive up to 15 days of vacation per year, which grows with additional service. For part-timers, your coverage will vary as you may be eligible for some of these benefits depending on your individual circumstances.

The salary will vary depending on your location and confirmed job-related skills and experience. This is an incentive based position with the potential to earn more. For part-time roles, your compensation will be adjusted to reflect your hours.The salary range for the location(s) listed on this job requisition based on a full-time schedule is: $101,000.00 - $194,000.00.