Security Firewall Administrator

KonnectIT; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

KonnectIT in Chicago is seeking an experienced Enterprise Network Engineer to administer and secure complex firewall environments onsite. You will manage policies, VPNs, and routing while coordinating with clients, vendors, and internal teams.

Strong documentation and incident-management skills are essential. The role requires hands-on firewall expertise, experience with Palo Alto, Fortinet, Cisco, and related platforms, plus certifications such as PCCET or NSE.

Qualifications

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Responsibilities

• Configure, administer, maintain, and troubleshoot Palo Alto, Fortinet, Cisco platforms.
• Manage firewall policies, ACLs, NAT/PAT, segmentation, logging, VPN connectivity, routing, switching.
• Troubleshoot enterprise network and firewall issues using ICMP, DNS, logs, and CLI tools.
• Configure routing protocols including OSPF, BGP, static routing, and related services.
• Configure and troubleshoot IPsec VPN connectivity.
• Perform IOS upgrades and password recovery.
• Maintain incident, service request, and change-management documentation in ServiceNow.

Skills

Firewall administration

Enterprise network engineering

Network security operations

Incident management

TCP/IP subnetting

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT or related field

Certifications: CCNA/CCNP, PCCET, NSE

Tools

ServiceNow

Visio

Panorama

FortiManager

Cisco DNA Center

Cisco Prime

Cisco ISE

SolarWinds

Infoblox

Job description

Location: Chicago, IL — Onsite Only
Candidates must be able to work onsite at Chicago-area data center locations, including O’Hare and Midway. This is not a remote position.

What You’ll Do

• Configure, administer, maintain, and troubleshoot Palo Alto, Fortinet, Cisco, and related enterprise network security platforms.

• Manage firewall policies, ACLs, NAT/PAT, segmentation, logging, VPN connectivity, routing, switching, and LAN security controls.

• Troubleshoot enterprise network and firewall issues using ICMP, DNS, packet analysis, logs, command-line tools, and monitoring platforms.

• Configure and support routing protocols including OSPF, BGP, static routing, and related enterprise network services.

• Configure and troubleshoot TCP/IP, IP subnetting, spanning-tree protocols, VLANs, trunking, tunneling, vPCs, switch stacks, and VSS.

• Support IPsec VPN configuration, troubleshooting, and connectivity.

• Perform IOS upgrades, password recovery, and related network maintenance activities.

• Support Infoblox and DNS architecture where applicable.

• Monitor network security environments using tools such as Panorama, FortiManager, Cisco DNA Center, Cisco Prime, Cisco ISE, SolarWinds, or similar platforms.

• Support incident response, outage troubleshooting, service restoration, and escalation activities.

• Maintain accurate incident, service request, and change-management documentation in ServiceNow.

• Develop implementation plans, test plans, contingency plans, backout plans, firewall change documentation, network diagrams, and operational procedures.

• Coordinate work with project managers, technical leads, vendors, client stakeholders, and internal infrastructure teams.

• Contribute to consistent change-management, documentation, security, and operational procedures.

• Perform other network and security-related activities as assigned.

What We’re Looking For

• 5+ years of enterprise network engineering, firewall administration, or network security operations experience.

• Strong hands-on experience administering and troubleshooting enterprise firewall and network environments.

• Palo Alto PCCET certification or equivalent experience.

• Fortinet NSE 1–3 or higher, or equivalent experience.

• Strong understanding of firewall rules, ACLs, NAT/PAT, network segmentation, logging, and security policy enforcement.

• Hands-on knowledge of TCP/IP, IP subnetting, routing, switching, VLANs, trunking, spanning tree, and enterprise network architecture.

• Experience configuring and troubleshooting OSPF, BGP, static routing, and related network protocols.

• Experience with IPsec VPN technologies.

• Strong incident-management, troubleshooting, escalation, and change-control discipline.

• Experience using ServiceNow or a similar enterprise ticketing and change-management platform.

• Strong Microsoft Visio or network diagramming skills.

• Excellent customer service, written communication, verbal communication, documentation, and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to work effectively across client, vendor, technical, and management teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Cisco CCNA or CCNP.

• Additional Palo Alto, Fortinet, Cisco, or network security certifications.

• Experience with Panorama, FortiManager, Cisco DNA Center, Cisco Prime, Cisco ISE, SolarWinds, or similar enterprise management platforms.

• Experience with Infoblox and DNS architecture.

• College degree in information technology, cybersecurity, networking, computer science, or a related field.

• Experience supporting highly regulated, mission-critical, or airport technology environments.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to work onsite at Chicago O’Hare and Chicago Midway airports as the standard work arrangement.

• Must be able to pass a TSA background check.

• Valid Driver’s License or State ID required.

• Ability to support incident response, maintenance windows, and other operational requirements as needed.

Job Details

Pay: $130,000–$150,000 annually, negotiable, plus benefits

Location: Chicago, IL – City of Chicago Airports

Work Arrangement: Onsite; this is not a remote position.