Senior IT Network Engineer

NextEra Energy Resources; Saint Paul (MN); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

NextEra Energy in Saint Paul, MN seeks a Senior IT Network Engineer to design, implement, and support secure, reliable network solutions across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments. The role emphasizes Palo Alto networking, cloud connectivity, and strong architectural judgment.

You will partner with software engineering, cloud, cybersecurity, and infrastructure teams to enable application delivery, improve platform reliability, and resolve complex technical challenges in a fast-paced

Qualifications

• 7+ years designing and supporting enterprise network environments.
• Strong expertise with Palo Alto networking and security stack.
• Proficient in routing, switching, VPNs, and secure connectivity.
• Experience with cloud networking and hybrid environments.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and support scalable network solutions across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments.
• Administer Palo Alto firewalls, Panorama, and GlobalProtect.
• Diagnose and resolve complex network, firewall, and connectivity issues.
• Develop automation and CI/CD practices for network delivery.
• Partner with software, cloud, cybersecurity, and infrastructure teams.

Skills

Palo Alto stack

Enterprise network design

Routing & Switching

VPN & secure connectivity

Network security

Automation scripting

AI-assisted engineering

Incident response

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering

Tools

Palo Alto Panorama

GlobalProtect

Job description

Location(s): St. Paul, MN, US, 55107

Company: NextEra Energy

NextEra Analytics offers energy consulting services using industry-leading scientific analysis for planning, siting, forecasting and optimizing all forms of energy projects. Our optimization and analytics platforms integrate open-source technologies to leverage massive, diverse sets of utility operating data. This enables rapid development of operational solutions. Applying expertise in advanced mathematics, data and physical sciences, we solve some of the hardest problems facing the energy industry.

Position Specific Description

We are seeking a high-caliber Senior IT Network Engineer to design, implement, and support secure, reliable network solutions across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments. This role requires deep expertise in enterprise networking, cloud connectivity, and the Palo Alto networking and security stack.

You will partner closely with software engineering, cloud, cybersecurity, and infrastructure teams to enable application delivery, improve platform reliability, and resolve complex technical challenges. The ideal candidate combines strong network engineering fundamentals with sound architectural judgment, operational ownership, automation experience, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced software development environment.

1. Network Architecture & Engineering

• Hybrid Network Design: Design, implement, and support scalable network solutions across on-premise data centers, cloud platforms, and hybrid environments.
• Secure Connectivity: Architect and manage secure connectivity between data centers, cloud platforms, SaaS solutions, applications, and internal systems.
• Cloud Networking: Implement and support cloud networking patterns, including VPCs, VNets, routing, VPNs, private connectivity, network segmentation, and secure ingress and egress controls.
• Architecture Standards: Contribute to network architecture standards, technical diagrams, documentation, and operational procedures.

2. Network Security & Palo Alto Administration

• Palo Alto Expertise: Administer, optimize, and troubleshoot the Palo Alto networking and security stack, including firewalls, Panorama, GlobalProtect, and related services.
• Security-First Design: Incorporate security, segmentation, access controls, and resiliency into network designs from the outset.
• Policy Management: Develop and maintain firewall policies, VPN configurations, network security controls, and supporting governance processes.
• Cross-Functional Security Partnership: Collaborate with cybersecurity, risk, cloud, and infrastructure teams to identify and address network security requirements.

3. Reliability & Operational Excellence

• Complex Troubleshooting: Diagnose and resolve advanced network, firewall, routing, VPN, latency, and connectivity issues across production and non-production environments.
• Incident Response: Participate in incident response, root cause analysis, and the development of corrective and preventive actions.
• Performance & Resiliency: Continuously improve network availability, performance, reliability, scalability, and security.
• Operational Readiness: Develop monitoring, alerting, runbooks, recovery procedures, and documentation that make network services measurable, supportable, and recoverable.

4. Automation & Engineering Productivity with AI

• Network Automation: Use scripting, automation, and infrastructure-as-code practices where appropriate to improve delivery speed, consistency, repeatability, and operational efficiency.
• AI-Augmented Engineering: Use AI assistant tools to accelerate troubleshooting, documentation, analysis, automation and overall engineering effectiveness while maintaining accountability for accuracy, security, and technical quality.
• Critical Adoption: Evaluate automation and AI-enabled workflows critically, adopting approaches that improve outcomes without introducing unnecessary risk or complexity.
• Continuous Improvement: Identify opportunities to simplify network operations, reduce manual effort, and improve the reliability of recurring engineering processes.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 7+ years of experience designing, implementing, administering, and supporting enterprise network environments.
• Extensive hands-on experience with the Palo Alto networking and security stack, including firewalls, Panorama, and GlobalProtect.
• Strong knowledge of routing, switching, firewalls, VPNs, DNS, network segmentation, and secure connectivity patterns.
• Experience designing and