Network Security Engineer
Role: Network Security Engineer (Palo Alto SME)Location: Richardson, TX (Onsite-Hybrid)Duration: 7 Months (8/26/2026 – 3/31/2027)Pay Rate: $60.00/hr On W2W2 candidates Only Role SummarySeeking an 8+ years experienced Network Security Engineer / Palo Alto Subject Matter Expert for an onsite-hybrid role in Richardson, TX.The ideal candidate will possess deep expertise managing large enterprise network environments (100+ Palo Alto firewalls), Panorama, Prisma Access/SD-WAN, IPS, and IPSec/SSL VPNs.Responsibilities center on L1–L3 incident management, major/minor OS upgrades, firewall migrations, hardware RMAs, ServiceNow queue management, Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and cross-functional operational collaboration.Key Responsibilities* Firewall Infrastructure & Upgrades: Plan, execute, and govern major/minor PanOS upgrades, hardware replacements (RMA), firewall migrations, and new Palo Alto firewall deployments.* Panorama & Enterprise Management: Manage large-scale enterprise deployments (100+ firewalls) utilizing Panorama Dashboard and Prisma Access environments.* Incident & Ticket Resolution: Drive P1/P2/P3 incident troubleshooting, manage ServiceNow ticket queues, and conduct Root Cause Analysis (RCA) with Problem Management teams.* Network Security Services: Configure and troubleshoot IPSec/SSL VPN tunnels, Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), NAT policies, and security rulebases.* Operational Leadership & Governance: Create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), partner with Palo Alto TAC, participate in shift handoffs, and drive Service Improvement Programs (SIP).Required Skills* Core Firewall Platform: 8+ Years Palo Alto Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW)* Management & Cloud Security: Panorama Dashboard, Prisma Access / Prisma SD-WAN* VPN & Threat Prevention: IPSec VPN, SSL VPN, Palo Alto IPS, Threat Prevention, WildFire* ITSM & Operations: ServiceNow, ITIL Incident/Change/Problem Management, L1–L3 Escalations* Scripting & Systems: PanOS, Linux Administration, Network Protocol Analysis (Wireshark, TCPDump)