Apptad · 1 day ago
Palo Alto Firewall Architect- 13+ years exp (W2 ONLY)
Santa Clara, CA
Contract
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
13+ years expApptad is seeking a Palo Alto Firewall Architect to provide operational support and troubleshooting for Palo Alto firewalls. The role involves advanced configuration, policy management, and strategic initiatives to enhance network security and efficiency.
ConsultingDevOpsInformation TechnologyProduct ManagementSoftware
No H1B
Hiring Manager
Kumari Nisha Jyoti
Responsibilities
Provide L3-level support for Palo Alto firewalls, including incident response and change management
Perform advanced configuration, rule base management, and policy optimization
Monitor firewall health, performance, and logs; proactively identify and resolve issues
Conduct root cause analysis for recurring or complex firewall/network problems
Manage upgrades, patches, and firmware updates for Palo Alto devices
Collaborate with SOC and IT teams to analyze and respond to security incidents
Mentor and guide L1/L2 support teams
Work with network architects to design secure network segmentation and DMZ architectures
Review and implement change requests, ensuring compliance with security standards and ITIL processes
Maintain detailed documentation for configurations, operational procedures, and troubleshooting guides
Participate in audits and compliance activities related to network security
Design and implement proper device group hierarchy across Palo Alto firewalls; eliminate redundant device groups to improve efficiency and reduce risk; address object limit commit issues and external dynamic list object limit avoidance; deduplicate security policies across device groups
Decommission legacy firewalls to reduce hardware footprint and cost; replace end-of-life PA-220 firewalls to align with PAN-OS 11.1 standards; eliminate 25 IPS firewall devices and migrate IPS functionality to existing on-prem firewalls
Plan and execute elimination of Prisma Access to reduce cost and complexity; implement India central VM firewall and coordinate with GIS team for network changes; transition internet access for sites currently using Prisma to on-prem solutions
Analyze and recommend improvements for Internet Access Policies, including on-prem and remote controls; address URL entry issues and provide analysis for a 'closed-door' approach; fix vWire interface configurations to ensure VLAN inspection consistency
Recommend enhancements for operational monitoring and alerting; conduct health checks and best practices assessment; provide remediation recommendations
Qualification
Required
10+ years of experience in network security operations, with at least 8 years focused on Palo Alto firewall administration
Strong expertise in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS, security policies, NAT, VPN (IPSec/SSL), and threat prevention features
Proficient in troubleshooting complex firewall and network issues (routing, connectivity, performance)
Experience with centralized management platforms (Panorama)
Familiarity with integration of firewalls with SIEM, IDS/IPS, and other security tools
Solid understanding of TCP/IP, VLANs, DMZ, and network segmentation
Knowledge of change management and ITIL processes
Relevant certifications (PCNSE, PCNSA, CISSP, CCNP Security) preferred
Excellent communication and documentation skills
Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Technology, or related field (or equivalent experience)
Proven experience in device group hierarchy design and policy optimization
Hands-on experience with firewall hardware lifecycle management and migration
Familiarity with Prisma Access and VM firewall deployment
Strong knowledge of PAN-OS, security policies, and object management
Understanding of VLAN configurations and virtual wire interfaces
Ability to analyze and recommend improvements for security posture and operational resilience
Preferred
Palo Alto Networks certifications (PCNSE, PCCSE)
Experience with large-scale firewall deployments and global network environments
Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills
Company
Apptad
Apptad offers strategic consulting, enterprise information management, and digital transformation services.
1001-5000 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
A
Arbind Singh
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Company data provided by crunchbase