Firewall Engineering Manager

Leidos•Huntsville, AL

8d•$116,350 - $210,325

About The Position

Leidos is seeking an experienced Firewall Engineering Manager to lead a team of security and network engineers responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining NASA’s enterprise firewall and perimeter security infrastructure. This role provides hands-on technical leadership, operational oversight, and strategic direction to ensure the security, resilience, and reliability of NASA’s Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN), Mission Networks, and cloud-connected environments. The selected candidate will manage the Firewall Engineering Team and serve as a key technical authority for enterprise firewall operations, modernization initiatives, migration planning, and the integration of next-generation security technologies. This position requires strong leadership skills, deep expertise in firewall and network security engineering, and the ability to collaborate effectively with NASA leadership, cybersecurity teams, program managers, and cross-domain engineering groups.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or a related technical field (Master’s preferred).
10–12+ years of experience in network security or firewall engineering, including 5+ years in a technical leadership or management role.
Proven experience managing or supporting large-scale, mission-critical firewall and perimeter security infrastructures.
Strong expertise with next-generation firewall platforms (e.g., Palo Alto, Fortinet, Cisco, Juniper).
Solid understanding of routing/switching concepts, intrusion detection/prevention, segmentation, and zero-trust security.
Demonstrated ability to lead engineering teams in complex, high-visibility environments.
Experience supporting large infrastructure programs, including proposal development and BOEs.
Excellent communication, leadership, and stakeholder engagement skills.
U.S. Citizenship required; must be eligible for a NASA or Federal security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting government, aerospace, or NASA environments.
Relevant industry certifications (e.g., CISSP, CCNP Security, PCNSE, JNCIS/JNCIP Security).
Experience with cloud networking, cloud-native firewall solutions, or SDN-based security models.
Experience managing geographically dispersed engineering teams.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage the Firewall Engineering Team, providing oversight for enterprise firewall, IDS/IPS, and perimeter security system design, implementation, and operations.
Implement NASA’s firewall and perimeter security strategy in alignment with zero-trust principles, mission requirements, and cybersecurity frameworks.
Serve as the senior escalation point for complex firewall, policy, and cross-domain security issues.
Develop and maintain firewall standards, configuration baselines, rule governance processes, and lifecycle management practices.
Oversee enterprise firewall migrations, data center and cloud integrations, segmentation initiatives, and modernization efforts.
Support proposal development and Basis of Estimates (BOEs) related to firewall engineering and security architecture.
Drive improvements in automation, orchestration, change control, and monitoring to enhance security and operational efficiency.
Ensure compliance with NASA, Federal, and organizational security policies and directives.
Mentor and develop engineering staff, fostering technical growth and operational excellence.
Deliver technical briefings, reports, and recommendations to NASA and Leidos leadership.