Firewall Operations Engineer

SkyePoint Decisions•Laurel, MD

6h•Hybrid

About The Position

SkyePoint Decisions is seeking a Network Engineer to support a Department of State customer. The role primarily supports operations and maintenance of foreign post network integrations with the DoS Core and other network integrations across a large, complex network infrastructure and cloud environments, with engineering and design responsibilities as needed. The role is hybrid, approximately three days onsite at the customer’s discretion, and may be based in Beltsville, Maryland, or Springfield, Virginia. The regular shift is Tuesday through Saturday, 3:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., subject to mission priorities. During an approximately 6–8-week training period, the schedule is onsite Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The engineer provides Tier 2 operations support for perimeter security devices and network services, handles incidents and requests, performs configuration and troubleshooting, and coordinates with other teams and agencies. The role includes device maintenance, operational reporting, documentation upkeep, and support for incident response activities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and at least 5 years of experience, or a master’s degree and at least 3 years of experience; additional experience may be accepted in lieu of a degree.
In-depth experience using Palo Alto firewalls and Panorama monitoring tools to troubleshoot and configure firewall infrastructure.
Strong understanding of networking, proxy, and packet-filtering technologies.
At least 3–5 years of IT customer support experience at Tier I and/or Tier II.
First-hand experience supporting monitoring and configuration of firewall/DMZ infrastructure, including network and application firewall packet-filtering technologies such as Palo Alto, Palo Alto virtual firewall (cloud), FortiGate, Azure Firewall, Cloudflare, Cisco Email Security Appliances, A10 load balancers, and proxy devices.
Experience troubleshooting and implementing TCP/IP networks.
U.S. citizenship.
Active interim Secret clearance and ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance.

Nice To Haves

Command-line interface (CLI) experience.
Experience using network monitoring tools such as NeuralStar.

Responsibilities

Provide Tier 2 support for monitoring, managing, and troubleshooting perimeter devices, including firewalls, proxies, and mail transport agents.
Monitor the ServiceNow application for Firewall Operations (FWOPS) incidents and service requests.
Implement firewall rules and policies and troubleshoot Palo Alto, Cloud Palo Alto, and FortiGate firewalls; Cisco Email Security Appliances (ESA); A10 load balancers; proxy platforms; URL filtering across platforms; and network traffic captures.
Escalate issues to Tier 3 staff as required and monitor issues throughout their life cycle.
Perform recurring maintenance, including device reboots and software upgrades, on devices supported by the Firewall Operations Team.
Record and report firewall operations, utilization, and maintenance.
Collaborate across Bureaus and Agencies to implement and repair network changes involving perimeter security devices.
Support the Diplomatic Security Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) by implementing blocks for IP addresses, websites, and email addresses.
Update architecture diagrams using Visio.
Monitor and perform health checks on perimeter security devices.
Draft, coordinate, and publish outage notifications as required.
Update shift logs and provide reports to leadership as needed.
Maintain standard operating procedures, work instructions, and other working documents.
Attend calls requiring FWOPS participation, including troubleshooting calls.

Benefits

Certification incentive program.
Paid time off (PTO).
Floating federal holiday options.
Health insurance options, including HMO and high-deductible plans with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs).
Dental insurance.
Vision insurance.
Short- and long-term disability insurance.
Life insurance.
401(k) with employer match.
Flexible work environment.