Manager, Firewall Policy Engineering

Centene Corporation • Remote-MO, MO

2d • $102,900 - $190,500

About The Position

The Manager, Firewall Policy Engineering leads the delivery, workforce management, and capability development of the Firewall Security Engineering function. The role ensures firewall security controls are engineered, implemented, and operated consistently across the enterprise while enabling business connectivity securely and sustainably. The manager is accountable for team performance, engineering delivery, operational execution, and continuous improvement, partnering with senior engineers and Capability Stewards for technical leadership and architectural direction.

The role leads a team of firewall security engineers; sets priorities and work plans; and supports performance management, career development, coaching, mentoring, succession depth, and clear engineering ownership. It directs enterprise firewall security engineering and delivery, establishes repeatable practices for policy implementation and lifecycle management, balances operational and strategic demand, and ensures work transitions into sustainable operational support.

The manager leads firewall policy engineering, rule implementation and lifecycle management, network segmentation, security policy standards, rule optimization and cleanup, policy recertification support, automation and orchestration, control validation, change engineering, exception management, and cloud and hybrid firewall controls. The role also improves engineering processes and visibility, leads projects and strategic initiatives, manages dependencies and delivery risks, and collaborates with application, network, cloud, infrastructure, architecture, and cybersecurity teams.

The position ensures consistent application of security standards and engineering practices; identifies and escalates material risks and exceptions; supports audit, compliance, and control validation; and maintains appropriate documentation and procedures. It partners with firewall vendors and service providers, holds external providers accountable for their responsibilities, evaluates capabilities that can improve efficiency, and ensures external resources augment rather than unnecessarily replace internal capability. The employee performs other duties as assigned and complies with all policies and standards.

Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without current or future employment-based visa sponsorship. Equivalent experience may substitute for the stated education and experience requirements when reflected in applicable knowledge, duties, scope, and skills.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree and at least 5 years of related experience, or equivalent experience acquired through accomplishments reflecting applicable knowledge, duties, scope, and skill.
• Strong people leadership and development skills.
• Experience leading security or network engineering teams.
• Strong understanding of enterprise firewall security concepts and network security controls.
• Ability to prioritize substantial operational and project demand within finite engineering capacity.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Experience improving engineering processes through standardization and automation.
• Risk-based decision-making capability.
• Ability to translate technical security concerns into business risk and outcomes.
• Ability to lead and manage others; collaborate and build teams; coach effectively and deliver constructive feedback.
• Ability to instill commitment to organizational goals, communicate and make recommendations to upper management, manage conflict, develop and deliver presentations, and negotiate effectively.
• Authorization to work in the United States without the need for current or future employment-based visa sponsorship.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of firewall security engineers.
• Set priorities, engineering objectives, and operational work plans.
• Conduct performance management, career development, coaching, and mentoring; develop succession depth and reduce key-person dependencies.
• Establish clear engineering ownership and appropriate decision authority.
• Lead engineering execution for enterprise firewall security capabilities and ensure firewall changes and controls are implemented consistently and reliably.
• Establish repeatable practices for firewall policy implementation and lifecycle management.
• Balance operational demand, strategic initiatives, technical debt, and capability advancement; ensure engineering work transitions into sustainable operational support.
• Provide leadership for firewall policy engineering, rule implementation and lifecycle management, network segmentation controls, security policy standards, rule optimization and cleanup, policy recertification support, automation and orchestration, security control validation, change engineering, exception management, and cloud and hybrid firewall controls.
• Identify opportunities to reduce repetitive manual engineering activities and advance policy automation, orchestration, and standardized workflows where appropriate.
• Establish measurable engineering processes and control validation; reduce unnecessary complexity and technical debt in firewall policies.
• Improve visibility into engineering workload, delivery, policy health, and control effectiveness.
• Lead firewall security engineering projects and strategic initiatives; align engineering capacity to organizational priorities.
• Manage project dependencies, resource constraints, and delivery risks; partner with application, network, cloud, infrastructure, architecture, and cybersecurity teams.
• Ensure initiatives produce measurable security and business outcomes.
• Ensure firewall security standards and engineering practices are consistently applied; identify and escalate material security risks and exceptions.
• Support audit, compliance, and control validation activities; maintain documentation, standards, procedures, and engineering practices.
• Ensure firewall policy risks are visible to appropriate decision-makers.
• Partner with firewall technology vendors and service providers, hold them accountable for contracted engineering and support responsibilities, and evaluate capabilities that could improve efficiency, automation, and policy management.
• Ensure external resources augment internal capability rather than creating unnecessary dependencies.
• Perform other duties as assigned and comply with all policies and standards.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Health insurance
• 401K and stock purchase plans
• Tuition reimbursement
• Paid time off plus holidays
• Flexible approach to work, with remote, hybrid, field, or office work schedules
• Additional forms of incentives may be included in total compensation, subject to applicable factors and program eligibility

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager