Network & Security Engineer

Citadel Aviation•Dallas, TX

44d•Onsite

About The Position

The Network & Security Engineer owns the design, operation, and security of Citadel Aviation’s network and identity infrastructure across all sites. The role is accountable for reliable connectivity, a hardened identity platform, and a security posture that scales with the business. It serves as Citadel’s internal technical counterpart to its external security operations center (SOC) and managed detection and response (MDR) provider, partners with IT leadership and peers across IT and the business, and owns assigned IT projects. The technology environment includes Palo Alto next-generation firewalls, Cisco switching, Meraki wireless, Microsoft 365 with Entra ID, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Intune, Tenable, and KnowBe4. Security operations are delivered in partnership with an external SOC and MDR provider. The role has no direct reports and coordinates with external contractors, managed-service providers, and the SOC and MDR partner. Travel between sites is heavier during initial standardization and new-site turn-up, then lighter in steady state. After-hours and on-call work is required for critical systems support and incident response.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Network Engineering, or a related technical discipline; equivalent professional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
At least 5 years of progressive experience in enterprise network engineering and information security.
Hands-on experience designing, deploying, and operating enterprise networks, including next-generation firewalls (Palo Alto or comparable), enterprise switching (Cisco or comparable), and wireless (Meraki or comparable).
Experience working in partnership with an MDR provider or SOC.
Experience with vulnerability management, including scanning tools such as Tenable Nessus or comparable, prioritization, and organization-wide remediation.
Experience operating in an environment with regular external security assessments, such as penetration testing, cyber insurance reviews, or customer security audits, and remediating findings under deadline.
Experience supporting multi-site operations or production environments where uptime, security, and consistent service are operational requirements.
Experience delivering IT projects from scope through completion, including scheduling, vendor coordination, and budget tracking.
Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly to non-technical business stakeholders and senior leadership.
Demonstrated experience adhering to and enforcing security best practices across network, endpoint, and identity domains.
Deep technical expertise across enterprise networking (firewalls, switching, wireless, routing) and information security (endpoint, identity, vulnerability management, security monitoring).
Strong working knowledge of Microsoft 365 security tooling, including Defender, Entra, Intune security baselines, and conditional access, sufficient to set policies for day-to-day IT operations.
Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis across complex network and security incidents.
Project delivery and prioritization skills, including planning, documenting, and coordinating technical projects end to end.
Strong written and verbal communication, particularly during security incidents and operational events.
Strong organizational, documentation, and operational discipline, including maintaining current documentation and proactively engaging stakeholders.
Ability to work autonomously and make sound technical decisions in fast-moving situations.
Customer service mindset focused on responsiveness, professionalism, and follow-through.
Self-motivated, adaptable, and committed to staying current as threats and technologies evolve.

Nice To Haves

Experience in aviation, aerospace, manufacturing, MRO, or other regulated operational environments.
Active IT industry certifications such as CompTIA Security+ or Network+, Cisco CCNA or CCNP, Palo Alto PCNSA or PCNSE, Microsoft Security or Identity certifications, CISSP, GIAC, or comparable.
Experience designing and bringing up network infrastructure at new sites or facilities.
Experience with SD-WAN, zero-trust architecture, network segmentation, or related modern network design patterns.
Familiarity with security frameworks such as NIST or CIS, and audit or compliance work.
Experience with security awareness platforms such as KnowBe4 or comparable.
Experience administering identity and access controls in a hybrid or cloud-first environment.
Experience with VOIP or unified communications infrastructure.

Responsibilities

Own the design, operation, security, and upgrades of network infrastructure across all sites, including firewalls, switching, wireless, ISP connectivity, backup connectivity, site-to-site and cloud connectivity, and remote-user access.
Lead network design and turn-up for new Citadel facilities and maintain consistent network and security service quality across sites.
Own the design, operation, and security of voice and unified communications infrastructure, including the calling system, VOIP, and integration with Microsoft 365 communications.
Meet established KPIs and service-level targets, including network availability, security patch SLAs, vulnerability remediation times, and security incident response times; regularly report performance to IT leadership.
Serve as the internal technical counterpart to the SOC and MDR provider, partnering on detection tuning, alert triage, investigation, and remediation.
Own endpoint security policy across Microsoft 365, including Defender for Endpoint configuration, conditional access, identity hardening, and Intune security baselines; partner with the IT manager and support team on operation and enforcement.
Own technical email security controls, including anti-phishing, anti-malware, secure transport, and tenant security configuration; partner on user-facing reporting and response workflows.
Run vulnerability management with the MDR provider, including operating scanning tools, prioritizing findings, and driving remediation across IT.
Own identity and access management hardening, including multi-factor authentication, conditional access, privileged access controls, and account lifecycle hygiene.
Set program direction and content for cybersecurity awareness, including training plans, phishing simulation strategy, and user education topics; partner with the IT manager on user-facing activities and reporting.
Conduct third-party security reviews of vendors, software platforms, and integrations; assess data handling, integration security, and ongoing risk, and track approvals and remediation.
Coordinate responses to external security assessments, including penetration tests, cyber insurance reviews, customer security questionnaires, and regulatory inquiries; scope engagements, work with vendors, maintain evidence, and track remediation.
Deliver assigned networking and security IT projects and contribute to broader IT initiatives, coordinating with IT leadership, peers, external specialists, and contractors as needed.
Partner with infrastructure, support, and software development peers on initiatives, contributing network and security expertise to keep delivery on track.
Own vendor relationships in the network and security portfolio, including ISPs, network hardware, security tooling, and specialized contractors; take on broader IT vendor relationships as assigned.
Own the network and security operating budget, track expenses, forecast needs, and contribute to annual IT budget planning; assume broader budget scope as assigned.
Own the on-call rotation for network and security incidents, drive diagnosis, coordinate resources, and engage directly in resolution.
Own incident communications for network and security events, including stakeholder notifications, status updates, and post-incident summaries with root cause and follow-up actions.
Conduct periodic internal security audits covering user access, identity hygiene, configuration baselines, vulnerability posture, and policy adherence; remediate findings with the IT manager.
Maintain and enforce network and security policies, procedures, runbooks, technical documentation, and asset inventory; contribute to policy creation and modification.
Identify and propose improvements in network design, security posture, monitoring coverage, and tool consolidation, and deliver approved initiatives.
Perform other duties as assigned.