Palo Cloud Firewall Engineer SME

Ampcus Inc. • McLean, VA

4h • Onsite

About The Position

Ampcus Inc. is seeking a highly motivated Palo Alto Cloud Firewall Engineer Subject Matter Expert (SME) to join their team. This role involves the high-level design, deployment, and optimization of Palo Alto Networks' security solutions across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. The ideal candidate will provide architectural leadership, manage centralized security platforms, integrate cloud-native services, engineer advanced security policies, implement threat prevention measures, drive automation, and offer expert-level troubleshooting.

Requirements

• Typically, 8–15 years in network security, with at least 5 years specifically focused on Palo Alto NGFWs.
• Deep knowledge of cloud networking constructs, such as AWS Transit Gateway, Azure ExpressRoute, and Google Cloud Interconnect.
• Strong command of routing protocols (BGP, OSPF), IPsec tunneling, and network function virtualization (NFV).
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• PCNSE (Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer) certification.

Nice To Haves

• PCNSC (Certified Security Consultant) or Prisma Cloud certifications are highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement scalable, secure cloud network architectures in public (AWS, Azure, GCP) and hybrid environments.
• Act as the primary SME for Panorama and Strata Cloud Manager, managing global device groups, templates, and federated security policies.
• Deploy and manage Cloud NGFW services as native cloud instances, integrating them into CI/CD pipelines via Terraform, APIs, or SDKs.
• Transform legacy port-based rules into App-ID and User-ID driven policies to enable Zero Trust micro-segmentation.
• Configure and optimize high-end features including WildFire (sandboxing), GlobalProtect (VPN), SSL decryption, and URL filtering.
• Develop automation scripts using Python or Ansible to streamline firewall management, rule audits, and configuration hygiene.
• Provide L4-level troubleshooting for complex connectivity issues, performing deep packet analysis using tools like Wireshark.

What This Job Offers

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