Network Security/Firewall Operations Engineer

Please note that this is a contract role providing services to Hilton through Talent Solutions. If you are selected for this role, you will be employed by Talent Solutions and will not be an employee of Hilton. Contract workers are not employees of Hilton or any of its subsidiaries, nor will they be eligible for Hilton benefits.

***US based remote role required to work CST hours***

Job Summary:
We are seeking a highly skilled and detail-oriented network security professional to join our enterprise security operations team. This role is central to maintaining the integrity, availability, and governance of firewall operations across a large, distributed environment. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in firewall request review, security change management, and platform operations, while working collaboratively with internal engineering teams, managed service providers, and vendors to ensure secure and reliable network connectivity. Experience in cloud security is highly desirable and will be considered a strong differentiator. This is an excellent opportunity for a technically strong individual who thrives in a fast-paced, operationally focused environment and is passionate about improving security processes and driving consistent, high-quality outcomes.

Responsibilities:

- Review firewall and network security requests through ServiceNow to validate business requirements, technical scope, source/destination/port details, environment information, and required supporting documentation.
- Review firewall and security-related change records to confirm implementation plans, validation steps, backout plans, risk level, affected systems, approval status, and operational readiness.
- Support the review, creation, and maintenance of firewall connectivity templates for approved business solutions, ensuring requirements are clearly translated into actionable firewall rules and implementation guidance.
- Track and manage firewall and security ticket backlogs by reviewing ticket status, identifying stale or pending items, preparing summaries, and coordinating follow-up with stakeholders, vendors, and support teams.
- Support Cisco firewall management platforms and secure device connector operations, including platform health checks, connector configuration, credential updates, maintenance tasks, upgrade support, and operational troubleshooting.
- Assist with firewall device migration, synchronization issues, credential failures, and platform visibility problems to help maintain accurate and reliable firewall management.
- Troubleshoot firewall connectivity issues using firewall management tools, packet-tracer analysis, firewall policy review, Splunk, and firewall log data to identify allowed, denied, or misrouted traffic.
- Coordinate with internal teams, Cisco, managed service providers, and other vendors to resolve security platform issues, unreachable connector problems, access issues, and operational blockers.
- Support security platform access and SSO discussions, including role requirements, SAML attributes, AD group mapping, and access control expectations.
- Maintain operational documentation, process notes, review standards, and troubleshooting procedures to improve consistency, reduce repeat issues, and support knowledge sharing across the team.

Skills:
- Strong understanding of enterprise firewall operations, network segmentation, secure connectivity, remote access considerations, and managed firewall support models.
- Ability to translate business connectivity requirements into clear firewall rule requirements, including source, destination, protocol, port, directionality, and supporting documentation.
- Experience troubleshooting firewall access issues using firewall logs, packet-tracer tools, Splunk, and other observability or log analysis platforms.
- Ability to manage backlog items, track ticket status, prepare operational summaries, and drive follow-up actions across multiple teams.
- Strong documentation skills, with the ability to create and maintain operational procedures, firewall review guidance, and troubleshooting runbooks.
- Strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to support both daily operations and continuous improvement of firewall and security processes.
- Experience coordinating with vendors, managed service providers, internal engineering teams, and business stakeholders to resolve firewall and security platform issues.

Qualifications:
- 5 years experience supporting enterprise network security operations, with a focus on firewall request review, firewall rule validation, and security change management.
- 3 years hands-on experience with Cisco firewall technologies and Cisco security management platforms such as Cisco Defense Orchestrator and Secure Device Connector, or similar centralized firewall management solutions.
- 3 years experience reviewing firewall and security changes in ServiceNow or a similar ITSM platform, including request review, change review, approval validation, risk review, implementation planning, and backout planning.

This is a compelling opportunity to play a meaningful role in securing a globally recognized enterprise environment, working at the intersection of firewall operations, security governance, and platform management. You will have the chance to collaborate with talented professionals across engineering, vendor, and managed service teams, while contributing to the continuous improvement of security operations at scale. For a motivated network security professional looking to deepen their expertise and make a tangible impact, this role offers both the challenge and visibility to advance your career in a dynamic and high-profile setting.