Cybersecurity Engineer

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Position Details:

Cybersecurity Engineer VPN, SD-WAN & Palo Alto Specialist

Columbus, Ohio (On-site)

Long Term

Exp: 8 to 10 years of experience

Job Description:

Overview

The Cybersecurity Engineer will be responsible for designing, implementing, and supporting secure network connectivity with a focus on site-to-site VPNs, SD-WAN, Palo Alto Networks NGFW, and Prisma Access. This role will lead the migration of IPsec tunnels from Cisco routers to Palo Alto firewalls while supporting SD-WAN integration to ensure resilient, secure, and optimized connectivity with business partners

Key Responsibilities

VPN & Connectivity Engineering

• Design, deploy, and support site-to-site IPsec VPN tunnels for enterprise and third-party partner connectivity
• Lead migration of IPsec tunnels from Cisco routers to Palo Alto NGFW
• Validate tunnel configurations including:
• IKEv1/IKEv2 settings
• Phase 1 / Phase 2 proposals
• Crypto profiles and lifetimes
• Troubleshoot VPN issues including latency, packet drops, and tunnel instability
• Coordinate with business partners to establish and test secure connectivity
  
  

SD-WAN Integration & Support

• Assist in the design, deployment, and support of SD-WAN solutions for branch and partner connectivity
• Integrate SD-WAN with IPsec VPN tunnels and Palo Alto firewalls
• Support traffic steering, path selection, and failover policies across WAN links
• Troubleshoot SD-WAN-related issues including path degradation, failover events, and performance bottlenecks
• Collaborate with network engineering teams to align SD-WAN architecture with security controls
• Ensure secure segmentation and enforcement of policies across SD-WAN fabric
  
  

Palo Alto Firewall Management

• Configure and manage Palo Alto Networks NGFW (PAN-OS) including:
• Security policies
• NAT rules
• Routing (static, BGP)
• Zone-based segmentation
• Implement best practices aligned with Palo Alto reference architectures
• Perform firewall rule reviews, cleanup, and optimization
  
  

Prisma Access (SASE)

• Support and maintain Prisma Access for remote users and branch connectivity
• Configure and troubleshoot GlobalProtect VPN (portal & gateway)
• Integrate Prisma Access with on-prem NGFW and SD-WAN environments
• Assist with policy alignment between on-prem firewalls and Prisma Access
  
  

Migration & Transformation

• Plan and execute migration of partner tunnels from Cisco to Palo Alto with minimal downtime
• Develop migration runbooks, rollback plans, and validation procedures
• Perform packet captures and traffic flow validation during cutovers
• Ensure proper documentation of all migrated tunnels and configurations
  
  

Monitoring & Troubleshooting

• Monitor VPN, SD-WAN, and firewall health using tools such as:
• Panorama / Strata Cloud Manager
• AIOps
• SIEM (e.g., Splunk)
• Troubleshoot issues using:
• Packet capture (tcpdump, PAN-OS packet-diag)
• Logs (traffic, system, IKE, GlobalProtect)
• Partner with SOC/operations teams for incident response
  
  

Security & Compliance

• Ensure configurations align with NIST, TSA, and enterprise security standards
• Implement secure encryption standards and key management practices
• Maintain audit-ready documentation for firewall, VPN, and SD-WAN configurations
  
  

Documentation & Collaboration

Create and maintain:

Network diagrams (Visio)

Tunnel inventories and SD-WAN topology documentation

Runbooks and knowledge base articles

Work closely with:

Network engineering

Security operations (SOC)

Business partners and vendors

Required Qualifications

5 years of experience in network security engineering

Strong hands-on experience with:

Palo Alto Networks NGFW (PAN-OS)

Site-to-site IPsec VPNs

SD-WAN technologies (design or support)

Cisco VPN configurations (for migration context)

Experience with Prisma Access and GlobalProtect

Strong understanding of:

Routing (BGP, static routing)

NAT and security policy design

Encryption standards (AES, SHA, DH groups)

Experience troubleshooting VPN, SD-WAN, and firewall issues in production environments

Preferred Qualifications

• Palo Alto certifications (PCNSE, PCCSE)
• Experience with:
• Panorama / Strata Cloud Manager
• AIOps for NGFW
• SIEM platforms (e.g., Splunk)
• Experience in OT/critical infrastructure environments
• Familiarity with zero trust and SASE architectures
  
  

Key Competencies

• Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills
• Ability to lead partner-facing technical discussions
• Experience executing large-scale migrations with minimal downtime
• Strong documentation and communication skills
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced, incident-driven environment
  
  

Success Metrics

• Successful migration of 100% of partner IPsec tunnels from Cisco to Palo Alto
• Stable and optimized SD-WAN connectivity with minimal failover impact
• Reduction in VPN/SD-WAN-related incidents and MTTR
• Improved visibility and logging of partner traffic
• Compliance with enterprise security standards and audit requirements
• Accurate and up-to-date documentation of all connectivity