Cybersecurity Firewall Analyst

Job Title: Cybersecurity Firewall Analyst – Hiring FAST!
Industry: Utility
Location: Charlotte, NC
Pay Rate: $62-65/HR on W2 Only – NO C2C
Setting: Hybrid Required (Remote is NOT an Option)
Duration: 12+ months
Job ID: 247861

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree, preferably in Cybersecurity, Information Security, Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or other closely related fields
• 4+ years Cybersecurity and/or IT-related experience; military information security and/or system administration role
• 3+ years of experience in Cybersecurity fields, or roles focused on cybersecurity or IT functions.

Desired Qualifications:

• Hands-on experience with Palo Alto Networks SASE (Prisma Access) including Mobile Users, Remote Networks, and Service Connections
• Strong understanding of Security Service Edge (SSE) capabilities (SWG, CASB, ZTNA, DNS Security, SaaS security)
• Expertise in policy design, traffic steering, and segmentation within cloud-delivered security platforms
• Strong knowledge of network protocols (BGP, IPSec, routing, NAT) and SASE connectivity design
• Experience integrating SASE with on-prem Inspection Zone and hybrid cloud architecture
• Proficiency with Global Protect and remote access/VPN solutions
• Experience with automation and scalability (APIs, scripting, infrastructure-as-code such as Python or Terraform)
• Strong background in high availability design, system hardening, and performance optimization
• Experience leading or supporting migration from legacy proxy/multi-vendor environments to SASE platforms
• Strong understanding of cybersecurity frameworks and best practices (NIST, CIS, Zero Trust)
• Proven ability to collaborate cross-functionally, communicate risk effectively, and provide leadership-ready updates
• Possession of multiple industry standard certifications such as SANS GIAC/GCIA/GCIH/GCFA, CISSP, CISA, CISM, etc. or other network / system security certifications.

Responsibilities:

• Participate in the implementation, support, and lifecycle management of Palo Alto Networks Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions (Prisma Access, Global Protect, Strata Cloud Manager) within a large-scale enterprise environment, while maintaining integration with Inspection Zone technologies (F5 BIG-IP, SWG/Proxy, etc.)
• Design, deploy, and continuously optimize cloud-delivered security controls including secure web gateway (SWG), CASB, ZTNA, and threat prevention capabilities aligned to Palo Alto SASE architecture
• Provide advanced engineering support for SASE and Inspection Zone security platforms, partnering closely with Security Operations, Network Engineering, and Incident Response teams
• Drive security monitoring, telemetry integration, and policy enforcement across SASE and on-prem inspection environments to ensure consistent visibility and threat detection
• Perform system hardening, high availability design, and resilience engineering for SASE and Inspection Zone environments, including failover strategy and service continuity planning
• Maintain a strong understanding of the global threat landscape and apply Palo Alto threat intelligence and best practices to proactively reduce enterprise risk exposure
• Drive continuous improvement of detection and response capabilities, leveraging SASE telemetry to enhance incident analysis, threat hunting, and mitigation effectiveness
• Develop and report on operational and security metrics (e.g., policy effectiveness, threat prevention performance, user activity visibility) to inform leadership decision-making and improve operational maturity
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams and leadership to align SASE strategy with enterprise security architecture, modernization initiatives (e.g., legacy proxy replacement), and business objectives.