Senior Firewall Engineer (Palo Alto SME)

Maximus TCS (Technology and Consulting Services) Internal Job Profile Code: TCS136, T4, Band 7

Job-Specific Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

- Identify and remediate firewall misconfigurations, conflicting rules, and security gaps to improve overall security posture and performance.

- Provide Tier 3 support to network operations teams for firewall and load balancer-related issues.

- Maintain hardware and software components at vendor-supported levels to ensure operational integrity.

- Support mission-critical Continuity of Operations (COOP) requirements.

- Conduct regular firewall assessments on enterprise and customer devices and develop reports with recommended improvements.

- Develop and support performance and traffic utilization reports for network devices.

- Contribute to After Action Reports (AARs) and operational documentation.

- Provide subject matter expertise for Palo Alto firewall technologies within the enterprise architecture.

- Collaborate with customer stakeholders to define objectives, roadmap strategies, and architecture improvements.

- Evaluate current technologies and processes to identify gaps and recommend future cybersecurity strategies.

- Participate in technical meetings and mission partner working groups supporting enterprise operations.

- Ensure compliance with DoD STIGs, DISA policies, and JSIG security requirements.

Job-Specific Minimum Requirements:

- Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility.

- DoD 8570 IAT Level II certification (e.g., Security+ or equivalent).

- Strong experience administering enterprise Windows Server environments.

- Deep knowledge of Windows services (Active Directory, DNS, Group Policy, etc.).

- Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex infrastructure issues.

- Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Skills & Qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field (or equivalent experience).

- 8+ years of relevant IT systems administration experience (or Master's with 6-10 years).

- Proven experience supporting DoD or federal environments.

- Experience working in classified environments with strict security requirements.

- Experience serving as a technical SME in enterprise-scale Windows environments.

- Working knowledge of Linux/Unix systems administration.

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- Familiarity with DISA STIGs, RMF, and other federal cybersecurity frameworks.

- Experience with system automation, scripting (PowerShell), and configuration management tools.

- Strong leadership and mentoring capabilities.

- Ability to operate in fast-paced, mission-driven environments with minimal supervision.

- Experience supporting hybrid or multi-OS enterprise environments.

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Minimum Requirements

TCS136, T4, Band 7

EEO Statement

Maximus is an equal opportunity employer.

We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, nation...