Firewall Engineer with Security Clearance

Firewall Engineer Location: Arlington, VA (100% Onsite)
Clearance: Active Top Secret (Must be eligible for TS/SCI and CI Polygraph)
Employment Type: Full-Time Position Overview SDA Solutions is seeking an experienced Firewall Engineer to support a critical Department of Defense enterprise environment in Arlington, VA. The selected candidate will play a key role in designing, implementing, securing, and maintaining enterprise firewall and network security solutions supporting mission-critical operations. This position is ideal for a hands-on engineer with extensive experience supporting complex enterprise networks, Palo Alto technologies, and secure DoD environments. The successful candidate will work closely with technical teams and government stakeholders to improve network security, optimize firewall performance, and ensure compliance with DoD cybersecurity requirements. This position is 100% onsite in Arlington, VA, with occasional travel throughout the Washington Metropolitan area as required. Primary Responsibilities
Engineer, configure, maintain, and troubleshoot Palo Alto firewall infrastructure supporting enterprise operations.
Identify security gaps, firewall misconfigurations, inefficient rule sets, and performance issues while recommending and implementing corrective actions.
Optimize firewall policies and load balancing configurations to strengthen overall network security and performance.
Provide Tier III engineering support for complex firewall and network security incidents.
Maintain firewall hardware and software at vendor-supported versions and coordinate upgrades as necessary.
Support Continuity of Operations (COOP) requirements for mission-critical environments.
Perform recurring security assessments of enterprise firewalls and document findings with recommendations for remediation.
Generate monthly reports on firewall health, network performance, and traffic utilization.
Participate in root cause analysis and After Action Reports following operational events.
Serve as a subject matter expert for Palo Alto technologies and provide technical guidance on architecture, design, and best practices.
Collaborate with government customers to evaluate current network security architecture and recommend improvements.
Support cybersecurity initiatives by identifying technology gaps and assisting with future security strategies.
Participate in technical working groups and engineering meetings with government stakeholders.
Ensure compliance with applicable DoD STIGs, DISA policies, JSIG requirements, and cybersecurity standards.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree and 8+ years of relevant experience. Additional years of directly related experience may be considered in lieu of a degree.
Minimum 5 years of hands-on experience engineering and supporting Cisco and Palo Alto firewall environments.
Strong working knowledge of:
Panorama deployment and administration
Panorama High Availability
Templates and Template Stacks
Centralized policy management and policy deployment
Palo Alto routing configuration
IPSec Site-to-Site VPN configuration and troubleshooting
Palo Alto virtual firewalls in AWS
Intrusion Prevention (IPS)
Virtual Routers and Virtual Systems
High Availability (HA) firewall deployments
Experience supporting enterprise network security within high-security DoD environments.
Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Required Certifications Must possess a current DoD 8570 IAT Level II certification such as: Security+ CE
CySA+
CCNA Security
CND
SSCP
GSEC
GICSP
Security Requirements
Active DoD Top Secret Clearance
Ability to obtain and maintain TS/SCI
Willingness to successfully complete and maintain a Counterintelligence (CI) Polygraph
Preferred Qualifications
Previous experience supporting DISA enterprise environments.
Experience supporting large-scale DoD network infrastructure.
Familiarity with cloud-hosted firewall deployments and hybrid enterprise environments.
Experience working within ITIL and/or DevSecOps operational environments.
Why SDA Solutions? At SDA Solutions, you'll join a team dedicated to supporting national security missions through innovative technology solutions. We offer the opportunity to work alongside experienced professionals on complex technical challenges while contributing directly to mission success. If you're looking for an environment where your technical expertise makes a meaningful impact, we'd like to hear from you.