Proxy Firewall Security Engineer

We are seeking a self-driven Firewall & Proxy Security Engineer to join our network security team supporting a high-performance computing (HPC) and AI/ML cloud infrastructure environment. This role is responsible for the end-to-end design, deployment, and continuous improvement of our perimeter and internal network security stack, with a primary focus on Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet platforms.

The ideal candidate does not wait to be told what to do. You proactively identify gaps, vulnerabilities, and inefficiencies in the environment, then own the solution from proposal through implementation. You thrive in fast-paced, large-scale data center and cloud environments and have a passion for securing GPU clusters, AI/ML pipelines, and multi-tenant HPC workloads.

Firewall Engineering & Management

• Design, deploy, and manage Palo Alto Networks NGFWs (PA-Series, VM-Series, Panorama) and Fortinet FortiGate firewalls across data center, cloud, and HPC environments.
• Develop and maintain security policy frameworks including zero-trust segmentation, microsegmentation, and east-west traffic controls for GPU/AI clusters.
• Manage and tune Palo Alto Panorama and FortiManager for centralized, large-scale policy orchestration.
• Implement App-ID, User-ID, and SSL/TLS inspection policies aligned to HPC and AI/ML workload requirements.
• Lead firewall rule lifecycle management: audits, cleanup, change control, and compliance reviews.

Proxy & Web Security

• Architect and operate forward and reverse proxy solutions (Palo Alto Prisma Access, Explicit/Transparent proxies, NGFW-integrated SSL decryption).
• Configure and maintain URL filtering, application control, and threat prevention policies at scale.
• Integrate proxy infrastructure with SIEM, SOAR, and threat intelligence platforms for automated policy enforcement.
• Manage proxy high availability and load balancing in multi-datacenter environments handling large AI/ML data pipeline traffic volumes.

HPC, Cloud & AI/ML Infrastructure Security

• Collaborate with HPC and AI/ML platform teams to define and enforce network security controls for GPU fabrics, RDMA/InfiniBand environments, and large-scale training clusters.
• Secure cloud-connected HPC environments across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and private cloud (on-prem data center interconnects, SD-WAN, Direct Connect/ExpressRoute).
• Design firewall and proxy architectures that support ultra-low-latency requirements critical to distributed AI/ML training workloads.
• Implement security controls for containerized and Kubernetes-based AI/ML workloads, including Calico network policy and service mesh integrations.

Proactive Improvement & Innovation

• Continuously monitor the threat landscape and proactively recommend and implement defensive improvements before issues arise.
• Drive automation of firewall provisioning, rule audits, and compliance checks using Ansible, Terraform, or Python (PAN-OS API, FortiAPI).
• Identify technical debt and performance bottlenecks in the security stack and develop remediation roadmaps with minimal direction.
• Conduct regular security assessments of firewall policies and proxy configurations; present findings and remediation plans to senior leadership.
• Research and evaluate emerging security technologies relevant to HPC and AI/ML environments; pilot and champion adoption where appropriate.

Requirements

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in network security engineering with a focus on enterprise or data center firewalls.
• Deep expertise with Palo Alto Networks: PA-Series, VM-Series, CN-Series, Panorama, GlobalProtect, and Prisma Access.
• Strong experience with Fortinet: FortiGate, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, and FortiOS policy management.
• Proven experience securing large-scale data center environments ideally with HPC, GPU infrastructure, or AI/ML platforms.
• Solid understanding of TCP/IP networking, BGP/OSPF routing, VLANs, VXLANs, and SD-WAN as they relate to firewall policy.
• Experience with SSL/TLS inspection, certificate management, and proxy authentication at enterprise scale.
• Familiarity with cloud networking security (AWS Security Groups, Azure NSGs, Google Cloud Platform Firewall Rules) and hybrid connectivity.
• Demonstrated ability to identify problems and drive solutions independently without requiring constant supervision.
• Scripting/automation proficiency: Python, Bash, Ansible, or Terraform for security infrastructure automation.