Senior Palo Alto Cloud Engineer (Network Security Consultant)- W2

Job Title: Senior Palo Alto Cloud Engineer (Network Security Consultant)
Location: Columbia, SC (Hybrid 2 Days Onsite / 3 Days Remote)
Duration: 12+ Months Contract (Possible Extension)
Employment Type: W2 / C2C

Note: Candidates must currently reside in South Carolina (SC), North Carolina (NC), or Georgia (GA) and be willing to relocate to South Carolina before the project start date at their own expense. Preference will be given to candidates already located in South Carolina.

Job Summary

The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in Palo Alto VM-Series Firewalls, cloud security architecture, zero-trust networking, and enterprise network security. This is not a software development role. The engineer will collaborate closely with Product Owners, Application Teams, Network Engineers, and Security teams to deliver scalable, secure cloud infrastructure solutions.

Key Responsibilities
Design, implement, and maintain Palo Alto VM-Series Firewalls in AWS and Azure cloud environments.
Architect and implement Zero Trust Network Security using Palo Alto technologies.
Deploy, configure, upgrade, troubleshoot, and optimize enterprise cloud firewall solutions.
Manage Panorama for centralized firewall administration and policy management.
Develop and maintain enterprise security policies, threat prevention profiles, and network segmentation strategies.
Perform firewall log analysis, security monitoring, and performance tuning.
Collaborate with cloud infrastructure, networking, and application teams to secure enterprise cloud workloads.
Design highly available and scalable cloud security architectures.
Configure and support F5 BIG-IP LTM load balancing solutions.
Ensure compliance with enterprise security standards and best practices.
Participate in security reviews, architecture discussions, and technical planning sessions.
Troubleshoot complex networking and cloud security issues across hybrid environments.
Document security architecture, operational procedures, and implementation standards.

Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or related field OR 10+ years of relevant professional experience.
One active certification in Palo Alto, AWS, or Microsoft Azure.
10+ years of experience in Network Security and Network Engineering.
5+ years of hands-on experience designing, deploying, configuring, upgrading, troubleshooting, and optimizing Palo Alto VM-Series Firewalls.
Extensive experience supporting Palo Alto firewalls in both AWS and Azure cloud environments.

Strong experience with:
Palo Alto Panorama
Security Policy Design
Threat Prevention
Log Analysis
Security Best Practices
Proven experience implementing Zero Trust Security Architecture using Palo Alto technologies.
5+ years of experience deploying, configuring, and maintaining F5 BIG-IP LTM solutions.
Excellent troubleshooting and analytical skills.
Strong communication and collaboration abilities.

Preferred Qualifications
Certifications
PCNSA (Palo Alto Certified Network Security Administrator)
PCNSE (Palo Alto Certified Network Security Engineer)
Microsoft SC-100 Cybersecurity Architect
AWS Certified Solutions Architect
Technical Skills
Palo Alto Next-Generation Firewalls
Prisma Cloud
Panorama
AWS
Microsoft Azure
F5 BIG-IP LTM / ASM / iRules
Infoblox DDI
Cisco Umbrella
Forescout
OPSWAT MetaDefender / ICAP
Cloud Network Security
Network Segmentation
Threat Prevention
Hybrid Cloud Architecture
Technical Environment
Palo Alto VM-Series Firewalls
Palo Alto Panorama
AWS
Microsoft Azure
Prisma Cloud
F5 BIG-IP LTM
F5 ASM
iRules
Cisco Umbrella
Infoblox DDI
Forescout
OPSWAT MetaDefender
Zero Trust Architecture
Cloud Networking
Network Security