Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for a Firewall Engineer

🎯 Role Definition

Are you a vigilant guardian of digital infrastructure, passionate about defending against sophisticated cyber threats? We are searching for an experienced and meticulous Firewall Engineer to join our dynamic cybersecurity team. In this critical role, you will be the architect and operator of our network's first line of defense, responsible for designing, implementing, and managing our complex firewall and network security environment. You will serve as the subject matter expert for network security, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our data and systems. If you excel at crafting robust security policies, troubleshooting intricate network issues, and staying ahead of the evolving threat landscape, we want you on our team. This is a unique opportunity to make a tangible impact on our organization's security posture and protect our most valuable digital assets.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Network Administrator
Security Analyst
IT Systems Engineer

Advancement To:

Senior Firewall / Network Security Engineer
Network Security Architect
Cybersecurity Manager

Lateral Moves:

Cloud Security Engineer
Penetration Tester
Network Architect

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, deploy, and manage the full lifecycle of enterprise-grade, next-generation firewalls, including Palo Alto, Cisco ASA/Firepower, and Fortinet platforms.
Develop, implement, and meticulously maintain a comprehensive firewall rulebase, ensuring all policies align with corporate security standards, compliance requirements, and business logic.
Perform in-depth analysis, tuning, and optimization of firewall rules and security policies to enhance security posture, minimize the attack surface, and improve network performance.
Act as the primary escalation point for troubleshooting complex network connectivity issues across firewalls, routers, switches, and remote access VPNs.
Lead and execute firewall and network security-related projects, from initial design, requirements gathering, and vendor evaluation to final implementation and operational handoff.
Manage and support secure remote access and site-to-site VPN solutions, including IPSec and SSL VPN tunnels, ensuring stable and secure connectivity for all users and locations.
Conduct regular, systematic security audits and vulnerability assessments of firewall configurations, rule sets, and adjacent network infrastructure to identify and remediate weaknesses.
Respond to, investigate, and remediate security incidents by analyzing firewall logs, packet captures, and network traffic to determine the root cause and implement effective countermeasures.
Collaborate closely with network operations, systems administration, and application development teams to ensure seamless integration and operation of security solutions within the production environment.
Create and maintain detailed, accurate documentation for the network security infrastructure, including network topology diagrams, security policies, change logs, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Evaluate, test, and recommend new security technologies, tools, and methodologies to proactively defend against emerging and evolving cyber threats.
Participate in a 24/7 on-call rotation to provide rapid response and expert-level support for critical security and network-related incidents.
Proactively monitor network traffic and security alerts using SIEM, IDS/IPS, and other specialized monitoring tools to identify, triage, and respond to suspicious activity.
Manage the complete lifecycle of firewall hardware and software, including capacity planning, performance monitoring, software patching, and planning for technology refreshes.
Configure and manage advanced security features such as Application Control, URL Filtering, Threat Prevention (Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, Vulnerability Protection), and sandboxing solutions.
Translate complex business and application requirements into specific technical security solutions, ensuring a proper balance between security, functionality, and user experience.
Provide expert-level technical support, mentorship, and guidance to junior team members and other IT staff on all matters related to network security.
Develop and maintain automation scripts using languages like Python or Ansible to streamline routine firewall management tasks, policy validation, and reporting.
Perform regular, scheduled reviews and clean-up of legacy, redundant, or overly permissive firewall rules to continuously shrink the organization's attack surface.
Ensure and demonstrate compliance with industry regulations and internal security standards (e.g., PCI-DSS, SOX, HIPAA, GDPR) by implementing and validating required network controls.
Act as the primary technical liaison with security vendors for escalated support cases, product enhancements, and to stay informed about product roadmaps and new features.

Secondary Functions

Support internal and external security compliance audits by providing evidence of firewall controls, change management records, and procedural documentation.
Contribute to the development and ongoing refinement of the organization's overall network security strategy and reference architecture.
Collaborate with the Cyber Incident Response Team by providing network forensics, traffic analysis, and containment support during active security investigations.
Participate actively in the IT change management process, serving as a technical approver for network and security-related changes to ensure they do not introduce risk.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Expert-level proficiency with Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW), particularly Palo Alto Networks (PAN-OS, Panorama), and significant experience with Cisco (ASA/Firepower) and/or Fortinet (FortiGate).
Deep understanding of VPN technologies, including complex route-based IPSec tunnels, BGP over IPSec, and remote access solutions like GlobalProtect or AnyConnect.
Strong command of network routing and switching protocols (e.g., BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, VLANs, STP) and their interactions with security devices.
Experience with Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS), their signature management, and integration with firewall ecosystems.
Advanced proficiency with network analysis and packet capture tools such as Wireshark and tcpdump for deep-dive troubleshooting.
Familiarity with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) platforms (e.g., Splunk, QRadar, Sentinel) for log analysis, correlation, and incident investigation.
Practical knowledge of scripting languages (Python, PowerShell, Bash) for the automation of network and security configuration and monitoring tasks.
Experience with network and security principles in public cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP), including virtual firewalls, security groups, and VPCs.
Strong understanding of authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) protocols and services like RADIUS, TACACS+, LDAP, and SAML.
Knowledge of adjacent security technologies such as Web Application Firewalls (WAF), load balancers, and forward/reverse proxy servers.

Soft Skills

Exceptional analytical and critical thinking skills with a meticulous attention to detail.
Strong verbal and written communication skills, capable of explaining complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
A highly collaborative mindset with the ability to work effectively in a team-oriented environment.
Excellent time management and organizational skills, with the capacity to manage multiple high-priority projects and tasks simultaneously.
A proactive, methodical, and calm approach to troubleshooting and incident resolution, especially under pressure.
A strong sense of ownership and dedication to protecting the organization's assets.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or an equivalent combination of professional experience and industry certifications.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, or Computer Science.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Computer Science
Information Technology
Cybersecurity
Network Engineering

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

4-8 years of dedicated experience in network security engineering, with a strong, hands-on focus on firewall administration, implementation, and troubleshooting.

Preferred:

Proven experience engineering and managing firewall infrastructure in a large-scale, complex enterprise or service provider environment.
Highly desirable professional certifications include: PCNSE (Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer), CCNP Security (Cisco Certified Network Professional Security), or NSE 4+ (Fortinet Network Security Expert).