Service Ownership & Strategy: Define and implement the Network and Firewall Operation & Engineering strategy, aligning with business and IT objectives. Network Infrastructure Management: Oversee the administration, configuration, and optimization of routers, switches, firewalls, SD-WAN, and LAN/WAN architectures. Firewall Security & Compliance: Implement and maintain Palo Alto firewalls, including policy management, threat prevention, URL filtering, SSL decryption, and Zero Trust security models. Network Access Control (NAC): Manage and optimize Forescout NAC solutions for secure access control and endpoint compliance. Cloud & Hybrid Network Integration: Integrate and support cloud networking solutions (Azure, AWS, GCP) with on-premise environments. High Availability & Disaster Recovery: Design and maintain redundant network architectures to ensure business continuity. Security & Vulnerability Management: Ensure adherence to regulatory compliance standards (PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, GDPR, NIST) and conduct vulnerability management activities. Network Automation & Monitoring: Implement automation using Python, Ansible, Terraform, and maintain monitoring solutions (SolarWinds, Splunk, Nagios). Incident & Problem Management: Lead resolution of network and firewall incidents, root cause analysis, and ensure continuous improvement. Capacity Planning & Performance Optimization: Optimize network performance, bandwidth utilization, and manage traffic engineering. Collaboration & Stakeholder Management: Collaborate with security teams, cloud architects, and business leaders to support operations. Vendor & Technology Management: Manage relationships with network hardware/software vendors and service providers. Cost & Budget Management: Optimize network infrastructure costs while ensuring reliability and security. Minimum of 10+ years in network and firewall engineering and operations, with at least 5+ years in a leadership role. Strong hands-on experience with Palo Alto firewalls (Panorama, Cortex XDR, GlobalProtect VPN). Expertise in Forescout NAC, Zero Trust, and network access control policies. Proficiency in network protocols (BGP, OSPF, MPLS, SD-WAN, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP). In-depth knowledge of cloud networking (Azure Virtual WAN, AWS VPC, etc.). Experience in network automation tools (Ansible, Terraform, Python). Knowledge of load balancers (F5, Citrix ADC), DDoS protection, and SIEM solutions. Leadership & Communication: Excellent leadership, stakeholder engagement, and problem-solving abilities. Experience with AI-driven network analytics and predictive threat analysis. Knowledge of 5G, IoT security, and SDN technologies. Familiarity with ITSM tools (ServiceNow, Remedy) and DevSecOps methodologies. Good Communication: Strong verbal and written communication skills for internal and external interactions. Troubleshooting: Ability to troubleshoot complex issues across various technology towers. Capacity Planning & Performance Optimization: Knowledge of proactive network capacity planning and resource utilization. Security & Compliance: In-depth knowledge of security controls, vulnerability management, and compliance standards.