Lead Network Ops Engineer - Palo Alto/Zscaler

Salary: $120,000 - 160,000 per year Requirements:

• We require a bachelors degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent hands-on experience.
• We are looking for 8+ years of enterprise network operations or engineering experience supporting large-scale, mission-critical environments.
• We need expert-level knowledge of network security architecture, with deep specialization in Palo Alto and Zscaler platforms.
• We expect extensive practical experience with Cisco, Juniper, Brocade, Palo Alto, Aruba, and F5 technologies.
• We require a proven track record of leading major incidents under pressure, with strong communication skills and technical leadership.
• Preferred certifications include CCNP, CCIE, JNCIP/JNCIE, PCNSE, F5 Certified Admin or Engineer, and AWS Advanced Networking.
• We require participation in a 24x7 Tier 3 on-call escalation rotation.
• We require availability to support after-hours change execution and major incident coverage as needed.

• We serve as the final escalation point for high-severity network incidents, using advanced packet analysis, protocol decoding, and cross-platform correlation.
• We lead in-depth root cause analysis and deliver engineering-quality post-incident reports, along with corrective and preventive recommendations.
• We direct network recovery during major outages involving routing instability, security events, hardware failures, or cloud connectivity issues.
• We provide expert support for Palo Alto firewalls, Palo Alto Cloud Security, and Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange services across complex, multi-tier environments.
• We apply strong expertise in security automation, API-led provisioning, and lifecycle management, including Infrastructure as Code pipelines.
• We support Cisco ASA, Palo Alto NGFW, IPSec architectures, segmentation policies, and enterprise security posture validation.
• We validate, enforce, and continuously improve security architectures and industry best practices.
• We define and govern Zero Trust access architectures using ZIA and ZPA to enable secure user-to-application access without traditional trust models.
• We use packet analysis and monitoring tools such as BlueCat, SolarWinds, APCON, Wireshark, and NetFlow/sFlow platforms.
• We build and maintain automation scripts that support configuration validation, monitoring, and incident response workflows.
• We assess, integrate, and optimize new operational and observability tools to improve network visibility and reliability.
• We partner with Network Engineering teams to validate new designs, perform pre-deployment testing, and shape architectural and operational standards.
• We mentor junior and mid-level NOC engineers through technical coaching, lab support, and training material development.
• We work directly with vendors on escalated TAC cases, hardware issues, and architectural reviews.

• API
• AWS
• Aruba
• Cloud
• Cisco
• Hardware
• Support
• Network
• Security

More:

We are working with Vanguard to connect exceptional professionals to this Lead Senior Network Operations Center (NOC) Engineer (Tier 3) opportunity. This role sits at the top technical escalation level within our global NOC, where we focus on advanced troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, incident leadership, and network design influence across complex multi-vendor environments. We offer a hybrid working model for most crew members, combining flexibility with in-person collaboration, learning, and connection. Our mission is to support the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients while helping our people learn, develop, and do their best work. Please note that we are not offering visa sponsorship for this position.

last updated 36 week of 2026