Lead Technologist - Palo Alto Cyber Specialist

Share Our Purpose. Be Yourself. Feel Valued. People are the heart of our business. As an American Water employee, you will be offered a competitive salary and health benefits package, along with opportunities to develop, grow, and evolve your career. Our benefits packages focus on key areas such as health & wellness, emotional & well-being, and savings for current & future goals. We are Beautifully Different. We strongly believe having diversity across our company makes us more successful and helps us provide essential services to our customers. We are stronger because we embrace different ideas, viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds. American Water is the best choice for your next role! Click here for more information on our inclusion, diversity, and equity journey. About American Water American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the United States. With a history dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people across 14 regulated jurisdictions and 18 military installations. American Water’s 6,500 talented professionals leverage their significant expertise and the company’s national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the benefit of customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders. As one of the fastest growing utilities in the U.S., American Water expects to invest $30 to $34 billion in infrastructure repairs and replacement, system resiliency and regulated acquisitions over the next 10 years. The company has a long-standing history of executing its core operations, aligned with sustainable best practices, through its commitments to safety, affordability, customer service, protecting the environment, an inclusive workforce and strengthening communities. American Water has been recognized on the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Indexfor the fifth consecutive year, ranked 18th on Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies 2023 List, earned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security SAFETY Act designation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense® Excellence Award, among additional state, local and national recognitions. For more information, visit amwater.com and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Primary Role The Senior Technologist Palo Alto Cyber Specialist will be responsible for Palo Alto Firewall and SASE implementation, and management of our organization's Palo Alto Cyber security systems. This role involves monitoring, analyzing performance, and responding to requests and incidents, ensuring the protection of our network infrastructure and sensitive data. The ideal candidate has a strong background in cybersecurity, hands on experience with Palo Alto Firewalls, SASE, Strata Cloud Manager, XDR, and Zero-Trust principles.

• Configure, maintain, and optimize Palo Alto Network Security technologies, including but not limited to VPN, SASE, SSPM, DLP, physical and Cloud Firewalls.
• Develop and refine security rules, dashboards, and reports for proactive threat and error detection.
• Deploy firewall and SASE technologies, configure for industry best practices.
• Plan, implement, and maintain EDR policies and deployments, in coordination with cyber investigation and IT operations teams. Regularly assess the effectiveness of network and endpoint security solutions and suggest improvements.
• Develop and maintain documentation for Cyber processes, procedures, and configurations.
• Conduct periodic security assessments and audits using the Palo Alto Strata and Cortex Platforms.
• Assist response teams with cybersecurity investigations.Key Accountabilities
• Monitor the status of network and endpoint security systems to include:
• rule effectiveness and efficiency
• device performance
• Firewall and endpoint metrics
• Create and Enhance security documentation related to the Strata, Prisma and Cortex XDR platforms at American Water. American Water is undergoing a large technology platform shift, and this role will be pivotal in creating and optimizing network and endpoint security technologies.

Act as a technology direction lead for the Strata, Prisma, and Cortex XDR platforms, which includes providing detailed information and advice as necessary in that specialization in order to achieve business outcomes. * Develop and/or promote technical solutions which support the business requirements. Be accountable for specific deliverables in relation Firewall and Endpoint Metrics, and technology effectiveness. * Engage closely with stakeholders to understand what business objectives they want to accomplish through the network security platform and then work with the various technology teams to ensure the resiliency and disaster recovery needs are met.Knowledge/Skills

• Excellent decision-making ability, balancing what is right with what is realistic
• Flexibility to adjust to multiple demands, shifting priorities, ambiguity, and rapid change
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence and to deliver results through others while overcoming obstacles to success
• Possesses a high energy level, sense of urgency, decisiveness, and an ability to work well under pressure
• Strong knowledge of IT infrastructure, networking, and security principles.
• Strong knowledge of cybersecurity principles, threat hunting, and incident response.
• Managing security systems across geographically diverse and hybrid-cloud environments.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills for a wide variety of audiences including proven ability to deliver conference presentations Creative approach to problem-solving with the ability to focus on details while simultaneously maintaining the "big picture" view
• Experience with network security, firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPN, and endpoint protection solutions.
• Experience developing and maintaining DLP policies. Familiarity with Cloud architectures and technologies.
• Familiarity with log analysis, data normalization, and event correlationExperience/Education
• Bachelors' degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, relevant field of Engineering or similar technology field.
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with Network Security Devices, Palo Alto Networks platform and Strata Cloud Manager Preferred
• Experience with SASE security implementations and coordination of policies between SASE components.
• Experience managing EDR deployments across varying OS and device types, with direct Cortex XDR experience preferred.Travel Requirements
• As necessary, up to 10%Work Environment
• Primarily in an office environmentCompetenciesChampions safetyCustomer obsessedCultivates innovationNimble learningDrives ResultsCollaborates
• Up to 9.25% employer contribution towards 401(k) and defined contribution. This includes 4% 401(k) match and an additional 5.25% employer contribution after a one-year vesting period
• This position also offers participation in the American Water Annual Performance Program.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and prescription benefits starting on the first of the month after the start date. Preview available on americanwaterbenefits.com (non-union employee tab at the top)
• A hybrid work model autonomy and flexibility in how work gets done
• Great atmosphere with people who care about water and the environment
• Up to $10K in qualified Tuition Reimbursement