Information Technology Specialist II - Senior Firewall Engineer

This recruitment is open on a continuous basis until filled and will establish an eligibility list that will expire on November 12, 2026. This is a continuous recruitment and interested applicants should submit their application as soon as possible. This recruitment may close at any time without notice.

The Information Technology Team at the City of Irvine is seeking a skilled Information Technology Specialist II – Senior Firewall Engineer to join a cross-functional team dedicated to maintaining a secure and high-performance firewall infrastructure. This role involves managing enterprise-grade firewalls, monitoring and responding to security incidents, and staying up to date on firewall policies. The ideal candidate will have expertise in Palo Alto Networks and in-depth knowledge of network protocols, Public Key Infrastructure, and cloud-based firewall security.

• Manage enterprise-grade firewalls across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.
• Develop and maintain firewall rules, policies, and configurations to ensure optimal security and performance.
• Monitor firewall logs, alerts, and threat intelligence feeds to detect and respond to security incidents.
• Define and enforce security policies related to access control, segmentation, VPN, and intrusion prevention.
• Continuously review and optimize firewall policies to align with industry best practices and regulatory requirements (e.g., NIST, CIS, CJIS).
• Work with the SOC team to investigate and remediate security events involving firewall traffic.
• Participate in an On-Call rotation and may involve evening and weekend support as needed.
• Ensure firewall infrastructure maintains high availability and performance.
• Work closely with infrastructure and application teams to ensure secure connectivity and application security.
• Stay updated on the latest firewall technologies, AI technologies, zero-trust network architectures, and evolving cyber threats.
• Find additional information in the Information Technology Specialist II job description.

• Bachelor degree in Computer Science or closely related field and five (5) years of information technology experience, with one of those years acting in a lead or expert capacity performing a variety of progressively responsible technical or analytical tasks for computer systems or services in one or more functional area or a closely related or emerging information technology field or any combination of education and experience that provides equivalent knowledge, skills, and abilities.

• Expert knowledge of Palo Alto Networks firewalls, including but not limited to Panorama, Prisma Access, Global Protect VPN, and Threat Prevention.
• Strong understanding of firewall rule management, security zones, NAT, and application-layer filtering.
• In-depth knowledge of network protocols and Public Key Infrastructure.
• Knowledge of cloud-based firewall security, including Palo Alto Prisma Access, AWS/Azure firewalls, and hybrid cloud environments.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to assess firewall risks and implement effective solutions.
• Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, including network engineers, security analysts, cloud architects, and application engineers.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills for documenting firewall policies, writing reports, and presenting security recommendations.
• Oversee security projects from initiation to closure, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, risk management strategies, and compliance requirements.

The Mission of the Employees of the City of Irvine is to create and maintain a community where people can live, work, and play in an environment that is safe, vibrant, and aesthetically pleasing. We are one team that exists to serve our community in the continual pursuit of a City that offers an exceptional quality of life.

The City of Irvine’s five values of Humility, Innovation, Empathy, Passion, and Integrity reflect the interests and needs of the community, and the level of service they expect and desire. We are One Irvine through embrace of a team-oriented approach by living our values every day.

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