Palo Alto Network Administrator (Top Secret)

Title: Firewall Administrator (Palo Alto | DoS)
Location: Harry S Truman Building, Washington, DC (Onsite)
Clearance: Active Top Secret, SCI eligibility

About this role:

We are seeking an experienced Firewall Administrator with strong Palo Alto skills to join our team. The ideal candidate will manage and administer firewall solutions within a highly secure SCIF environment. You will be responsible for ensuring the secure and efficient operation of firewall systems to protect classified government information and networks.

Key Responsibilities:

• Administer and manage Palo Alto firewalls, including deployment, configuration, and maintenance.
• Monitor, analyze, and troubleshoot firewall traffic to identify and mitigate security threats.
• Implement and maintain firewall rules, policies, and configurations based on security best practices and organizational requirements.
• Collaborate with security teams to ensure compliance with government security standards and protocols.
• Perform regular security assessments and audits to ensure firewalls are properly configured and functioning.
• Provide documentation and support for network architecture and firewall configurations.
• Respond to security incidents and conduct root cause analysis to prevent future occurrences.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of emerging security threats and technologies.
• Work onsite in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) to ensure the secure handling of classified information.

• Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility is mandatory.
• Proven experience as a Firewall Administrator, specifically with Palo Alto technologies.
• Strong understanding of firewall configurations, rule sets, and network security best practices.
• Experience working in highly secure environments, particularly within a SCIF.
• Knowledge of government cybersecurity policies, including NIST, FISMA, and DoD security frameworks.
• Experience with monitoring tools and incident management in secure environments.
• Excellent troubleshooting and analytical skills, with the ability to quickly resolve complex security issues.
• Strong documentation skills to create and maintain firewall configuration and operational procedures.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Palo Alto certifications such as Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) or Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer (PCNSE).
• Experience with other security technologies such as VPNs, IDS/IPS, and SIEM solutions.
• Familiarity with automation tools and scripting for firewall management.

Work Environment:

• This position is 100% onsite in a SCIF environment.
• Occasional after-hours work may be required for maintenance and upgrades.

Who We Are:

Rackner is a software consultancy that builds cloud-native solutions for startups, enterprises, and the public sector. We are an energetic, growing consultancy with a passion for solving big problems for both startups and enterprises. Each of us enable digital transformation for large organizations through the newest in distributed technologies as we are laser focused on end-to-end application development, DevSecOps, AI/ML and systems architecture and our methodology focuses on cloud-first and cost-effective innovation. Our customers hail from a diverse, ever-growing list of industries.