Principal Network Security Engineer

About the role

The Principal Network & Security Engineer is responsible for the management, lifecycle operations, and security of the organization’s Cisco-based networking infrastructure. This individual will be expected to lead the administration, configuration, monitoring, and ongoing optimization of core network systems and platforms, as well as apply best practices in security management. The role combines technical operational management of critical Cisco platforms with broad information security responsibilities across hybrid cloud and on-premises environments

Responsibilities:

The Engineer's primary job responsibilities include:

- Administer, monitor, and optimize Cisco portfolio infrastructure, including firewalls, identity, and network analytics platforms.

- Execute routine software/firmware upgrades, patching, and configuration updates on network and security appliances.

- Ensure effective network segmentation and secure access by configuring and enforcing network access controls.

- Manage and maintain secure remote access solutions for users and devices.

- Deploy, configure, and tune next-generation network perimeter and detection tools to ensure consistent policy enforcement.

- Oversee application delivery and web application security solutions, assisting with WAF configuration and incident response.

- Monitor network telemetry and activity for anomalous behavior or security events.

- Respond to and investigate network, security, or operational incidents in both on-premises and cloud environments.

- Support DDoS and threat protection systems, maintaining readiness and reporting suspicious activity.

- Collaborate with infrastructure and app teams to design and implement secure, compliant architectures across cloud and datacenter.

- Participate in vulnerability management processes, remediating identified exposures across managed platforms.

- Contribute to security operations, including event and log analysis, and improving detection capabilities.

- Develop and maintain infrastructure documentation, runbooks, and operational standards.

- Enable automation for repeatable network and security processes using scripting and modern tools.

- Provide technical guidance and mentoring to junior staff on security best practices and platform operations.

- Other duties as assigned

REQUIREMENTS

- Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, or related field.

- Minimum 7 years of experience with enterprise networking and security, with significant hands-on Cisco platform management.

- Strong understanding of network firewalls, perimeter defense, and intrusion detection/prevention.

- Direct experience configuring and troubleshooting network access control systems and policies.

- Familiarity with cloud platform security fundamentals (AWS, Azure, or GCP) in hybrid enterprise environments.