Senior Firewall Engineer – Juniper SRX & Palo Alto Growth in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
Market Positioning: Senior Firewall Engineers with deep Juniper SRX expertise are a relatively niche but in-demand specialty. This role is squarely senior-level ops. Market rates for this profile in the US typically range from $110,000–$145,000/year for W2 employment, though government contracting roles can vary. The absence of listed salary warrants clarification before advancing.
Skills You'll Build and Sharpen:
- Deep Junos OS CLI mastery — highly transferable and valued in enterprise and telecom environments.
- IPsec/IKEv2 VPN architecture — foundational for security engineering roles.
- Palo Alto NGFW exposure — the job explicitly mentions expansion onto this platform, adding a highly marketable, in-demand skillset.
- Government/public safety compliance experience — valuable for future federal contracting or FedRAMP-adjacent roles.
Green Flags: Hands-on scope with real ownership, cross-team collaboration, and training provided for Palo Alto expansion signals an organization that invests in engineer growth. Working with large multi-tenant government infrastructure is excellent resume material.
Red Flags to Watch: This is a W2 consultant role — not a direct hire — meaning Symmetrio (the staffing firm) is your employer, not the government agency. Confirm contract length, renewal terms, and benefits stability. The lack of posted salary and the "no C2C" restriction suggests limited negotiation flexibility. Also, background check requirements are standard for government work but can delay start dates.
Career trajectory: Strong path toward Network Security Architect, Security Operations Lead, or senior government IT contracting roles.
Symmetrio is recruiting a Senior Firewall Engineer to join the network security team of one of our large government customers. The Senior Firewall Engineer will support a primarily Juniper SRX edge/core firewall infrastructure that supports mission-critical applications and operations.
This is a hands-on, day-to-day operations role. You will be the person who configures the rules, builds and fixes the VPNs, and tracks down the problem when something stops working. You will work closely with the customer's network engineers, security staff, and agency IT teams. You should be self-directed, comfortable owning issues from start to finish, and able to explain technical problems clearly to people outside networking.
This is a remote position. Candidates must be comfortable working EST hours. Competitive compensation, health benefits, and 401k retirement plan.
This is a full-time, W2 consultant role with Symmetrio. No C2C or third-party candidates.
Responsibilities
- Administer, configure, and maintain Juniper SRX firewalls, including edge and core devices, in a large multi-tenant enterprise environment.
- Create, modify, and review firewall rules and security policies in response to agency and project requests.
- Build, manage, and troubleshoot IPsec site-to-site and remote access VPNs (IKE/IKEv2).
- Diagnose and resolve connectivity and traffic-flow issues using CLI tools, session and flow analysis, logs, and packet-level troubleshooting.
- Perform planned changes, upgrades, and maintenance, with clear documentation and rollback plans.
- Respond to escalated and critical incidents affecting network availability or security.
- Work directly with agency IT teams and system owners to understand their requirements and implement secure, supportable rules.
- Coordinate with network engineering and cybersecurity teams so policy, architecture, and incident response stay aligned.
- Schedule changes around the operational needs of public safety and other critical services, and communicate impact to stakeholders in plain language.
- Document configurations, standards, and procedures so knowledge is shared across the team.
- Support Palo Alto firewalls as the customer expands its use of that platform (training provided as needed).
Requirements
- 5+ years of hands-on experience administering and troubleshooting Juniper SRX firewalls specifically (not only Juniper switches and routers) on Junos OS.
- Strong CLI skills, including building policies, zones, NAT, and VPNs from the command line — not just from a GUI.
- Proven IPsec/IKE/IKEv2 VPN troubleshooting experience.
- Solid understanding of routing, switching, and enterprise network fundamentals.
- Experience supporting large enterprise or multi-customer environments.
- Ability to work independently, with strong written and verbal communication.
- Willingness to complete a hands-on technical lab as part of the interview process.
- Ability to pass a background check.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Palo Alto firewalls (customer is expanding its Palo Alto footprint).
- Experience with Juniper Security Director, Junos Space, or other centralized management platforms.
- Experience with high-end SRX platforms (such as the SRX4000/5000 series) in edge or data center deployments.
- Experience in government, municipal, or public safety environments.
- Juniper certifications (JNCIS-SEC, JNCIP-SEC, or higher).
Benefits
- Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
- Retirement Plan (401k)
- Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this role truly remote, or will on-site visits be required?
What timezone do I need to work in?
Is this a direct-hire position with the government agency?
Will I need Palo Alto experience to be considered?
What does the interview process involve?
