Palo Alto ENGINEER

MUST BE ABLE TO WORK ONSITE IN HAUPPAGUE, NY ON LONG ISLAND. Our client is at the forefront of engineering and implementing leading-edge technological solutions to fuel growth, innovation and better customer service for government clients. We have been serving a variety of public and private sector businesses and organizations in efficient, effective digital transformation from design through development to maintenance. QnA Tech is looking to add to our security team that focuses on Palo Alto Strata Engineer. This position is onsite-Long Island Only. We need a Palo certified engineer that can work 35 hours a week on site at Suffolk for Firewall management. This is going to be 6-12 month renewable contract. Daily Tasks Monitor firewall and Panorama system health (CPU, memory, sessions, interfaces) Review system and threat logs for anomalies and critical alerts Validate High Availability (HA) status and synchronization Ensure successful log forwarding to SIEM/logging systems Review and respond to service requests and incident tickets Weekly Tasks Analyze traffic trends, application usage, and bandwidth consumption Review and tune firewall policies for optimization and security posture Validate content and signature updates (Threat, Apps, WildFire, URL filtering) Conduct rulebase hygiene (identify unused, redundant, or overly permissive rules) Provide weekly operational reporting Monthly Tasks Perform comprehensive firewall health and performance review Analyze threat trends and provide actionable recommendations Validate licensing and subscription status Review SSL decryption coverage and effectiveness Update documentation (runbooks, diagrams, configurations) Deliver monthly executive report and recommendations As-Needed Tasks Implement firewall policy changes and configuration updates Support incident response and troubleshooting activities Perform packet capture and deep traffic analysis Participate in change management processes (CAB approvals) Assist with audit requests and compliance validation Provide recommendations for architecture improvements 11.2 Required Technical Experience The assigned engineer must demonstrate the following minimum experience and qualifications: Core Requirements Minimum 5+ years of hands-on experience with Palo Alto Networks NGFW Strong experience with Panorama centralized management Deep knowledge of: App-ID, User-ID, and Content-ID Security policies and NAT configurations Zone-based firewall architecture Security & Threat Expertise Experience analyzing: Threat logs (malware, exploits, C2 traffic) WildFire analysis and verdicts DNS Security and URL filtering events Understanding of: Network security principles Threat detection and response workflows Networking & Troubleshooting Strong understanding of: TCP/IP, routing, switching, and VLANs VPN technologies (IPSec and GlobalProtect) Experience with: Packet capture tools CLI-based troubleshooting Session-level traffic analysis Operational & Process Experience Experience working within: Change management processes (CAB) Incident management workflows ITSM/ticketing systems Ability to: Document configurations and procedures Produce operational and executive-level reports Certifications (Preferred) Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer ( PCNSE ) – Preferred Other relevant certifications (e.g., Security+, CISSP) – Beneficial 11.3 Soft Skills & Professional Requirements Strong communication skills (technical and non-technical) Ability to work independently and within a team environment Strong analytical and problem-solving skills Ability to prioritize tasks in a dynamic operational environment Professional demeanor suitable for public sector engagement