Firewall Engineering Architect

Responsibilities

• Lead the Firewall Engineering Architecture Team, providing technical direction for enterprise firewall, IDS/IPS, and security control design.
• Define NASA’s enterprise firewall architecture strategy, ensuring alignment with zero-trust and risk management requirements.
• Serve as the senior technical authority and escalation point for complex firewall and perimeter security issues.
• Develop modernization roadmaps for firewall performance, resiliency, and automation.
• Oversee large-scale firewall migrations, data center integrations, and cloud-connected environments.
• Drive innovation in firewall automation, orchestration, SDN-based security, and cloud-native firewalls.
• Establish governance processes for rule validation, configuration baselines, and policy stewardship.
• Mentor engineers and deliver data-driven technical briefings to senior management.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or a related field.
• 8–12+ years of experience in enterprise network security or firewall engineering.
• 8–10+ years in senior engineering, architectural, or leadership roles.
• Deep expertise with next-generation firewall platforms such as Palo Alto, Fortinet, Cisco, or Juniper.
• Strong understanding of network architecture, routing/switching, and zero-trust principles.
• U.S. Citizenship required; must be eligible for NASA or Federal security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting government, aerospace, or NASA environments.
• Industry certifications such as CISSP, CCNP Security, JNCIS/JNCIP Security, or PCNSE.
• Familiarity with cloud security architecture and SDN-based security models.
• Experience leading geographically distributed engineering or security teams.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation packages.
• Health and Wellness programs.
• Income Protection.
• Paid Leave and Retirement options.

About the Company

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos employs 47,000 global employees dedicated to solving complex challenges through advanced engineering and technology.