Lead Sr. Network Operations Engineer (Network Security - Palo Alto/Zscaler) Engineer
Vanguard · Charlotte, NC ·
- Work mode
- Hybrid
- Seniority
- Lead
- Category
- Security
- Experience
- 8+ years
Vanguard · Charlotte, NC ·
The Lead Senior Network Operations Center (NOC) Engineer (Tier 3) serves as the highest technical escalation point within the global NOC organization. This role delivers advanced troubleshooting expertise, architecture-level insight, and deep subject matter knowledge across complex, multi-vendor network environments. The Tier 3 Engineer leads root-cause analysis efforts, oversees major incident response, influences network design standards, and partners closely with engineering teams to drive network stability, scalability, and operational excellence.
Responsibilities:
Acts as the final escalation point for all high-severity network incidents, performing advanced packet analysis, protocol decoding, and cross-platform correlation.
Leads deep-dive root cause analysis (RCA), producing engineering-quality post-incident reports and recommending long-term corrective and preventive actions.
Directs network recovery efforts during major outages involving routing instability, security incidents, hardware failures, or cloud connectivity disruptions.
Demonstrates expert proficiency with Palo Alto firewalls, Palo Alto Cloud Security, and Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange services, including troubleshooting complex, multi-tier network and security architectures.
Applies strong knowledge of security automation, API-driven provisioning, and lifecycle management within large-scale environments, including experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) pipelines.
Provides expert-level support for Cisco ASA, Palo Alto NGFW, IPSec architectures, segmentation policies, and enterprise security posture validation.
Proactively validates, enforces, and improves security architectures and industry best practices.
Defines and governs Zero Trust access architectures using Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) and Zscaler Private Access (ZPA), enabling secure user-to-application connectivity without traditional network-based trust models.
Demonstrates mastery of packet analysis and monitoring tools, including BlueCat, SolarWinds, APCON, Wireshark, and NetFlow/sFlow platforms.
Develops and maintains automation scripts to support configuration validation, monitoring, and incident response workflows.
Evaluates, integrates, and optimizes new operational tools and observability platforms to enhance network visibility and reliability.
Partners with Network Engineering teams to validate new designs, perform pre-deployment testing, and influence architectural and operational standards.
Mentors junior and mid-level NOC engineers through technical coaching, lab guidance, and development of training materials.
Engages directly with vendors on escalated TAC cases, hardware issues, and architectural reviews.
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or equivalent practical experience.
8+ years of enterprise network operations or engineering experience supporting large-scale, mission-critical environments.
Expert-level knowledge of network security architecture, with deep expertise in Palo Alto and Zscaler platforms.
Extensive hands-on experience with Cisco, Juniper, Brocade, Palo Alto, Aruba, and F5 technologies.
Proven ability to lead major incidents under pressure with clear communication and strong technical leadership.
Preferred Certifications; CCNP, CCIE, JNCIP/JNCIE, PCNSE, F5 Certified Admin or Engineer, AWS Advanced Networking
Special Requirements:
Participation in a 24x7 Tier 3 on-call escalation rotation.
Availability to support after-hours change execution and major incident coverage as needed.
Special Factors
Sponsorship
Vanguard is not offering visa sponsorship for this position.About Vanguard
At Vanguard, we don't just have a mission—we're on a mission.
To work for the long-term financial wellbeing of our clients. To lead through product and services that transform our clients' lives. To learn and develop our skills as individuals and as a team. From Malvern to Melbourne, our mission drives us forward and inspires us to be our best.
How We Work
Vanguard has implemented a hybrid working model for the majority of our crew members, designed to capture the benefits of enhanced flexibility while enabling in-person learning, collaboration, and connection. We believe our mission-driven and highly collaborative culture is a critical enabler to support long-term client outcomes and enrich the employee experience.