Senior Firewall & Network Security Engineer

SUMMARY:
🌐 Senior Firewall & Network Security Engineer-Permanent Position

Our client in the FMCG is seeking a highly skilled Senior Firewall & Network Security Engineer to join their growing security team.
In this role, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining enterprise-grade firewall and network security solutions. You will play a critical part in safeguarding their infrastructure, ensuring compliance, and leading incident response efforts

POSITION INFO:
PLEASE NOTE THAT NO CV'S WILL BE KEPT FOR FUTURE USE. ONLY APPLY IF YOU QUALIFY IN FULL.

🔍 What You’ll Do

• Own and operate NGFW services including next‑generation layer‑7 firewalling, ensuring secure and resilient perimeter protection.
• Configure, manage, and tune network intrusion detection/prevention (IPS/IDS) controls, including rules configuration aligned to business requirements and security recommendations.
• Manage VPN services (remote access and site‑to‑site), supporting secure connectivity and troubleshooting across the firewall estate
• Implement and maintain application control (application‑aware policy enforcement) to reduce risk and improve security posture.
• Implement and maintain web filtering with directory integration, enforcing organisational internet access policies and updating content filtering as OEM updates are released.
• Operate and maintain anti‑virus / malware protection services on the NGFW platform to protect against malicious websites, exploits, and malware.
• Perform regular modelling, testing, execution, and tracking of firewall rule/policy changes based on business requirements, ensuring governance alignment
• Conduct monitoring and audit of firewall configurations against agreed standards and approved changes, ensuring configuration integrity and compliance.
• Drive optimisation and periodic recertification of rules and policies, ensuring they remain effective, minimal, and aligned to good practice principles.
• Implement and manage internal network segmentation controls to support secure zoning and reduce lateral movement risk.
• Handle and resolve incidents, alerts, exceptions, and exposures associated with firewall and perimeter security controls, including root cause analysis and remediation guidance.
• Ensure NGFW platform hygiene, including patching in line with OEM recommendations and maintaining secure operational posture.
• Perform configuration backups and store them according to best practice, supporting recoverability and operational continuity.
• Provide actionable operational security communications by notifying stakeholders of major security/health issues with context and remediation recommendations.
• Maintain and support centralised logging and reporting integrations for analysis and operational visibility (e.g., external logging to an analyser platform) where implemented.
• Produce security and compliance reporting on incidents raised and compliance status, aligned to reporting requirements and frequency.
• Assist with defining and maintaining vulnerability scan policy and related firewall security inputs.

• Strong hands on expertise operating NGFW security controls (Layer 7 firewalling, IPS/IDS, VPN, application control, web filtering, malware protections).
• Strong policy governance capability: change modelling/testing, configuration audit, and periodic policy optimisation/recertification.
• Incident leadership: ability to handle and resolve alerts, exceptions, and exposures with structured RCA and pragmatic remediation.
• Ability to balance security and availability, ensuring secure enablement of business connectivity while maintaining controls.

• 5–10 years’ experience in enterprise firewall / network security operations
• Proven hands on experience with Fortinet FortiGate NGFW operations (policy, IPS, VPN, web filtering, application control, AV/UTM services
• Experience with similar enterprise firewall technologies (advantageous) and operating in change controlled environments.

🎓 Qualifications & Certifications

• Relevant IT qualification (Diploma/Degree preferred).
• Fortinet NSE / Fortinet Professional certifications (strongly preferred), e.g.: NSE 4 / FCP Network Security (core operations), NSE 5 (analysis/management)