Senior Cybersecurity Engineer
Akumen, Inc.
$150,000 / year
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Description
- Design, implement, configure, and maintain enterprise firewall solutions in high-availability production environments.
- Develop, manage, and optimize firewall security policies, ACLs, NAT configurations, VPN tunnels, and network segmentation.
- Perform firewall rule reviews, policy cleanup, and change management while ensuring compliance with organizational security requirements.
- Support implementation of Zero Trust Architecture, micro-segmentation, and secure network access solutions.
- Troubleshoot complex network connectivity and security issues across firewalls, routers, switches, load balancers, and VPN technologies.
- Monitor firewall health, performance, logging, and security events while responding to incidents and vulnerabilities.
- Conduct firewall security assessments, risk analyses, and configuration audits in accordance with NIST, DISA STIGs, and agency security requirements.
- Collaborate with cloud, infrastructure, and application teams to securely integrate enterprise systems and cloud environments.
- Develop and maintain network diagrams, security documentation, standard operating procedures, and implementation guides.
- Support Authority to Operate (ATO) activities, vulnerability remediation, continuous monitoring, and cybersecurity compliance initiatives.
- Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field. Relevant experience may be substituted for a degree.
- 7+ years of experience administering enterprise firewall and network security technologies.
- Hands-on experience with one or more enterprise firewall platforms, including Palo Alto, Cisco Firepower/ASA, Fortinet FortiGate, Check Point, or Juniper SRX.
- Strong understanding of TCP/IP, routing, switching, VLANs, VPNs (IPSec/SSL), NAT, ACLs, DNS, and network protocols.
- Experience implementing network segmentation and Zero Trust security architectures.
- Experience supporting security compliance frameworks such as NIST 800-53, RMF, DISA STIGs, or CIS Benchmarks.
- CISSP, PCNSE, CCNP Security, Fortinet NSE, CCIE Security, or equivalent cybersecurity certification.
- Experience securing Azure Government, AWS GovCloud, or hybrid cloud environments.
- Experience with IDS/IPS, web application firewalls (WAF), Secure Web Gateways, and network access control solutions.
- Experience with SIEM platforms such as Splunk, Microsoft Sentinel, or QRadar.
- Familiarity with automation using PowerShell, Python, Ansible, or REST APIs for firewall administration.
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Experience supporting federal civilian or Department of Defense environments.
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A minimum of an active Secret security clearance is required
Salary Range
Minimum $150,000 - Maximum $185,000 annually
The salary range listed for this position reflects Akumen, Inc.'s current estimate of the expected compensation for this role at the time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on a variety of factors, including a candidate's experience, education, certifications, technical skills, security clearance status, geographic location, and alignment with contract, labor category, and customer requirements. Compensation decisions may also be influenced by contract award status and available funding.
Akumen, Inc. is an equal employment opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made based on qualifications, merit, and business needs, and without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. We are committed to a respectful and inclusive workplace where all individuals have the opportunity to succeed. Akumen, Inc. maintains a drug-free workplace consistent with applicable local, state, and federal laws.
About this role
Akumen is looking for a hands-on Senior Cybersecurity Engineer to own enterprise firewall architecture and security operations for federal agencies. You'd design and maintain mission-critical firewall infrastructure, manage security policies and network segmentation, and lead Zero Trust implementation across hybrid and cloud environments. The role spans the full lifecycle: from initial architecture and hardening through ongoing monitoring, incident response, and compliance audits against NIST, DISA, and federal standards.
This position requires at least seven years administering enterprise firewalls on platforms like Palo Alto, Cisco, Fortinet, or Juniper, plus solid fundamentals in TCP/IP, routing, VPNs, and network protocols. You'll collaborate across cloud, infrastructure, and application teams to integrate systems securely and support Authority to Operate activities. An active Secret clearance is mandatory; a relevant degree or equivalent experience qualifies, though certifications like CISSP or PCNSE strengthen your candidacy. Federal or DoD background is preferred but not required.
The contract role is based in Washington, DC on a hybrid schedule, with a salary range of $150,000 to $185,000 depending on experience, clearance level, and specific qualifications.
Typical pay for this role
$140,000
Typical range: $120,000 to $140,000
This role's local market on JobMinglr
Pay for this role
$150,000 per year
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