Junior Palo Alto Integration Technician

About the Role

VIATEQ Corporation is seeking a Junior Palo Alto Integration Technician to support enterprise network security operations and IT administrative and operational support for a federal government client. This entry-level role assists in the administration, monitoring, and support of enterprise Palo Alto Networks security platform capabilities across complex federal IT environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Panorama, Prisma Access, and Cortex XDR platform dashboards and management consoles, identifying and escalating platform health issues, service disruptions, and anomalous conditions.
• Monitor NGFW and Panorama system health indicators (CPU utilization, memory usage, session table capacity, interface status, high availability synchronization status), escalating threshold violations.
• Monitor log forwarding and data ingestion pipelines for Palo Alto Networks platforms, identifying and escalating log gaps, forwarding failures, and data quality issues.
• Generate and distribute routine Palo Alto Networks platform health and operational status reports.
• Assist in monitoring Panorama managed device connectivity and policy synchronization status, escalating failures or errors.
• Support monitoring of Prisma Access service health and GlobalProtect connectivity status, escalating service disruptions and user connectivity issues.
• Execute routine Palo Alto Networks NGFW and Panorama administrative tasks (policy backups, configuration exports, log archival, administrative account management) under direction.
• Assist in the execution of approved firewall rule changes, security profile updates, and routine configuration modifications under direct supervision.
• Support the management of Palo Alto Networks administrative user accounts, ensuring accurate provisioning, modification, and deprovisioning.
• Assist in the administration and maintenance of Palo Alto Networks platform certificates, including monitoring expiration and supporting renewal.
• Support the execution of Palo Alto Networks platform software updates, security content updates, and application/threat signature updates under direction.
• Assist in the maintenance of GlobalProtect remote access configurations.
• Monitor Palo Alto Networks NGFW threat prevention logs, traffic logs, URL filtering logs, and WildFire analysis results, identifying security events requiring escalation.
• Assist in the triage and initial analysis of Palo Alto Networks security alerts and threat prevention events.
• Support the development and maintenance of routine log analysis and alert monitoring procedures.
• Assist in the identification of false positive alert patterns and routine security event noise.
• Generate routine threat prevention and security event reports from Palo Alto Networks platforms and Panorama.
• Assist in the preparation of Palo Alto Networks change request documentation for Change Advisory Board (CAB) submission.
• Support the scheduling and coordination of approved Palo Alto Networks platform changes.
• Assist in the execution of approved platform changes under direct supervision.
• Conduct post-implementation verification activities for assigned platform changes.
• Maintain accurate and current change management records.
• Develop and maintain Palo Alto Networks platform operational documentation.
• Maintain accurate and current records of Palo Alto Networks platform configurations, software versions, license status, and hardware inventory.
• Assist in the development and maintenance of Palo Alto Networks operational runbooks and standard operating procedures.
• Contribute to the program's knowledge management repository.
• Assist in Palo Alto Networks platform compliance activities, supporting audit evidence collection.
• Support configuration compliance assessment activities, assisting in DISA STIG compliance checks.
• Ensure all administrative and operational activities comply with applicable Federal cybersecurity frameworks, client security policies, and program security requirements.
• Assist in the tracking and documentation of Palo Alto Networks platform vulnerability remediation activities.
• Actively pursue professional development and technical skills growth in Palo Alto Networks technologies, network security engineering, and Federal IT compliance.
• Participate in team knowledge sharing sessions, technical training activities, and platform familiarization opportunities.
• Stay current with Palo Alto Networks platform updates, new feature releases, and relevant Federal cybersecurity policy developments.
• Work toward achieving foundational Palo Alto Networks certification.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Palo Alto Networks NGFW platform concepts (security policy structure, zone-based security architecture, security profiles, log types, PAN-OS management interface).
• Enterprise networking concepts (TCP/IP protocol suite, IP addressing and subnetting, routing fundamentals, switching and VLANs, VPN concepts, firewall zone architectures).
• Network security principles (defense-in-depth, least-privilege access control, network segmentation, threat prevention concepts, common network-based attack vectors).
• Federal cybersecurity frameworks and requirements (NIST SP 800-53, FISMA, DISA STIGs).
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work effectively as a member of a cross-functional technical team.
• Basic proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams.
• Strong commitment to professional growth and continuous learning.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent tasks with accuracy and attention to detail.

Qualifications

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Network Engineering, or a related field from an accredited college or university.
• Equivalent combination of education, military technical training, or directly relevant hands-on experience may be considered.
• Minimum of 0–2 years of experience in network security, IT operations, firewall administration, or a closely related technical discipline.
• Foundational knowledge of network security concepts (firewalls, network segmentation, VPN technologies, intrusion detection and prevention, threat prevention principles).
• Foundational knowledge of enterprise networking concepts (TCP/IP networking, routing, switching, VLANs, network addressing).
• Ability to obtain and maintain a government background investigation, PIV credentials, and all requisite IT access authorizations prior to performing work.
• Prior hands-on exposure to Palo Alto Networks NGFW or Panorama platforms through academic coursework, personal lab environment, employer training, or professional experience.
• Familiarity with Federal cybersecurity frameworks, including NIST SP 800-53, FISMA, and applicable DISA STIGs.
• Prior experience supporting network security or IT operations activities in a federal government IT environment.
• Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Administrator (PCNSA) certification or active pursuit.
• CompTIA Network+ certification or equivalent.
• CompTIA Security+ certification or equivalent.
• Familiarity with Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS command-line interface (CLI).
• Familiarity with Palo Alto Networks Panorama centralized management platform interface.
• Basic familiarity with Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect remote access technology.
• Basic familiarity with Palo Alto Networks WildFire cloud-based malware analysis platform.
• Familiarity with ITIL-based IT Service Management concepts and enterprise ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow.
• Basic familiarity with the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
• Basic familiarity with cloud networking concepts, including virtual networks, security groups, and cloud-based firewall deployments in AWS and/or Microsoft Azure environments.
• Familiarity with enterprise change management processes.
• Participation in cybersecurity competitions, Capture the Flag (CTF) events, home lab networking and security projects, academic cybersecurity programs, or equivalent hands-on learning activities.
• Basic familiarity with network traffic analysis concepts and tools such as Wireshark.
• Familiarity with DISA STIG compliance checking concepts and tools.