Lead Sr. Network Operations Engineer (Network Security - Palo Alto/Zscaler) Engineer | Charlotte, NC, USA

Lead Sr. Network Operations Engineer (Network Security - Palo Alto/Zscaler) Engineer 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.