WAF Engineer

The Network Operations Centre is a critical enterprise technology capability to ensure that we provide the level of service required to meet the needs of our business and ensure we protect WTW and our customers. This service is provided 24/7/365 and encompasses office & data centre networks, network security appliances & perimeter control. The WAF Engineer role is intended to maximise the operational performance of WTW services and maintain a strong secure posture.

The role is accountable for BAU support of issues, controlling policy & compliance and supporting change activities. This role ensures the technical success of WAF services within the WTW environment in a Tier 3 capacity. The role is London based with a hybrid work style.

The Role:

Perform analysis and tuning of WAF policies to minimise false positives and false negatives while maintaining an appropriate security posture.

Design, implement, maintain and optimise WAF policies across multi-cloud environments.

Lead the investigation and mitigation of web application attacks, including OWASP Top 10 threats, bot attacks, credential stuffing, scraping, Layer 7 DDoS attacks and other web-based threats.

Develop, maintain and enhance custom WAF rules, managed rule exclusions, rate-limiting policies and bot protection controls.

Support transition of WAF policies from Detection mode to Prevention/Block mode through structured analysis, tuning, testing and stakeholder engagement.

Analyse attack patterns, logs and telemetry to identify emerging threats and implement effective mitigations.

Work closely with application owners, development teams and security stakeholders to ensure secure onboarding and operation of internet-facing applications.

Provide subject matter expertise for web application security, secure application delivery and WAF best practices.

Provide technical support to Audit & Compliance, Capacity Management, Lifecycle Management, Vulnerability Management and Risk Management Functions.

Provide technical leadership during major incidents and drive to quick resolutions.

Coach team members on a proactive basis, raising the team’s overall technical acumen.

Restore service and complete root cause analysis of all incidents, driving actions to mitigate the root cause and remove risk of reoccurrence.

Participate on the Technical Design Authority forum

Implement changes/POCs to the environment in a controlled manner, with implementation and test plans.

What you'll bring:

Demonstrable expertise in investigating, analysing, and resolving WAF false positives and false negatives.

Strong expertise in implementing WAF solutions in Detection mode and transitioning policies to Prevention/Block mode through appropriate tuning and validation.

Proven expertise in developing and maintaining custom WAF rules, rule exclusions, rate limiting controls, and attack mitigation policies, rather than solely relying on out-of-the-box managed rules.

Extensive knowledge of web application attack vectors, including OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Remote Code Execution (RCE), bot attacks, credential stuffing, and API abuse.

Advanced hands-on expertise in attack mitigation, threat analysis, and the creation of bespoke security controls based on observed attack patterns.

Strong understanding of bot protection technologies, managed rule sets, policy tuning, and broader web application security best practices.

Demonstrated expertise with Azure Front Door WAF and Azure Application Gateway WAF in enterprise-scale environments.

Experience working across multi-cloud environments and/or vendor-agnostic WAF platforms.

Expertise in deploying and managing WAF infrastructure using Terraform or other Infrastructure as Code (IaC) technologies.

Proven ability to support large-scale production environments, with responsibility for change implementation, incident response, and threat mitigation.

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field preferred, or equivalent industry experience.

Strong industry expertise within IT or Telecommunications environments. Financial Services experience preferred.

Advanced expertise in Azure WAF and network management within complex enterprise environments.

Deep technical expertise in Network Security, with exposure to technologies such as Azure Firewall, Palo Alto Firewall/VPN, and Cisco solutions considered advantageous.

Ability to blend creativity, problem solving, and technical expertise to refine existing concepts and develop innovative approaches.

Ability to drive business process improvements and collaborate effectively with stakeholders and peers.

Ability to work under pressure and resolve complex technical issues effectively.

Excellent interpersonal, stakeholder management, and communication skills.

What we offer:

Enjoy a benefits package designed to help you thrive, both professionally and personally. You'll receive 25 days of annual leave plus an extra WTW day to relax and recharge. Our…