Senior Network Engineer; Squid Proxy & Palo Alto Security

Position: Senior Network Engineer (Squid Proxy & Palo Alto Security)
Network Architect - Squid Proxy & Palo Alto

Kent / Hybrid - 2 days per week onsite

Up to £780 per day inside ir35

Active SC clearance - Sole UK National

We are seeking an experienced Network Architect / Senior Network Engineer with strong hands-on expertise in Squid Proxy, Palo Alto Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) and App- to support and enhance secure enterprise network infrastructure.

This is an excellent opportunity for a technically strong network security specialist to take ownership of critical proxy and firewall services, focusing on secure web access, application visibility, security policy management and network optimisation.

Key Responsibilities

Design, implement, configure and support enterprise Squid Proxy environments, including forward, reverse and transparent proxy deployments.

Administer and optimise Palo Alto Next-Generation Firewalls, including Panorama management.

Develop and maintain granular firewall security policies using Palo Alto App-, User
- Content-.

Configure and manage URL filtering, Threat Prevention, Wild Fire, Global Protect and SSL decryption.

Manage proxy ACLs, authentication integrations, SSL inspection and web filtering policies.

Review and optimise firewall rule bases, transitioning legacy port-based rules towards application-aware security policies.

Troubleshoot complex network and application connectivity issues across Layers 2-7.

Perform packet analysis using tools such as Wireshark and tcpdump.

Support firewall and proxy upgrades, migrations, patching and high-availability configurations.

Work alongside Cyber Security teams to support vulnerability remediation, incident investigations and security compliance activities.

Essential Skills & Experience

5+ years' experience supporting enterprise network infrastructure.

Strong hands-on administration and support experience with Palo Alto Networks firewalls.

Demonstrable experience configuring and managing Palo Alto App- policies.

Extensive experience with Squid Proxy, including ACLs, SSL inspection and authentication.

Experience with Palo Alto Panorama, User-, URL Filtering and Threat Prevention.

Strong understanding of TCP/IP, routing, VLANs, DNS, DHCP, NAT and VPN technologies.

Experience troubleshooting SSL/TLS, authentication and application connectivity issues.

Proficiency with network analysis tools such as Wireshark and tcpdump.

Experience working within highly secure, regulated or business-critical environments.

Desirable Experience

Experience with in Defence, Government or Critical National Infrastructure (CNI).

Experience supporting secure customer environments.

Knowledge of network segmentation and Zero Trust security principles.

Experience with infrastructure automation using Python or Ansible.

Familiarity with monitoring platforms such as Splunk, Solar Winds, ELK or Grafana.

If you have strong hands-on experience with Squid Proxy and Palo Alto firewalls, particularly App- application-aware security policy management, we would be keen to hear from you.

If this role is of interest, apply now or email your CV to me directly at (url removed)