SENIOR IT PROFESSIONAL-INFRASTRUCTURE (Network Firewall)

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SENIOR IT PROFESSIONAL-INFRASTRUCTURE (Network Firewall)

Salary

$3,220.00 - $4,478.30 Biweekly

Location
611 Walker Street
Job Type

Full Time

Job Number
38576
Department

Houston Information Technology Services

Division

HITS - ENTERPRISE INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES (EIS)

Opening Date

04/15/2026

Closing Date
4/22/2026 11:59 PM Central
Description

Benefits

Questions

POSITION OVERVIEW

Applications accepted from: ALL PERSONS INTERESTED

Job Classification: SENIOR IT PROFESSIONAL-INFRASTRUCTURE (Network Firewall)

Posting Number: 38576

Division: Enterprise Infrastructure Services

Reporting Location: 611 Walker, Houston, TX 77002

Workdays & Hours: MONDAY - FRIDAY 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM* *Subject to Change

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES / ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

The Houston Information Technology Services (HITS) Network & Data Services team supports an infrastructure that consists of more than 350 sites spread across the City of Houston (COH). This includes thousands of network devices and multiple datacenters, which collectively support the needs of over 20,000 city employees and 23 city departments, including mission-critical public safety services. This Senior IT Professional position is crucial to helping the City of Houston to develop and maintain a robust, resilient, and secure network infrastructure.

Serves as the senior technical lead for the organization's firewall security infrastructure, overseeing design, configuration, and lifecycle management of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC), Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) appliances, and cloud-native firewall solutions.

Designs and implements advanced firewall policies-including Access Control, Intrusion Prevention (IPS), Security Intelligence, URL filtering, and SSL/TLS decryption-to ensure secure, reliable access to critical business systems while maintaining least-privilege network segmentation.

Administers and maintains FMC/FTD platforms, including upgrades, patches, HA configurations, failover testing, health monitoring, performance tuning, and compliance with operational standards.

Engineers and manages cloud-based firewall controls across Azure, AWS, and similar platforms, ensuring policy consistency, secure connectivity, and alignment with organizational cloud security frameworks.

Leads threat-prevention tuning, log analysis, and event correlation, integrating firewall telemetry with SIEM/SOAR platforms and supporting incident response through expert troubleshooting and containment actions.

Designs, deploys, and supports site-to-site and remote-access VPN solutions, coordinating with network teams to ensure successful routing, NAT, and high-availability connectivity.

Conducts firewall rule audits, cleanup initiatives, risk assessments, and change control reviews to maintain compliance with regulatory and internal security standards.

Develops automation tools and scripts using APIs, Python, or PowerShell to streamline firewall operations, reduce manual effort, and enforce configuration consistency across on-prem and cloud environments.

Works closely with networking, security, cloud, and application teams to support new project deployments, provide subject matter expertise, and ensure secure architecture decisions.

Creates and maintains documentation, runbooks, topology diagrams, and operational processes, while mentoring junior staff and delivering knowledge-sharing sessions across the IT organization.

The position requires familiarity with the following:

Hands-on experience administering Cisco Secure Firewall technologies, including Firepower Threat Defense (FTD), Firepower Management Center (FMC), and Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) integrations.

Strong background in designing, implementing, and maintaining enterprise firewall policies, IPS/IDS tuning, URL filtering, threat-prevention controls, and secure segmentation strategies.

Experience managing and engineering cloud-based firewall solutions within Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), or other public cloud environments.

Demonstrated proficiency in high-availability firewall deployments, failover testing, clustering, and performance optimization in mission-critical environments.

Experience with site-to-site and remote-access VPN architecture, routing technologies (such as BGP), and NAT design across complex hybrid networks.

Knowledge of SIEM/SOAR integration, log analysis, traffic inspection, and network threat-hunting practices.

Proficiency with automation or scripting (Python, PowerShell, API-based tools) for policy management, configuration standardization, and operational efficiency.

Experience supporting large technology environments within government, public safety, utilities, transportation, or similarly complex organizations.

Strong documentation skills, including the development of standard operating procedures, diagrams, and technical standards.

WORKING CONDITIONS

This position is physically comfortable; the individual has discretion about walking, standing, etc. There are no major sources of discomfort in a normal office environment.

May include planned after-hours changes and on-call rotation for critical incidents.

Coordination across multiple teams and vendors; occasional travel for data center or cloud projects as required.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

Requires a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Management and Information Systems (MIS) or a closely related field.

Information systems-specific technical certifications may be substituted for 1 year of either the education or the experience requirement, as applicable. Related professional Information Systems experience may be substituted for the education requirement on a year-for-year basis.

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

At least six (6) years of technology experience supporting IT infrastructure.

System-specific technical certifications required.

Advanced certifications and applicable work experience beyond six (6) years may be substituted for up to two (2) years of the education requirement.

System-specific technical certifications may be considered for substitution for 1 year of experience.

A Master's degree in Computer Science, Management and Information Systems (MIS) or a closely related field may be substituted for two years of the experience requirement.

LICENSE REQUIREMENTS

None

PREFERENCES

*Preference shall be given to eligible veteran applicants provided such persons possess the qualifications necessary for competent discharge of the duties involved in the position applied for, such persons are among the most qualified candidates for the position, and all other factors in accordance with Executive Order 1-6. *

Preferences shall be given to those with the following:

Preferred Certifications:

Cisco CCNP Security

Cisco Certified Specialist - Firepower (FTD/FMC)

Cisco CCIE Security (highly preferred)

Microsoft Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500)

AWS Security Specialty Certification

GIAC Firewall Analyst (GCFW) or similar security-focused certifications

CompTIA Security+ or CySA+ (baseline security knowledge)

GENERAL INFORMATION

SELECTION / SKILLS TESTS REQUIRED

Department may administer skills assessment test

SAFETY IMPACT POSITION- YES

If yes, this position is subject to random drug testing and if a promotional position, candidate must pass an assignment drug test.

SALARY INFORMATION Factors used in determining the salary offered include the candidate's qualifications as well as the pay rates of other employees in this classification.

PAY GRADE: 28

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Only online applications will be accepted for this City of Houston job and must be received by the Human Resources Department during active posting period. Applications must be submitted online at: www.houstontx.gov . To view your detailed application status, please log-in to your online profile by visiting: http://agency.governmentjobs.com/houston/default.cfm or call (832) 393-0450.

If you need special services or accommodations, call (832) 393-0450. (7-1-1).

If you need login assistance or technical support call 855-524-5627.

Due to the high volume of applications received, the Hiring Department will contact you directly, should you be selected to advance in our recruitment process.

All new and rehires must pass a pre-employment drug test and are subject to a physical examination and verification of information provided.

EOE Equal Opportunity Employer

The City of Houston is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.

The city offers a competitive benefits program, including competitively priced health coverage and a defined contribution pension plan. Benefits include:

Medical

Dental

Vision

Wellness

Supplemental Insurance

Life insurance

Long-term disability

Retirement pension

457 deferred compensation plan

Employee Assistance Program

10 days of vacation each year

13 city holidays, plus one floating holiday

Compensable Sick Leave

Personal Leave

Flexible schedules

Hybrid-Telework for eligible positions

Professional development opportunities

Transportation/parking plan

Section 125 pretax deductions

Dependent Care Reimbursement Plan

Paid Prenatal, Parental and Infant Wellness Leaves

Healthcare Flexible Spending Account

For plan details, visit http://www.houstontx.gov/hr/benefits.html
01
Are you a veteran who served on active duty in the Armed Forces (United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard) for more than 90 consecutive days and received either an honorable discharge or a general discharge under honorable conditions

Yes

No
02

Which best describes your education

High School Diploma/GED

Associate Degre

Bachelor's Degree

Master's Degree or Beyond

None of the Above
03

How many years of experience do you have supporting IT Infrastructure in an Enterprise IT environment

Less than 3 years of experience

3 years of experience

4 years of experience

5 years of experience

6 years of experience

7 years of experience

8 years of experience

9 years of experience

10 or more years of experience

None of the above
04

How many years of experience do you have supporting network firewall infrastructure teams in an enterprise environment

Less than 3 years of experience

3 years of experience

4 years of experience

5 years of experience

6 years of experience

7 years of experience

8 years of experience

9 years of experience

10 or more years of experience

I have no experience
05

How many years of experience do you have as a Firewall Engineer / Analyst / Architect

Less than 6 years of experience

6 years of experience

7 years of experience

8 years of experience

9 years of experience

10 or more years of experience

I don't have any experience as a Network Engineer / Analyst / Manager
06

How many years of experience do you have managing enterprise firewall systems (such as Cisco FMC/FTD or cloud-based firewalls) in an environment with 50 or more sites

Less than 6 years of experience

6 years of experience

7 years of experience

8 years of experience

9 years of experience

10 or more years of experience

I do not have any working knowledge of enterprise firewall or network security platforms
07

Which network certification(s) have you held (expired or current) Check all that apply

Cisco CCNP Security

Cisco Certified Specialist - Firepower (FTD/FMC)

Cisco CCIE Security (highly preferred)

Microsoft Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500)

AWS Security Specialty Certification

GIAC Firewall Analyst (GCFW) or similar security-focused certifications

CompTIA Security+ or CySA+ (baseline security knowledge)

I have no certifications
08

How many years of experience do you have designing, implementing, and maintaining complex firewall rule sets (including Access Control Policies, IPS/IDS policies, and segmentation strategies) in an enterprise environment

Less than 6 years of experience

6 years of experience

7 years of experience

8 years of experience

9 years of experience

10 more years of experience

I have no experience
09

Please describe your experience supporting or managing network security services, such as firewall policy administration, IPS/IDS tuning, VPN services, or incident response. (See Resume will delay review of your application)
10
Are you a current COH employee

Yes

No
11

Please provide a list of all valid certifications you currently hold and their validity date(s) ("See Resume" will delay review of your application)

Required Question

The City of Houston

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