Sr. Network Engineer

Only local San Francisco Bay Area candidates. Direct W2 contractors only. No 3rd party agencies. No visa sponsorship available. 100% onsite in Santa Clara, CA.

About the role

We are seeking a hands-on Network Engineer with strong expertise in Palo Alto firewalls to support an enterprise network environment. The ideal candidate will be actively involved in network hardening, migration initiatives, and day-to-day network engineering tasks, working closely with infrastructure and security teams onsite.

Contract duration: 4-6+ months. Pay rate: $80 to $90 per hour.

Requirements

• Advanced hands-on experience with Palo Alto Firewalls, Panorama, or Strata Cloud Manager (mandatory).
• Proven experience in enterprise network environments with broad multi-site experience (data center-only profiles will not be considered).
• Solid knowledge of network hardening and security best practices.
• Expertise in routing and switching (Cisco Nexus/Meraki, VLANs, OSPF, BGP, STP).
• Experience with network migration projects, including cutovers and post-migration validation.
• Hands-on experience with rack-and-stack of switches and network equipment.
• Ability to work 100% onsite in Santa Clara, CA.

Responsibilities

Network & Security (Hands-on)

• Configure, manage, and troubleshoot Palo Alto firewalls (policies, NAT, VPNs, security profiles).
• Perform network hardening in line with enterprise security standards and best practices.
• Support firewall rule optimization, audits, and performance tuning.

Enterprise Network Operations

• Design, implement, and support enterprise-grade network infrastructure.
• Execute network migration projects, including cutovers and post-migration validation.
• Troubleshoot complex network issues across LAN/WAN environments.

Routing, Switching & Hardware

• Configure and support routing and switching (VLANs, OSPF, BGP, STP).
• Perform rack-and-stack of network switches, cabling, and physical network setup.
• Work on switch upgrades, replacements, and hardware refresh activities.

Skills

• Cisco Switching (Nexus/Meraki)
• Enterprise Network Migration & Troubleshooting
• Network Hardening & NAT/VPN Policies
• OSPF
• Palo Alto Firewalls (Panorama/Strata Cloud Manager)
• Rack & Stack & Enterprise LAN/WAN Infrastructure
• Routing & Switching (BGP, STP)
• eBGP vs iBGP
• TCP flags and packet capture analysis
• BGP configurations for enterprise edge networks

Preferred Qualifications

• Palo Alto certifications (PCNSA / PCNSE).
• Experience working in large-scale enterprise or data center environments.
• Strong documentation and communication skills.