Sr. Technical Support Engineer, United States Government

$108,400 - $175,350/Yr

Palo Alto Networks - Reston, VA

Full-time - Mid Level

Reston, VA

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

As a Senior Technical Support Engineer at Palo Alto Networks, you will play a crucial role in ensuring the success of our customers by providing advanced technical assistance and support for our cybersecurity products. This position requires a deep understanding of network security and the ability to analyze complex post-sales concerns. You will be responsible for addressing customer issues through detailed evaluations and providing tailored solutions that optimize their security infrastructure. Your role will involve networking with key contacts outside your area of expertise, allowing you to communicate difficult technical issues effectively to both technical and non-technical professionals. In this position, you will act as a designated customer advocate, providing personalized support that includes weekly reviews, root cause analysis for critical issues, and upgrade planning. You will become intimately familiar with your customers' implementations and business priorities, proactively driving best practices to enhance their security posture. Your ability to participate in technical discussions with multi-functional teams will foster transparency and lead to improved products and working environments. Your impact will be significant as you offer advanced-level technical assistance to our top-tier customers, ensuring prompt resolution of complex issues. You will take ownership of support cases from initiation to resolution, meticulously documenting all troubleshooting steps and providing timely updates. Additionally, you will conduct multi-vendor troubleshooting and collaborate closely with Account, Sales, and Marketing teams to build a positive customer experience. Your expertise will also extend to identifying product defects and facilitating the hiring and onboarding process for new technical support staff. This role requires a proactive approach to problem-solving and the ability to work under pressure, as you will often need to provide fast assistance to clients in critical situations. Your contributions will help maintain the high standards of customer support that Palo Alto Networks is known for, ensuring that our clients are effectively supported in their cybersecurity efforts.

Responsibilities

• Offer advanced-level technical assistance to top-tier customers, ensuring prompt resolution of complex issues and providing tailored solutions to optimize their security infrastructure.
• Effectively communicate technical solutions to technical and executive stakeholders, fostering trust and credibility at the highest levels of customers' organizations.
• Provide tailored troubleshooting, configuration guidance, and best practices to customers.
• Take ownership of support cases from initiation to resolution, ensuring meticulous documentation of all troubleshooting steps, timely updates, and comprehensive closure summaries in the ticketing system.
• Conduct multi-vendor troubleshooting on complex customer engagements and build positive customer experience by working closely with Account, Sales, and Marketing teams.
• Utilize fault isolation and root cause analysis skills to provide post-sales technical support, configuration, troubleshooting, and standard methodologies to customers.
• Be the subject matter expert on core technologies of Palo Alto Networks product line.
• Identify product defects via lab replication using network simulation, lab automation, performance testing, and validation tools.
• File bug reports with the engineering team and develop test plans and best practices with Quality Assurance teams to improve overall software and hardware quality per release cycle.
• Facilitate the hiring and onboarding process with technical screens, train new hires on technical and soft skills, and enable process and tools knowledge for readiness.
• Author Technical Support Bulletins and technical documentation in the Knowledge Base for training materials, marketing collateral, manuals, and problem-solving guides.
• Travel to customer sites in the event of a critical situation to expedite resolution as required.

Requirements

• Minimum of seven years of network security experience.
• Expertise in TCP/IP and advanced knowledge of LAN/WAN technologies, including general routing/switching and routing protocols (e.g., BGP, OSPF, EIGRP).
• Advanced understanding of packet flow across multiple OSI layers.
• Extensive experience with troubleshooting Remote Access VPN solutions including IPSEC, PKI & SSL technologies.
• Ability to independently debug broad, complex, and unique networks with mixed media and protocols.
• In-depth knowledge of networking operations - TCP and UDP, SNMP, IPv6, VLSM, CIDR, and NAT - Static, Dynamic, and PAT.
• Proficiency with network troubleshooting tools - Wireshark, GNS3.
• Strong grasp of authentication protocols - LDAP, TACACS+, Radius.
• Skilled in engaging executive-level stakeholders with clear technical communication.
• Proven track record of effectively communicating technical concepts to diverse audiences.
• Consistently maintains rigorous case management practices, ensuring thorough documentation and timely updates.

Nice-to-haves

• Virtualization experience (AWS, Azure, VMWare, OpenStack).
• Experience with Windows, MAC OS, and Linux (Debugging, Editing Registries, Plist etc.).
• Experience with Python or Shell scripting.
• Multi-Vendor Exposure - Cisco Advanced Security Appliances, Palo Alto Next-Generation Firewalls, Prisma Access, Cisco Firepower, Checkpoint Firewalls, Cisco Switches, and Intrusion Detection/Intrusion Prevention Systems.
• BS in computer science, information technology, computer architecture, electrical engineering, mathematics or related experience or equivalent military experience required.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Willingness to work outside of normal business hours (As business needs dictate).

Benefits

• Flexible work schedule with the option to work from home two days a week.
• Personalized wellbeing support and growth development opportunities.
• Competitive salary with potential for bonuses and stock options.
• Comprehensive health insurance and retirement plans.
• Paid time off and holidays.