Network Security Engineer

The University of Southern California’s (USC’s) Information Technology Services is seeking a talented Network Security Engineer with an exceptional commitment to service excellence to join its team. As the Network Security Engineer, you will be an integral member of the Network Engineering team, collaborating with diverse and talented team members to help solve multidimensional information technology problems, improve customer experience, and generate value for our campus stakeholders across a broad base of departments and constituencies.

THE TEAM

ITS has embarked on a major digital transformation initiative to continually improve services for faculty, staff, and students in support of USC’s ascent as a leading institution of higher education. The ITS vision aligns strategy, business, and services; affirms ITS cultural values; empowers cross-functional teamwork; embraces world-class best practices; and promotes innovation, excellence, agility, and efficiency. To achieve this vision, ITS is committed to providing a modern technology infrastructure that is resilient and delivers the performance necessary to meet the demands of a growing customer base, training in the latest technologies for its highly productive and motivated workforce, outstanding customer experience, and technology services that are aligned with the university’s mission to provide exceptional learning opportunities for students. ITS is creating a workplace where employees can develop cutting-edge skills, take pride in the services they provide, and have access to the roles and career paths that align to their abilities and potential. 

We are looking for top talent to join us on our journey.

ITS CULTURE

USC’s ITS organization represents a diverse and talented team, committed to supporting a collaborative culture and delivering secure and innovative IT services, core to the mission of USC. ITS values accountability, excellence, and commitment to exceptional customer experience. ITS strives for a supportive and inclusive culture that encourages employees to do their best work every day and where individuals are recognized and celebrated for their contributions.

ABOUT USC

USC is the leading private research university in Los Angeles—a global center for arts, technology, and international business. With more than 47,500 students, we are located primarily in Los Angeles but also in various US and global satellite locations. As the largest private employer in Los Angeles, responsible for $8 billion annually in economic activity in the region, we offer the opportunity to work in a dynamic and diverse environment, in careers that span a broad spectrum of talents and skills across a variety of academic and professional schools and administrative units. As a USC employee and member of the Trojan Family—the faculty, staff, students, and alumni who make USC a great place to work—you will enjoy excellent benefits, including a variety of well-being programs designed to help individuals achieve work-life balance.

Come join the ITS team and work as a trusted partner in shaping an environment of innovation and excellence for the university.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
The candidate for the position of Network Security Engineer must meet the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree, or vocational training in a relevant field such as computer science, computer engineering, etc., or equivalent combination of education, training, experience.
• Two years of experience in information technology, network engineering, or network security.
• One of the following certifications: CCNA Security, CCNP Security, Fortinet NSE 4, OSCP, CISSP, CEH, or equivalent relevant experience.        
• Experience with border gateway protocol (BGP), intrusion detection, proxies, firewalls, packet capture, and/or data loss prevention (DLP).
• Experience designing and implementing security measures within public cloud environments, such as AWS or Azure.
• Experience troubleshooting and deploying solutions involving certificates and public key infrastructures such as 802.1X or SSL decryption and offloading.
• Experience designing and deploying web proxy and content filtering solutions for DLP.
• Experience performing packet and flow analysis across a variety of toolsets such as in-line taps, firewall/IPS appliances, network routers, and hosts.
• Ability to contribute expertise to design discussions and support the development of network solutions.
• Experience writing shell scripts using Python or Bash.
• Experience using infrastructure monitoring tools.      
• Experience working with network access control platforms.
• Experience designing and working with firewall and intrusion prevention systems.
• Ability to support the creation of presentation materials, generate reports, and assist in presenting to appropriate stakeholders.
• Experience working in project-based environments.
• Ability to collaborate across an organization and effectively communicate with others.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal candidate for the position of Network Security Engineer has the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as computer science, computer engineering, etc.
• More than four years of experience in information technology, network engineering, or network security.
• CCIE Security certification.
• Experience designing and working with firewall and intrusion prevention systems with a focus on Fortinet security platforms.
• Experience using SolarWinds as an infrastructure monitoring tool.
• Experience working with the HPE ClearPass network access control platform.
• Experience working with Fortinet security platforms to design firewalls and monitor intrusions.

THE WORK YOU WILL DO

Job Accountabilities

The Network Security Engineer:

• Works collaboratively with key stakeholders within ITS and with other campus departments to deliver highly reliable and secure network services. Creates and maintains detailed written documentation. Shares experiences and subject matter expertise with other ITS staff through written and oral presentations. Provides timely communications to stakeholders, technical staff, and management as required. Communicates and reports network security incidents and issues to university and ITS leaders.
• Develops and implements solutions to protect the network infrastructure from external and internal threats. Ensures compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements regarding information access, security, and privacy. Plans and executes system upgrades, bug fixes, and other changes using service management software and methodologies.
• Actively engages with customers to resolve network issues. Acts as a consultant to campus departments to determine the suitability and capability of devices to connect to the campus network. Aligns activities to approved security policies.
• Implements firewall solutions to properly secure campus data. Evaluates and recommends new firewall implementations, firewall configuration changes, and projects requiring security operational support. Facilitates innovation and continuous improvement by leveraging the latest industry knowledge and maintains currency with new technologies. Pursues information on new developments in network engineering by reading journals and other pertinent publications, communicating with vendors, and participating in professional organizations, meetings, conferences, seminars, and training courses.
• Maintains network security systems by applying system patches and other periodic tasks, as needed. Reviews and monitors security appliances and enacts changes based on operational requirements. Builds network security infrastructures and responds to network-related incidents in a timely fashion. Configures and maintains network equipment and monitoring tools. Assists in incident responses for breaches and intrusions, including responses that occur outside of normal business hours as required. Tests systems for software and hardware weaknesses.
• Identifies operational opportunities and gaps. Implements solutions that solve security challenges while meeting business objectives. Recommends industry-leading security practices. Advises on risk assumptions for any variances granted.
• Contributes to an inclusive environment that values differences by building and maintaining collaborative relationships with team members, peers, and ITS leaders. Actively embodies ITS values and behaviors including accountability, ethics, and best-in-class customer service. Contributes to a culture of trust and transparency by sharing information broadly, openly, and deliberately.
• Supports the vision for Network Engineering. Works closely with team members and management to implement and support effective solutions for network security engineering. Maintains currency with technology, standards, and best practices. Supports process improvement efforts within the team and across ITS.
• Performs other related duties as assigned or requested. The university reserves the right to add or change duties at any time.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS The candidate for the position of Network Security Engineer must meet the following qualifications:• Bachelor’s degree, or vocational training in a relevant field such as computer science, computer engineering, etc., or equivalent combination of education, training, experience. • Two years of experience in information technology, network engineering, or network security. • One of the following certifications: CCNA Security, CCNP Security, Fortinet NSE 4, OSCP, CISSP, CEH, or equivalent relevant experience. • Experience with border gateway protocol (BGP), intrusion detection, proxies, firewalls, packet capture, and/or data loss prevention (DLP).• Experience designing and implementing security measures within public cloud environments, such as AWS or Azure.• Experience troubleshooting and deploying solutions involving certificates and public key infrastructures such as 802.1X or SSL decryption and offloading. • Experience designing and deploying web proxy and content filtering solutions for DLP.• Experience performing packet and flow analysis across a variety of toolsets such as in-line taps, firewall/IPS appliances, network routers, and hosts. • Ability to contribute expertise to design discussions and support the development of network solutions. • Experience writing shell scripts using Python or Bash.• Experience using infrastructure monitoring tools. • Experience working with network access control platforms. • Experience designing and working with firewall and intrusion prevention systems.• Ability to support the creation of presentation materials, generate reports, and assist in presenting to appropriate stakeholders. • Experience working in project-based environments. • Ability to collaborate across an organization and effectively communicate with others.