The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is the largest public housing authority in North America. NYCHA’s mission is to increase opportunities for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers by providing safe, affordable housing and facilitating access to social and community services. Over 500,000 New Yorkers reside in over 300 developments offering residents public housing, Section 8 and PACT/RAD programs. NYCHA IT delivers meaningful, innovative, high-performing, cost-effective technology solutions to enable NYCHA to provide quality housing.

NYCHA is seeking a skilled and motivated Network Security Engineer to lead the management and security of our next-generation firewall infrastructure. This role will be instrumental in designing, configuring, and maintaining firewall and network security controls ensuring the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of NYCHA’s network environment. The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in Palo Alto Networks technologies and a strong understanding of network protocols, segmentation, and perimeter defense strategies. Under supervision, responsibilities include the following:

Key Responsibilities

- Serve as the subject matter expert (SME) for NYCHA’s next-generation firewall infrastructure, ensuring configurations align with industry best practices and organizational security requirements.
- Participate in security architecture reviews and network design planning, ensuring firewall configurations align with new infrastructure and application deployments.
- Design, implement, and modify firewall rules and security policies to support NYCHA’s operational and security needs.
- Conduct regular policy reviews and audits to ensure compliance with security standards and least privilege principles.
- Respond to security incidents involving network perimeter defenses, including investigation, containment, and remediation activities.
- Coordinate and execute firewall-related maintenance windows, software updates, and hardware lifecycle activities.
- Monitor firewall performance and health to ensure high availability, scalability, and resilience of perimeter defenses.
- Maintain up-to-date documentation of firewall configurations, policies, processes, and change history.
- Generate compliance and audit reports to support regulatory requirements and internal governance reviews.
- Support budget planning and procurement efforts related to firewall hardware, licensing, and ongoing support.
- Continuously monitor network security alerts and threat intelligence feeds to proactively identify and respond to potential risks.
- Collaborate with and manage the firewall vendor for support, issue resolution, and roadmap planning.
- Collaborate with other teams to provide recommendations for enhancing NYCHA’s security posture, including zero-trust principles, segmentation strategies, and policy enforcement.

Additional Information

1. NYCHA employees applying for transfer, promotional, title or level change opportunities must have served a period of one year at current location and in current title and level (if applicable).
2. NYCHA residents are encouraged to apply.
3. NYCHA provides benefits that include a choice of medical coverage plans, deferred compensation plans and a defined pension benefit plan as a member of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS).

Please read this posting carefully to make certain you meet the minimum qualification requirements before applying to this position.

IT SECURITY SPECIALIST - 95622

A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and four years of satisfactory full-time experience related to projects and policies required by the particular position; or,

Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" above.

- Deep knowledge of network security engineering with a focus on Palo Alto firewalls and advanced knowledge of Pan-OS, including App-ID, User-ID, and content inspection features. - Advanced proficiency with firewall troubleshooting, rule tuning, and secure configuration practices. - Strong understanding of network topologies and protocols. - Familiarity with SIEM tools, logging, and correlating firewall events. - Knowledge of programming or scripting to automate security tasks. - Strong analytical, research and problem-solving skills, with a meticulous approach to reviewing logs, system configurations, and network traffic. - Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate with other teams, fostering a security-first mindset. - Familiarity with common security frameworks, standards, and best practices (e.g., NIST Cybersecurity Framework, ISO 27001, CIS Controls). - Demonstrated passion for cyber security must possess a dedicated commitment to staying updated on the latest industry trends and best practices. - PCNSE or other related certification.

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

NYCHA has no residency requirements.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer 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, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.