As a Lead Firewall Software Engineer, you will provide technical leadership and mentorship to a team of network security engineers. You will be responsible for designing sprint scopes, managing firewall deployments, and driving innovation in cloud firewall capabilities. This role requires a strong understanding of network security principles, hands-on experience with firewall technologies, and the ability to lead and develop team members. Primary customers and peer groups will be Core Infrastructure Engineering, Corporate Information Security, and Nike Operations Center.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FORThe candidate shall have enterprise level Security acumen, experience working on Palo Alto Next Generation Firewalls, Automation and managerial experience.
8+ years of experience in network security engineering, with minimum 1+ years in a technical lead or mentorship role
Deep hands-on expertise with Palo Alto Networks NGFW, Panorama, and Cloud NGFW / Prisma Access (SASE/SSE), ZTNA principles & micro segmentation
Understanding of network design and operations across full stack technologies
Experience with Network Access Control platforms such as Cisco ISE (TACACS+/RADIUS, posture, profiling)
Hands-on experience with SSL/TLS decryption at scale and awareness of regional privacy regulations (GDPR, DPDP, CCPA)
Experience integrating firewall telemetry with Splunk, Panorama logging, or equivalent SIEM/observability platforms
Strong Communication, stakeholder management, and the ability to drive technical decisions across distributed teams
Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to manage multiple priorities
Strong proficiency in Python automation and software development, including API integrations, data processing, workflow automation, and operational tooling.
Experience working with REST APIs, JSON, YAML, Git-based workflows, pull requests, code reviews, source control governance, and collaborative software development practices.
Experience developing Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and Automation-as-Code solutions using Terraform, Ansible, or equivalent automation platforms.
Experience designing and managing CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, GitLab CI, or similar platforms.
Understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC), testing methodologies, release management, version control, and secure coding best practices.
You will provide technical leadership for Nike's Network Security Platform Engineering initiatives, driving the evolution of firewall services from traditional operations toward Firewall-as-Code, Security Automation, Platform Engineering, Zero Trust, and cloud-native security solutions. You will lead a global team of engineers, define technical strategy, build scalable and reusable platforms, and accelerate Nike's adoption of automation-first security capabilities.
Provide technical leadership to a globally distributed Network Security Engineering squad by establishing quarterly roadmaps, defining engineering priorities, and aligning technical execution with business objectives.
Lead sprint planning, backlog prioritization, workload management, and delivery governance across multiple workstreams.
Mentor, coach, and develop engineers through technical guidance, career development, and knowledge-sharing initiatives.
Define and drive the strategic roadmap for Network Security Platforms, including Firewall-as-Code, Policy-as-Code, cloud security services, self-service platforms, and Zero Trust initiatives.
Serve as the technical lead for major security engineering programs from ideation through production implementation.
Drive architecture reviews, design decisions, and engineering standards across firewall, network access control, cloud security, and security automation domains.
Identify cross-platform dependencies, assess architectural risks, and establish mitigation strategies for large-scale initiatives.
Lead the design and implementation of Firewall-as-Code capabilities using Git-based workflows, Infrastructure-as-Code principles, APIs, and CI/CD pipelines.
Drive automation-first delivery by building Python-based automation frameworks, workflow orchestration solutions, and policy lifecycle automation.
Establish automated validation, testing, compliance, and deployment pipelines for firewall policy changes.
Partner with platform and cloud engineering teams to integrate firewall services into enterprise DevSecOps workflows.
Reduce operational toil through intelligent automation, self-healing capabilities, and reusable engineering services.
Lead development and adoption of AI-assisted operations, automation agents, and intelligent remediation capabilities within the security platform.
Evaluate and implement AIOps solutions that improve operational efficiency, automate incident response, and enhance security operations.
Drive innovation initiatives focused on autonomous operations, predictive analytics, and engineering productivity improvements.
PCNSE, CCNP Security, CCIE Security, CISSP, or equivalent industry certification
AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud security/networking certifications.
Experience with GitOps technologies such as ArgoCD.
Exposure to Crossplane, Kubernetes, Docker, and cloud-native platform engineering capabilities.
Experience implementing Firewall-as-Code, Policy-as-Code, Infrastructure-as-Code, or Security-as-Code operating models.
Knowledge of Agentic AI, AIOps frameworks, and autonomous operations platforms.
Skills Required
- 7+ years of experience in a network security engineering role
- Enterprise-level security acumen
- Experience deploying and managing Palo Alto Networks security solutions (Palo Alto NGFW)
- Understanding of network design and operations across full stack technologies
- Knowledge of network threat prevention methodologies and protocols
- Experience with Network Access Control systems such as Cisco ISE
- Hands-on experience with traffic decryption and privacy regulations
- Proficiency with network automation tools and scripting languages
- Managerial experience and ability to mentor and develop team members
- Strong communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills
- Experience managing large-scale NGFW deployment and leading cloud firewall POCs
Nike Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Nike and has not been reviewed or approved by Nike.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with a company match is complemented by options such as a Mega Backdoor Roth and deferred compensation for eligible earners. Financial coaching and structured savings programs support long-term financial security.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — An Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a stock discount sits alongside broad-based equity vehicles like RSUs and non-qualified stock options. These avenues expand wealth-building opportunities beyond base pay.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave includes maternity and paternity time, recently expanded in the U.S. to 16 weeks and extended to part-time retail teammates. Additional supports include childcare assistance at select locations and family-building benefits such as fertility, surrogacy, and adoption.
Nike Insights
What We Do
At NIKE, Inc., we innovate to serve athletes*. Every teammate - from coder to creator - plays a role in making these athletes’ dreams real. Our tech, data, and digital teams push limits every day, building the future of sport and the tools that drive it. Here, curiosity is fuel. Innovation is the game plan. Different perspectives keep us on the offense. You’ll solve challenges worth tackling, grow fast and belong to a team that backs you to do the right thing. Bring your drive. Bring your bold. Let’s move the world, together. Take your first step at nike.com/careers * If you have a body, you’re an athlete.
Why Work With Us
At NIKE, Inc., your dedication fuels the future of sport. There is a sense of pride that comes from representing an iconic brand and shaping its future. Here, we treat every day as a new opportunity to push boundaries, ask tough questions and share whole-hearted convictions. We are a team – united by the belief that anything is possible.
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