Network Security Engineer - SC Cleared

Contract: 6 months
Rate: £550 per day (Inside IR35)
Location: Primarily remote, with ad-hoc travel to Bristol
Security Clearance: Active SC clearance required

Our client, one of the UK's largest producers of zero-carbon energy, is seeking an experienced Network Security Engineer with deep expertise in Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) and SASE solutions to support a comprehensive security assurance and compliance review across a complex, multi-environment estate.

This role is focused on assessing, validating, and uplifting Firewall and SASE configurations to meet defined engineering standards, regulatory frameworks, and audit requirements. You will work closely with security engineering, governance, risk, and compliance teams to ensure a consistent, auditable, and robust security posture.

• Conduct detailed technical and compliance reviews of NGFW and SASE platforms

• Assess Firewall configurations, policies, and security profiles against:

  • Internal Firewall and security assurance criteria

  • Industry best practices

  • Regulatory frameworks including ISO 27001, NIST, PCI DSS, and GDPR

• Review and validate security controls across:

  • On-premises data centres

  • Branch office environments

  • Cloud-based Firewall deployments

  • SASE platforms

• Ensure consistent security posture and compliance alignment across all environments

• Validate alignment with applicable regulatory and internal governance standards

• Identify compliance gaps and define practical, risk-based remediation plans

• Ensure configurations and supporting documentation meet audit and regulatory expectations

• Produce structured, audit-ready documentation, including:

  • Review methodologies

  • Compliance mapping

  • Risk assessments and recommendations

• Maintain clear and defensible evidence trails to support audits and regulatory inspections

• Define and support implementation of changes required to align environments with agreed security assurance and engineering standards

• Ensure solutions are consistent, maintainable, and operationally effective

• Engage regularly with business units, engineering teams, and governance, risk, and compliance stakeholders

• Provide clear progress updates and align delivery with governance and risk objectives

• Collaborate with wider network and security engineering teams to ensure consistent implementation

• Contribute to the enhancement of:

  • Security review and assurance processes

  • Evaluation and assessment criteria

  • Documentation and reporting standards

• Support continuous improvement initiatives within the security engineering function

• Translate complex technical and compliance findings into clear, actionable recommendations

• Communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders

• Influence outcomes through strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills

• Strong hands-on experience with Next-Generation Firewalls and SASE solutions

• Experience with Palo Alto Networks and/or Fortinet highly desirable