Manager, Firewall Policy Engineering

Position Purpose: The Manager, Firewall Policy Engineering is responsible for the leadership, delivery execution, workforce management, and capability advancement of the Firewall Security Engineering function.

This leader ensures firewall security controls are engineered, implemented, and operated consistently across the enterprise while enabling business connectivity requirements in a secure and sustainable manner.

The Manager is accountable for team performance, engineering delivery, operational execution, and continuous improvement while partnering with senior engineers and Capability Stewards for technical leadership and architectural direction.

Key Details: Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without the need for employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Sponsorship and future sponsorship are not available for this opportunity, including employment-based visa types H-1B, L-1, O-1, H-1B1, F-1, J -1, OPT, or CPT.

Team Leadership:

• Lead and develop a team of firewall security engineers.
• Establish priorities, engineering objectives, and operational work plans.
• Conduct performance management, career development, coaching, and mentoring.
• Develop succession depth and reduce key-person dependencies.
• Build an environment where engineers have clear ownership and appropriate decision authority.

Security Engineering & Delivery:

• Lead engineering execution for enterprise firewall security capabilities.
• Ensure firewall changes and security controls are implemented consistently and reliably.
• Establish repeatable engineering practices for firewall policy implementation and lifecycle management.
• Balance operational demand, strategic initiatives, technical debt, and capability advancement.
• Ensure engineering work transitions cleanly into sustainable operational support.

Firewall Policy & Security Controls:

Provide leadership for capabilities including:

• Firewall Policy Engineering.
• Firewall Rule Implementation.
• Firewall Rule Lifecycle Management.
• Network Segmentation Controls.
• Security Policy Standards.
• Rule Optimization and Cleanup.
• Policy Recertification Support.
• Firewall Automation and Orchestration.
• Security Control Validation.
• Firewall Change Engineering.
• Policy Exception Management.
• Cloud and Hybrid Firewall Security Controls.

Automation & Operational Improvement:

• Identify opportunities to reduce repetitive and manual engineering activities.
• Advance policy automation, orchestration, and standardized workflows where appropriate.
• Establish measurable engineering processes and control validation.
• Reduce unnecessary complexity and technical debt within firewall policies.
• Improve visibility into engineering workload, delivery, policy health, and control effectiveness.

Program and Project Execution:

• Lead execution of firewall security engineering projects and strategic initiatives.
• Align engineering capacity to organizational priorities.
• Manage project dependencies, resource constraints, and delivery risks.
• Partner with application, network, cloud, infrastructure, architecture, and cybersecurity teams.
• Ensure initiatives produce measurable security and business outcomes.

Governance and Risk Management:

• Ensure firewall security standards and engineering practices are consistently applied.
• Identify and escalate material security risks and exceptions.
• Support audit, compliance, and control validation activities.
• Maintain appropriate documentation, standards, procedures, and engineering practices.
• Ensure risks associated with firewall policy decisions are visible to appropriate decision-makers.

Vendor and Service Provider Management:

• Partner with firewall technology vendors and service providers.
• Hold external providers accountable for contracted engineering and support responsibilities.
• Evaluate vendor capabilities that can improve engineering efficiency, automation, and policy management.
• Ensure external resources augment internal capability rather than creating unnecessary dependencies.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Complies with all policies and standards.

Education/Experience: Requires a Bachelor's degree and 5+ years of related experience.

Or equivalent experience acquired through accomplishments of applicable knowledge, duties, scope and skill reflective of the level of this position.

Required Leadership Competencies:

• Strong people leadership and development skills.
• Experience leading security or network engineering teams.
• Strong understanding of enterprise firewall security concepts and network security controls.
• Ability to prioritize substantial operational and project demand within finite engineering capacity.
• Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Experience improving engineering processes through standardization and automation.
• Risk-based decision-making capability.
• Ability to translate technical security concerns into business risk and outcomes.

Soft Skills:

• Ability to lead/manage others.
• Collaboration and team building skills.
• Effectively coaches and delivers constructive feedback.
• Instills commitment to organizational goals.
• Ability to communicate and make recommendations to upper management.
• Effective conflict management skills.
• Develops and delivers effective presentations.
• Demonstrated negotiation skills.

At Centene, we connect people to the care they need to live healthier lives - and the work you do here makes that impact real every day. You’ll take on meaningful challenges that directly support individuals, families, and communities, building your skills while making healthcare more accessible and effective. It’s work with a purpose you can see, backed by a team committed to improving lives well beyond the workday.

Centene offers a comprehensive benefits package including: competitive pay, health insurance, 401K and stock purchase plans, tuition reimbursement, paid time off plus holidays, and a flexible approach to work with remote, hybrid, field or office work schedules. Actual pay will be adjusted based on an individual's skills, experience, education, and other job-related factors permitted by law, including full-time or part-time status. Total compensation may also include additional forms of incentives. Benefits may be subject to program eligibility.

Centene is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, and values the ways in which we are different. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered in accordance with the LA County Ordinance and the California Fair Chance Act