Sr Network Engineer - Palo Alto at thinkahead

AHEAD builds platforms for digital business. By weaving together advances in cloud infrastructure, automation and analytics, and software delivery, we help enterprises deliver on the promise of digital transformation. At AHEAD, we prioritize creating a culture of belonging, where all perspectives and voices are represented, valued, respected, and heard. We create spaces to empower everyone to speak up, make change, and drive the culture at AHEAD.  We are an equal opportunity employer, and do not discriminate based on an individual's race, national origin, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law, whether actual or perceived.  We embrace all candidates that will contribute to the diversification and enrichment of ideas and perspectives at AHEAD.  Roles & Responsibilities Technical Troubleshooting & Escalation * Lead resolution of Tier‑3 support cases for Palo Alto NGFW, Panorama, GlobalProtect, Prisma SD-WAN, Prisma Access, Strata, and SASE cloud firewall products, Cortex within TAC workflows. * Perform advanced diagnostics, packet captures, log analysis, root-cause analysis and lab reproductions. * Interface directly with enterprise customers and act as a senior escalation point for P1/P2 incidents. Technical Leadership & Knowledge Management * Mentor L1/L2 TAC engineers, shaping troubleshooting approach and case handling. * Create/manage knowledge base articles, internal guides, and conduct training sessions for TAC teams. Cross-Functional Collaboration * Work closely with Engineering, QA, and Product Management to escalate bugs and influence product improvements. * For ETAC/Advanced TAC roles: be a bridge between TAC and Engineering—replicate issues, provide early-stage feedback on new products, and contribute to feature supportability. Automation & Tooling * Develop troubleshooting scripts/tools (Python, REST, CI/CD) to speed up issue resolution and improve efficiency. * Route supportability input into product release processes and assist with release validation workflows. Metrics, Process, & Incident Management * Monitor case metrics: time-to-resolution, backlog, escalations; identify trends and efficiency gaps. * Own P1/P2 incident lifecycle: ensure proper escalation, executive communication, and post-mortem reports. Required Qualifications  Category Requirements Experience 5–9 years in enterprise-level TAC/support or network/security engineering; 2+ years in L3 escalation roles Technical Skills Expert in PAN-OS, firewalls, Panorama, Prisma SD-WAN, Prisma Access, Strata, SASE, VPN, routing (BGP, OSPF), packet diagnostics (Wireshark), Linux shells Certifications PCNSE required; PCNSA, PCCSE Scripting Python, REST API, or equivalent automation experience Soft Skills Strong communicator; adept at customer-facing handling and cross-team leadership Work Scope Ability to work across rotational shifts; availability for incident-based after-hours effort Why AHEAD: Through our daily work and internal groups like Moving Women AHEAD and RISE AHEAD, we value and benefit from diversity of people, ideas, experience, and everything in between. We fuel growth by stacking our office with top-notch technologies in a multi-million-dollar lab, by encouraging cross department training and development, sponsoring certifications and credentials for continued learning. India Employment Benefits include:  Comprehensive health insurance coverage for employees, with options to extend coverage to dependents Paid time off and company holidays, along with additional leave benefits as per policy Flexible work arrangements, supporting work-life balance Learning and development opportunities to support continuous growth and upskilling Employee wellness initiatives and programs focused on physical and mental well-being Retirement and statutory benefits in line with India regulations Inclusive and people-first culture, with a strong focus on collaboration and ownership