Principal ZTNA Network Engineer – Employee Remote Access

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in North Carolina.

📋 Description

• Lead the design and execution of ZTNA solutions (Zscaler ZPA/ZIA, ZVPN) to replace outdated VPN technologies.

• Participate in required on-call rotation.

• Define and implement modern Zero Trust architecture patterns, including application-level segmentation and identity-based access.

• Facilitate the decommissioning of legacy VPNs and transition to ZTNA platforms.

• Create and execute engineering roadmaps that align with the enterprise remote access strategy.

• Collaborate with security, infrastructure, and business units to ensure a coordinated rollout and adoption process.

• Document architecture, operational models, and implementation standards.

• Evaluate emerging ZTNA and secure access technologies, providing data-driven recommendations.

• Lead pilots and phased deployments, including testing, validation, and performance benchmarking.

• Serve as a Tier-3 escalation lead for complex remote access and connectivity challenges.

• Ensure high availability and resilience of remote access infrastructure in a 24x7 global environment.

• Assess and mitigate risks associated with latency, scale, and user experience during migrations.

⛳️ Requirements

• 6–10 years of experience in network/security engineering, including 4+ years focused on ZTNA or remote access transformations.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.

• Hands-on experience with Zscaler (ZPA/ZIA) or similar Zero Trust platforms.

• Proven track record of migrating legacy VPNs to Zero Trust, cloud-delivered access solutions.

• In-depth expertise in ZTNA design, implementation, and Zero Trust principles (least privilege, continuous verification, no implicit trust).

• Experience in designing application segmentation and identity-based access policies.

• Strong understanding of traffic steering, split tunneling, and secure access routing (ZVPN architectures).

• Experience with load balancing, gateways, and access control layers.

• Advanced troubleshooting skills across network layers (L3–L7).

• Familiarity with hybrid environments (on-prem, cloud, SaaS).

• Ability to optimize latency, performance, and user experience in ZTNA environments.

• Experience with high availability, disaster recovery, and failover strategies in global, always-on settings.

• Proficient with network automation tools (Python, Ansible, APIs).

• Familiarity with endpoint management and deployment tools (Intune, SCCM).

• Strong understanding of identity providers (Azure AD / Entra ID), SSO, and conditional access.

• Knowledge of PKI, certificates, and modern authentication methods.

• Experience integrating with SIEM, EDR, and security monitoring platforms.

• Strong ownership mindset with a focus on execution and delivery.

• Ability to excel in fast-paced, ambiguous environments with competing priorities.

• Excellent communication skills across technical and business stakeholders.

• Proven ability to lead incident response and drive resolution under pressure.

• Preferred certifications: Zscaler (ZCCA / ZCCP / ZCSE), CCNP/CCIE (Security or Enterprise), CISSP (or equivalent), ITIL Foundation.

🏝️ Benefits

• N/A