Mid-Level, Senior

Secure Gateway Engineer

Canberra, Australia · On-site

Accenture is a leading solutions and services company that helps the world’s leading enterprises reinvent by building their digital core and unleashing the power of AI to create value at speed across the enterprise, bringing together the talent of our approximately 786,000 people, our proprietary assets and platforms, and deep ecosystem relationships. Our strategy is to be the reinvention partner of choice for our clients and to be the most client-focused, AI-enabled, great place to work in the world. Through our Reinvention Services we bring together our capabilities across strategy, consulting, technology, operations, Song and Industry X with our deep industry expertise to create and deliver solutions and services for our clients. Our purpose is to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity, and we measure our success by the 360° value we create for all our stakeholders.

Visit us at www.accenture.com.

Job Description

As a System / SME / COTS Product, you will be a hands-on technical lead responsible for the detailed design, implementation, configuration, and operation of secure information exchange solutions (Guards and Gateways) within a Federated Mission Networking (FMN) environment. Reporting to the Solution Architect and working within an Agile team, you will focus specifically on deploying and maintaining core security technologies, notably Palo Alto Networks firewalls and Isode M-Guard cross-domain solutions. Your expertise will be crucial in ensuring these systems meet stringent data-centric security requirements and achieve full Defence compliance.

Key Responsibilities

Provide deep technical expertise for the implementation and operational support of all FMN security components.
Design, configure, deploy, and manage Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs), including setting up security policies, NAT rules, VPN tunnels (IPsec/SSL), App-ID, and Threat Prevention profiles across physical and virtual appliances.
Install, configure, and maintain Isode M-Guard systems as application-level data diodes, specialising in secure message transfer, directory integration (LDAP/X.500), XML schema validation, and security label enforcement (e.g., in compliance with STANAG 4774/4778).
Translate high-level architectural designs and business requirements into detailed engineering specifications, build documents, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Ensure all engineering solutions adhere to mandated Defence Standardisation Agreements and national security accreditation requirements.
Collaborate closely with the Business Analyst and Solution Architect during requirements analysis and design phases, providing expert insight into product capabilities and limitations.
Actively participate in the agile delivery process, including refining user stories, contributing technical estimates during sprint planning, and documenting detailed acceptance criteria.
Conduct comprehensive testing of implemented solutions, including performance tuning, security audits, and formal User Acceptance Testing (UAT) support.
Troubleshoot complex technical issues across multi-vendor security solutions, often in high-pressure operational environments.
Maintain accurate system documentation, participate in agile ceremonies (sprint planning, daily stand-ups, retrospectives), and mentor junior engineers on specific product skills.

Required Skills and Qualifications

Education: A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, IT, Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
Experience:
Extensive hands-on experience (typically 5+ years) in network security engineering or systems engineering roles within complex, highly secure environments (Defence/Government sector preferred).
Proven experience working within an Agile delivery framework (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe).
Proven experience in deploying and managing IT systems that must adhere to stringent compliance frameworks (e.g., military security policies, ISO 27001, NIST standards).

Technical Expertise:

In-depth, practical experience with firewalls (PA-Series, VM-Series) and management tools (Panorama). Expert knowledge of PAN-OS features is required.

Cross-Domain Solutions:

Hands-on experience with Isode M-Guard or comparable CDS/data diode technologies (e.g., Owl Cyber Defense, Forcepoint High Speed Guard).
Familiarity with application-level gateway functions and secure messaging is essential.
Strong background in general networking protocols, TCP/IP fundamentals, routing, switching, VPNs, and foundational cybersecurity principles.
Experience with scripting and automation (e.g., Python, Ansible) for configuration management and deployment is highly advantageous.

Soft Skills:

Exceptional problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
Ability to work independently as a subject matter expert while integrating seamlessly into a collaborative, cross-functional agile team.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills to articulate complex technical concepts to peers, management, and military stakeholders.

Desirable Qualifications

Certifications: Hold current, advanced certifications such as PCNSE (Palo Alto Networks Certified Network Security Engineer), CISSP Certification, or other relevant security/networking vendor certifications.
Experience with virtualization technologies (VMware, Hyper-V) and secure containerisation (Docker, Kubernetes).

Accenture Benefits

To view our Progressive Employee Benefits covering Health, Wellbeing, Progressive Leave Options, Sustainability click on the link below.

Progressive Employee Benefits – Australia

This is an exceptional opportunity for an exceptional individual.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement for Australia

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About Accenture Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 791,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement for Australia:

At Accenture, our intention is to foster a culture and a workplace in which all of our people feel a sense of belonging and are respected and empowered to do their best work.

As part of our talent strategy, we hire and develop people who have different backgrounds, different perspectives and different lived experiences. These differences ensure that we have and attract the cognitive diversity to deliver a variety of perspectives, observations and insights which are essential to drive the innovation needed to reinvent, and we hold our leaders accountable for ensuring we have the most innovative and talented people in our industry.

Learn how Accenture protects your personal data and know your rights in relation to your personal data. Read more about our Privacy Statement

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