Apply online at: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/iowa/jobs/3573701/firewall-administrator?department[0]=336%20Iowa%20Communications%20Network
Closing: 8/25/2022
The Iowa Communications Network is looking to fill a Firewall Admin (Telecommunications Specialist) to assist the State.
The primary function of this position is to serve as a junior firewall administrator for the ICN internal and customer networks. The specialist position designs, builds, and maintains the ICN’s network infrastructure. Despite the strong technical focus of the job, you will engage with clients and troubleshoot network related issues. The position requires a self-driven individual who will function within a team of other specialists and engineers, and may require working irregular hours to perform maintenance at unobtrusive times or resolve critical issues.
Duties and Responsibilities
Telecom Specialists are responsible for handling several daily tasks. You must manage and analyze multiple projects and possess the following skills:
Design: Telecom Specialists review client requirements and collaborate with other specialists and engineers of a higher level to decide on an overall technical approach. Once an agreement is reached, the specialist will assist in creating necessary solutions.
Install and Maintain: The Telecom Specialist will participate in the installation of both the software and hardware components of the ICN’s firewalls and virtual platforms. They also assist in the configurations, manage their day-to-day operations, and perform regular maintenance through upgrades and patches.
Troubleshoot: Telecom Specialists constantly monitor devices and applications for performance problems and provide troubleshooting support. When issues arise, they must analyze the root cause and resolve them promptly or else escalate them to higher level technicians.
Subject Matter Expert: Aside from preparing status reports, Telecom Specialists help write extensive documentation on procedures, device statuses, firewall block lists, and other important technical areas. They also create diagrams of network topologies and record details of troubleshooting processes.
Compliance: Standards and Policies are extremely important and Telecom Specialists should be aware of these by keeping abreast of changes and defining processes for compliance. In addition, they enforce quality control and ensure that all output meets project requirements.
Skills and Qualifications: Telecom Specialists are problem-solvers with a strong technical aptitude. They communicate well with clients and other members of their team, and they hold their work to high standards, optimizing performance and resolving all errors.
Telecom Specialists skills are:
- Expertise in Network security – Telecom Specialists must have general networking knowledge. They’re familiar with the underlying theories and can diagnose issues, build infrastructure, and work with related software and hardware.
- Problem-solving skills – Assists in project planning and implementation relating to customer service requests; maintains accurate and current network documentation and configurations, including tracking hardware and software revisions; informs management on status of projects and any network issues.
- Customer service – Position must be mindful of client needs and clearly communicate complex information. The specialist must monitor network performance; provides reports on problem areas both with ICN systems and customers connected to ICN; creates and analyzes network reports to identify network trends and initiate corrective action.
- Attention to detail – As with most other jobs that involve working with network technology, Telecom Specialists must be meticulous and detail oriented, examining every aspect of the system to guarantee security and spot computer bugs or anomalous activity
- Network Functions – Assists with maintenance, provisioning, and management functions associated with an ICN product; works with customers and staff to share information and assistance.
Technical Skills
The ICN is seeking the following skills:
- Network analysis software (Sniffer, Wireshark, Cacti)
- Network security hardware (Checkpoint, Fortinet, Palo Alto, Flowtraq, A10)
- Endpoint Security Solutions (Crowdstrike, Cybereason, Cortex XDR)
- Customer service software (ServiceNow)
- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio)
Minimum Qualification Requirements
Experience equal to six years of full-time telecommunications work specializing in one of these product or services areas: PBX systems, router networks, switched and dedicated video services, tandem switching system or closely related area;
OR
an equivalent combination of education and experience, substituting thirty semester hours of accredited post high school education with major coursework in Digital Telephony, Video Networking or in an area related to Digital Communications/Networking for each year of the required experience to a maximum of four years.