Senior Network Security Specialist, Johannesburg

Senior Network Security Specialist required inJohannesburg. A leading organisation is looking for a senior, hands‑on Senior Network Security Specialist to own and support its next-generation firewall environment. This role is ideal for someone with deep Fortinet FortiGate experience who enjoys complex security operations, clean firewall governance, and keeping critical network security controls stable, secure, and well managed.

You will work across NGFW services, Layer 7 firewalling, IPS/IDS, VPN, application control, web filtering, anti‑malware protection, internal segmentation, incident response, patching, backups, and compliance reporting.

Area: Bryanston, Johannesburg.

Salary: R65 000– R110 000 per month.

Duties and Responsibilities

Own and manage the daily operation of next‑generation firewall services.

Configure, tune, and maintain Layer 7 firewall policies, IPS/IDS rules, VPN services, application control, web filtering, and malware protection.

Manage remote access and site‑to‑site VPN connectivity, including support and troubleshooting.

Implement and maintain secure internal network segmentation to reduce risk across the environment.

Model, test, implement, and track firewall rule and policy changes in line with business needs and governance standards.

Review firewall configurations against approved standards and change records.

Optimise and recertify firewall rules and policies to keep them clean, effective, and aligned to best practice.

Investigate and resolve firewall‑related incidents, alerts, exceptions, and exposures.

Perform root cause analysis and provide practical remediation guidance.

Keep the NGFW estate healthy through patching, configuration backups, platform checks, and security hygiene.

Support centralised logging, reporting, and visibility across the firewall environment.

Prepare security, incident, and compliance reports as required.

Provide clear updates to stakeholders on major security or health issues, including impact and recommended actions.

Support vulnerability scan policy input from a firewall and network security perspective.

Requirements

5 to 10 years’ experience in enterprise firewall or network security operations.

Strong hands‑on experience with Fortinet FortiGate NGFW.

Solid experience across firewall policy, IPS/IDS, VPN, web filtering, application control, AV, and UTM services.

Experience working in a change‑controlled enterprise environment.

Strong understanding of firewall governance, configuration audits, rule optimisation, and policy recertification.

Ability to investigate alerts, exceptions, and incidents with structured root cause analysis.

Strong troubleshooting skills across network security and perimeter controls.

Ability to balance security requirements with business connectivity and uptime.

Relevant IT Diploma or Degree preferred.

Fortinet NSE or Fortinet Professional certifications strongly preferred, especially NSE 4, NSE 5, or NSE 7.

Experience with other enterprise firewall platforms will be advantageous.

#J-18808-Ljbffr