Data Center Firewall & Network Security Engineer

Cerebras Systems builds the world's largest AI chip, 56 times larger than GPUs. Our novel wafer-scale architecture provides the AI compute power of dozens of GPUs on a single chip, with the programming simplicity of a single device. This approach allows Cerebras to deliver industry-leading training and inference speeds and empowers machine learning users to effortlessly run large-scale ML applications, without the hassle of managing hundreds of GPUs or TPUs. 

 

Cerebras' current customers include top model labs, global enterprises, and cutting-edge AI-native startups. OpenAI recently announced a multi-year partnership with Cerebras, to deploy 750 megawatts of scale, transforming key workloads with ultra high-speed inference. 

Thanks to the groundbreaking wafer-scale architecture, Cerebras Inference offers the fastest Generative AI inference solution in the world, over 10 times faster than GPU-based hyperscale cloud inference services. This order of magnitude increase in speed is transforming the user experience of AI applications, unlocking real-time iteration and increasing intelligence via additional agentic computation.

About The Role

As a Data Center Firewall & Network Security Engineer, you will be responsible for the design, implementation, and 24/7 maintenance of the security infrastructure protecting our critical data assets. You will bridge the gap between core networking and cybersecurity, ensuring that high‑speed data center traffic remains secure without sacrificing performance or latency.

Responsibilities 

• Architectural Design: Design and deploy scalable, high‑availability security solutions (firewalls, VPNs) in a multi‑tenant or data center environment.
• Policy Management: Create, audit, and optimize complex firewall rule sets to enforce the principle of least privilege.
• Zero Trust & Segmentation: Implement micro‑segmentation strategies to prevent lateral movement within the data center.
• Threat Mitigation: Monitor for security breaches and investigate network‑level anomalies using SIEM tools and packet analysis.
• Performance Tuning: Manage high‑throughput traffic flows (100G+ environments) and ensure that security inspection does not create bottlenecks.
• Automation: Utilize Python, Ansible, or Terraform to automate repetitive security tasks and support Infrastructure‑as‑Code (IaC) deployments.
• Operations and Management: Operations and Management: software upgrades, vulnerability response, vendor coordination, debugging and mitigation, on‑call support, stakeholder communication, and documentation.

Qualifications

• Experience designing, implementing, managing, and monitoring an organization’s network defenses, with a primary focus on firewalls and VPNs.
• Minimum of 8 to 10 years of experience configuring, managing, and supporting firewalls.
• Expertise in Palo Alto Networks firewalls and Panorama.
• Strong grasp of core networking technologies such as BGP, OSPF, VLANs, VXLAN, and EVPN.
• Experience designing secure, redundant failover paths across multiple geographic data centers.
• Experience securing connectivity between on‑premises data centers and AWS/Azure/GCP.
• Strong scripting/programming skills (e.g., Python, Shell, PowerShell, YAML/JSON) and experience with Infrastructure‑as‑Code or Policy‑as‑Code frameworks.
• PCNSE, NSE 4–8, CCNP Security, or CISSP certifications preferred.
• Experience with IDS/IPS, SSL/TLS decryption, WAF, and DDoS mitigation.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, Information Security, or Information Systems; a Master’s degree is preferred.

Why Join Cerebras

People who are serious about software make their own hardware. At Cerebras we have built a breakthrough architecture that is unlocking new opportunities for the AI industry. With dozens of model releases and rapid growth, we’ve reached an inflection  point in our business. Members of our team tell us there are five main reasons they joined Cerebras:

1. Build a breakthrough AI platform beyond the constraints of the GPU.
2. Publish and open source their cutting-edge AI research.
3. Work on one of the fastest AI supercomputers in the world.
4. Enjoy job stability with startup vitality.
5. Our simple, non-corporate work culture that respects individual beliefs.

Read our blog: Five Reasons to Join Cerebras in 2026.

Apply today and become part of the forefront of groundbreaking advancements in AI!

Cerebras Systems is committed to creating an equal and diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate different backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We believe inclusive teams build better products and companies. We try every day to build a work environment that empowers people to do their best work through continuous learning, growth and support of those around them.

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