Sr. Technical Consultant

Innovative Solutions (IS) is a leading pure-player Cybersecurity company in the GCC, established in 2003 and headquartered in Riyadh, with a presence in Al Khobar, Jeddah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. Our Cybersecurity Solutions and Services encompass Advisory Services, Technical Assurance, Solution Deployment, Professional Services, and Managed Security Services.

Innovative Solutions is committed to its Mission to "Bring Trust to Cyberspace" to ensure "Your Business, Secured."

The Senior Technical Consultant will lead the Integrated Network Defense Department, overseeing the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of secure network architecture across the organization. This role ensures the seamless integration of cybersecurity controls (WAF, FW, EDR, IPS, PAM) with core network functions (routing, switching, load balancing, SD-WAN). The consultant provides expert guidance on security strategies, drives technology modernization, and ensures the resilience, availability, and integrity of the ministry's network and security infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

1. Leadership & Strategy

• Establish and lead the Integrated Network Defense Department, including vision, roadmap, and operating model.
• Develop and maintain unified network and security architecture aligned with organizational goals and regulatory frameworks.
• Lead modernization initiatives, including Zero Trust, SASE, XDR, and network segmentation.
• Provide advisory to senior management on strategic investments, technology refresh, and managed security services adoption.

2. Network & Security Architecture

• Design and oversee enterprise-level architecture that integrates routing, switching, firewalling, WAF, EDR, IPS, NAC, VPN, IAM, and cloud security.
• Ensure architecture scalability and resilience across HQ, branches, data centers, and cloud environments.
• Define and enforce network security baselines, standards, and hardening guidelines.
• Lead the evaluation and selection of next-generation technologies and vendors.

3. Operations & Governance

• Ensure continuous and secure operation of the network and security stack, including performance optimization and incident response alignment.
• Oversee configuration management, change control, and lifecycle management for network and security assets.
• Collaborate with SOC, NOC, Threat Intelligence, and other cybersecurity teams to create a unified defense approach.
• Establish KPIs, SLAs, dashboards, and reporting mechanisms for operational visibility and decision making.

4. Technical Expertise & Support

• Act as the escalation point for complex networking and security issues.
• Provide architecture reviews, solution designs, PoCs, and troubleshooting leadership.
• Mentor junior engineers and guide knowledge-transfer activities with vendors and managed service providers.

5. Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure adherence to national cybersecurity frameworks (e.g., NCA, SAMA CSF) and global best practices (ISO 27001, NIST 800-53, CIS).
• Conduct risk assessments, gap analyses, and compliance audits on network and security controls.
• Define mitigation plans for vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, or architectural risks.

Requirements (Experience & Skills)

Experience

• 10+ years of technical experience in network and cybersecurity domains.
• Proven experience leading teams or departments responsible for routing, switching, firewalls, WAF, EDR, IPS, and related security controls.
• Strong background in designing enterprise architectures across on-prem, hybrid, and cloud environments.
• Hands-on expertise with Cisco, Palo Alto, Fortinet, F5, Splunk, Elastic, and similar platforms.
• Experience with Zero Trust implementation, micro-segmentation, and secure access frameworks.
• Familiarity with government, enterprise, or critical infrastructure environments.

Technical Skills

• Advanced knowledge of routing protocols (OSPF, BGP), switching, SD-WAN, DNS/DHCP/IPAM.
• Strong skills in firewalling, WAF, EDR/XDR, IPS, proxy, NAC, VPN, IAM/PAM.
• Experience with load balancers, reverse proxies, and traffic engineering.
• Understanding of cloud security (Azure/AWS), microservices architecture, and API security.
• Strong analytical, documentation, and architecture diagramming skills.

Soft Skills

• Strong leadership and communication capabilities.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and drive cross-functional collaboration.
• Excellent problem-solving and crisis management abilities.
• Strategic mindset with ability to translate complex technical issues to business terms.

Certifications (Preferred)

Network Certifications

• CCNP / CCIE (Routing & Switching or Security)
• JNCIP / JNCIE
• F5 Certified Technology Specialist (CTS)

Security Certifications

• CISSP
• CISM
• GIAC (GSEC, GCIA, GCED, GCIH)
• Palo Alto PCNSE / Fortinet NSE4–NSE7
• AWS/Azure Security Specialty (for hybrid/cloud environments)

Architecture & Governance Certifications

• TOGAF
• ITIL v4