Principal Consultant - Network Security

Principal Consultant, Network Security

Job Summary

The Principal Consultant is a senior consulting role responsible for leading the solution architecture, technical ownership, and successful delivery of complex client engagements within the ivision Consulting Services organization. This role serves as a trusted advisor to clients and project teams by translating business objectives into practical technical solutions, guiding project execution, and ensuring successful project outcomes. Within ivision's Enterprise Infrastructure practice, the Principal Consultant provides architecture and delivery leadership across enterprise security and modern networking initiatives, including Cisco SASE, SSE, SD-WAN, Zero Trust, and related security transformation efforts. Principal Consultants lead technical discovery, solution design, implementation strategy, and delivery execution while mentoring project team members and providing subject matter expertise in support of sales opportunities. The Principal Consultant is expected to demonstrate deep technical expertise, strong project leadership, effective client relationship management, and consistent adherence to ivision's Client Engagement Values.

Supervisory Responsibilities

May have supervisory responsibility, assigned as needed based on team size, practice needs, and project requirements. Not all Principal Consultants will carry direct reports.

Essential Functions

Project Delivery

• Understands client business goals and requirements and is able to translate into technical architecture and design. Leads workshops and whiteboarding sessions. For Enterprise Infrastructure engagements, designs target architectures for complex, multi-site environments combining Cisco Secure Access (SSE) and Cisco SD-WAN, and advises clients on a unified security posture using Cisco Security Cloud Control for centralized visibility and hybrid firewall policy orchestration.
• Oversees projects from initiation to completion in partnership with the Project/Program Manager to ensure a high level of client satisfaction. Leads a team of consultants, providing guidance and support to ensure adherence to project plan, scope, and timeline. Provides subject matter expertise in solution development. Manages project risks and implements strategies and solutions for clients.
• Proactively manages and delivers solutions in collaboration with the project team. Ensures project deliverables and timeline are executed in accordance with the project's Statement of Work while maintaining ivision's high quality standards. Provides guidance to project team members to maximize performance and alignment with project goals. Identifies project risks and proactively communicates internally and externally to drive client satisfaction while solving client's business challenges.
• Excels in building and maintaining strong client relationships, understanding the client's needs and expectations, ensuring satisfaction with project outcomes, and proactively identifies opportunities for additional services or projects within ivision's current client base. Facilitates clear and effective communication among internal and external stakeholders, ensuring alignment and understanding.
• Project leadership responsibilities include maintaining end-to-end accountability for the technical success of complex engagements, providing quality control of deliverables, establishing technical standards and expectations for project team members, and serving as the technical owner of the engagement. The Principal Consultant partners with the Project/Program Manager, who is responsible for project governance, scheduling, financial management, resource coordination, and overall project administration.
• Maintains a primary focus on maximizing billable utilization while safeguarding delivery quality and team sustainability.
• Defines enterprise Zero Trust architectures that integrate Cisco Secure Access, identity platforms, security controls, and networking technologies to align security strategy with business and operational objectives.
• Designs and governs integrated security architectures leveraging Cisco Secure Access, Cisco XDR, Security Cloud Control, SD-WAN, NGFW platforms, and identity services to provide secure access, threat visibility, and policy consistency across hybrid environments.
• Develops architecture and implementation strategies for enterprise networking initiatives including campus networking, WAN modernization, SD-WAN, routing, switching, wireless infrastructure, segmentation, and network security services.
• Provides architectural oversight throughout the engagement lifecycle, reviews key technical deliverables, validates implementation approaches, and serves as the final escalation point for architecture, design, and implementation decisions.
• Advises clients on future-state networking and security strategies, modernization roadmaps, platform consolidation opportunities, and operational transformation initiatives aligned to business goals.
• Architects solutions that integrate Cisco XDR, Security Cloud Control, identity services, and security operations workflows to improve detection, response, visibility, and operational effectiveness.

Administration

• Manages time to successfully execute assigned project tasks and to meet billable utilization targets while meeting project timelines and maintaining client satisfaction.
• Tracks time and notes for assigned project tasks and overall project status.
• Oversees practice team administration tasks and approval processing as needed.

Professional Development

• Drives continuous improvement by maintaining relevant knowledge of the latest tools and emerging technologies - including Cisco's current security portfolio (e.g., Hypershield, XDR, AI Defense, Splunk-integrated detection and response, Duo Passport, Continuous Identity Security).
• Identifies specific professional development opportunities and creates/implements career development plans with Manager.
• Adapts and learns new technologies, products, and processes, as needed.
• Completes training courses and obtains any associated certifications as required.

Mentorship

• Knowledge-shares and trains team members in areas where serving as a subject matter expert (SME), fostering collaboration and development within the Consulting Services Organization.
• Serves as a mentor to Consultants and Senior Consultants, helping develop technical depth, solution architecture skills, consulting methodology, project leadership capabilities, and client engagement best practices. As capacity and assignment allow, provides coaching to support career development and technical growth across the practice.

Sales Support

• Leads technical solution development for complex pursuits through client discovery sessions, technical workshops, architecture development, presentations, and pre-sales documentation. Serves as the primary consulting subject matter expert during technical sales engagements and validates proposed architectures, delivery approaches, and solution recommendations.
• Provides subject matter expertise in the sales cycle to ensure that complex solutions meet client requirements and expectations. For Enterprise Infrastructure opportunities, partners with account teams to lead discovery workshops and build comprehensive bills of materials (BOM).
• Contributes to Statement of Work creation and provides input to technical scope, level-of-effort estimates, project approach, and deliverables.
• Provides technical review and approval of ROMs (Rough Order of Magnitude estimates), LOEs, Statements of Work, implementation approaches, assumptions, and delivery risks to ensure solution feasibility and successful project execution.

Service Offering Development

• Actively supports and contributes to Go-to-Market (GTM) offering initiatives.
• Identifies new opportunities, analyzes complex problems, and develops strategic plans and innovative solutions based on industry knowledge, best practices, and the latest delivery tools and methodologies that drive value for clients and help close project opportunities.
• Provides subject matter expertise and builds templates for offering approach and estimating. Creates and defines solution requirements and artifacts and implements using formalized process.
• Leads discussions with Solution Architects, CS SMEs, and Go-to-Market (GTM) solution teams around standards and practices for implementing repeatable and consistent solutions.
• Contributes to the development of necessary GTM documentation and deliverables.
• Defines and maintains technical standards, repeatable delivery methodologies, implementation guidance, reusable assets, and estimating frameworks that improve consistency and quality across project delivery efforts

OEM Partners / Vendors

• Leads technical discussions with OEM/vendor teams during solution design and delivery.
• Collaborates with vendors to resolve complex technical issues and ensure alignment with client goals.
• Influences solution architecture by recommending vendor products and configurations.
• Participates in joint planning sessions with vendors for large engagements.
• Provides input on vendor partnership opportunities and co-selling initiatives.

People Management (as needed, based on team and project requirements)

The following apply only when a Principal Consultant is assigned direct reports or formal team-lead responsibility for a given practice or engagement; they are not standing duties of every Principal Consultant.

• When assigned, guides and coaches a team of consultants, providing constructive feedback, and overseeing administrative tasks and resource allocation related to the practice.
• When leading a team, cultivates a collaborative team atmosphere through regular communication and relationship-building during team meetings.
• When staffing needs arise, engages in the recruitment, onboarding, and integration of new team members.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Has strong organizational and time management skills and the ability to manage and mentor project teams, fostering collaboration and driving productivity and utilization.
• Ability to build trust and rapport internally and externally by providing clear, organized, and effective verbal and written communication.
• Results oriented - expert attention to detail, flexible, and resilient to handling challenges in a positive and proactive manner to ensure project deliverables meet ivision's high quality standards and client's satisfaction.
• Applies knowledge of organization and project methodology processes (Momentum Framework) to promptly adapt and modify project requirements and ensure client satisfaction.
• Mastery of business processes, organizational structure, and financial principles to meet deadlines; and adapt to changing project requirements, and client dynamics.
• Ability to think strategically and align project goals with broader organizational objectives thereby contributing to long-term success for our clients and ivision.
• Formulates and defines recommendations and solutions to complex client challenges with detailed attention to the clients' requirements, capabilities, and limitations.
• Strong written and documentation skills, and ability to author professional design documentation (Visio, Word, etc.).
• Technological proficiency across the Cisco security and networking portfolio - including mastery of SASE/SSE frameworks, zero-trust reference architectures, Cisco SD-WAN, advanced firewall topologies (FTD, ISE, ACI, Umbrella), Cisco Security Cloud Control, and identity platforms (Duo, Microsoft Entra ID, Okta) - along with relevant industry-specific and office productivity software.
• Strong mentoring and coaching skills to support team members when assigned mentorship responsibilities.

Education, Experience, Certification

• Typically has 8-12 years of overall IT experience, including 4-6 years in a consulting capacity.
• BS/BA (EE/CS) or equivalent in computer science or related technical field is preferred.
• Applicable technical certifications preferred (vary by practice area); for the Enterprise Infrastructure practice, strong Cisco Security expertise is required, with Cisco CCIE Security or CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure preferred.
• Team leadership or first-line management experience is preferred, but not required - supervisory duties are assigned as needed.
• Experience with project management and resource tracking techniques.
• Solution architecture and sales support experience is preferred.
• Knowledge of the IT project lifecycle is required. Familiarity with PMP and/or agile methodologies preferred. Knowledge of ITIL or other IT service management practices desired.

Other Requirements

• Physical Requirements: prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Work Environment: no adverse environmental conditions expected; regular office and/or home office environment.
• Travel: up to 50% travel based on client need.

Ivision is an equal opportunity employer, drug-free workplace, and complies with ADA regulations as applicable. See the Employee Handbook for more information.