Principal Consultant, Network Security

AHEAD builds platforms for digital business. By weaving together advances in cloud infrastructure, automation and analytics, and software delivery, we help enterprises deliver on the promise of digital transformation. At AHEAD, we prioritize creating a culture of belonging, where all perspectives and voices are represented, valued, respected, and heard. We create spaces to empower everyone to speak up, make change, and drive the culture at AHEAD.  We are an equal opportunity employer, and do not discriminate based on an individual's race, national origin, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, marital status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law, whether actual or perceived.  We embrace all candidates that will contribute to the diversification and enrichment of ideas and perspectives at AHEAD.  AHEAD is seeking a seasoned Principal Consultant (PC) to anchor our Network Security Advisory practice. In this role, you will operate as a trusted technical authority and engagement leader—embedding with enterprise clients, aligning technology strategies to business outcomes, and guiding multi‑year modernization journeys across complex, multi‑cloud environments. You’ll collaborate confidently from the C‑suite to operations, earning trust through thought leadership, clear communication, and measurable results. You will also mentor small, high‑performing teams and ensure delivery excellence across long‑term engagements.  WHAT YOU WILL DO:

Client & Executive Engagement

Advise senior executives on security strategy, modernization pathways, and multi‑year roadmaps that translate risk reduction into business value. 

Distill complex security concepts into outcomes and decisions that resonate with C‑suite and senior leadership. 

Lead recurring executive touchpoints—program reviews, steering committees, and health checks—to keep initiatives aligned and accountable. 

Drive engagement momentum by removing roadblocks, orchestrating stakeholders, and ensuring planned outcomes are achieved. 

Engagement & Technical Leadership

Lead multi‑workstream, enterprise‑scale network security transformations—spanning architectures, migrations, and modernization programs—with an unwavering focus on quality.

Delegate workstreams to qualified team members enabling scale of delivery.

Provide hands-on technical guidance developing team capability. 

Architect secure network designs that enable Zero Trust, micro‑segmentation, secure remote access (VPN/ZTNA), cloud perimeters, and resilient data center security fabrics. 

Establish standards, reusable patterns, and delivery frameworks to drive consistency and scale across the practice. 

Review and approve technical deliverables to ensure alignment with client standards, regulatory frameworks, and best practices. 

Sales Enablement & Business Development

Partner closely with account teams on strategic security campaigns—assisting with presales activities such as scoping, and solution strategy to win and expand business.

Identify and close follow‑on services within existing accounts through credibility, relationships, and demonstrable impact. 

Contribute proactive pipeline insights and opportunity identification to support accurate forecasting.

Practice & Thought Leadership

Develop methodologies, tooling, and processes that improve the efficiency and repeatability of our Network Security practice.

Produce thought leadership—whitepapers, blogs, reference architectures, conference presentations—and represent AHEAD in public forums. 

Support talent acquisition, interviewing, and onboarding of senior network security engineers; mentor and elevate the team. 

Represent the practice in cross‑practice initiatives, partner alliances, and industry events to strengthen our market position.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required

10+ years leading large‑scale network security projects or modernization programs with multi‑technology, cross‑functional teams. 

Proven track record delivering end‑to‑end enterprise network security transformations in large, complex environments. 

Deep expertise with next‑generation firewalls, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Network Access Control (NAC), and enterprise security architectures. 

Strong knowledge of modern security frameworks and practices (Zero Trust, NIST CSF, CIS, MITRE ATT&CK). 

Familiarity with compliance and security standards (e.g., HIPAA, PCI, FedRAMP). 

Demonstrated ability to lead and mentor engineering teams, drive execution and technical excellence. 

Documented history of exceeding performance goals and contributing meaningfully to practice and business success. 

Ability to generate new services opportunities during engagements and expand existing accounts. 

Strong partner alignment experience—collaborating with account teams, OEMs, and internal resources. 

Recognized as an expert and engagement leader; sought for complex or sensitive client situations. 

Experience authoring high‑impact proposals, SOWs, whitepapers, or external technical content; excellent communication skills for both technical teams and executives. 

Deep hands‑on expertise architecting and implementing two or more of: Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, Aruba ClearPass, AlgoSec/Tufin. 

Preferred

Experience in health care and life sciences; familiarity with HIPAA. 

Cloud‑native security (Azure preferred). 

Enterprise‑scale firewall migrations.

SD‑WAN and SASE/SSE platforms; micro‑segmentation approaches and technologies. 

Network detection & response; threat intelligence integrations. 

Prior experience as technical escalation lead for multi‑year programs or managed security environments. 

Certifications such as PCNSE, CCNP/CCIE Security, Fortinet NSE 7/8, AWS/Azure Security, CISSP/CCSP (or equivalent). 

Oversight, coaching, and mentoring of teams.