Job Description

About Verdant Specialty Solutions

Verdant Specialty Solutions is a global specialty chemical company. Its customers include world-leading personal care and home care brands, energy solutions providers, and industrial companies. Verdant’s vision is to be the go-to provider of batch specialty surfactant-based chemistry for applications in the consumer and industrial markets. Based in Houston, the company has nine locations in the US and Europe. Verdant’s international team of 285 employees are committed to safety, quality, and supply reliability.

Why Join Verdant?

Our business has endless opportunities for growth! Verdant is a fast-growing company with the spirit and creativity of a small business. The company was formed in May 2021, so every employee plays an important role in culture and performance. It offers a dynamic ‘start up’ atmosphere with opportunities for professional growth and development. You can immediately make an impact in our business!

Commitment to Safety

Despite having the spirit of a small business, Verdant rivals against larger companies in its commitment to safety with industry leading environmental, quality and health standards. Safety is absolutely our number one priority for all employees.

Position Summary: The Network Security Engineer is responsible for implementing, maintaining, and supporting the organization's network, security, servers, infrastructure, and telecommunications across all sites. This role is critical in protecting the organization against cyber threats, ensuring compliance with security standards, and maintaining the overall health and performance of IT systems. Additionally, this position serves as the primary backup for system administration duties and takes ownership of the organization's help desk solution.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the strategic planning, design, and execution of network build-out and migration initiatives across all site locations, ensuring scalability, reliability, and security.
• Oversee the proper maintenance of servers and execute seamless migration to cloud-based environments, optimizing performance and cost-efficiency.
• Ensure robust IT security measures are in place, continuously monitored, and improved to protect organizational assets and comply with regulatory standards.
• Develop, implement, and enforce comprehensive network security policies and procedures to align with industry best practices and organizational goals.
• Proactively monitor network traffic and system logs to detect, analyze, and remediate potential security threats and vulnerabilities.
• Configure, manage, and optimize firewalls, VPNs, intrusion detection, and prevention systems to ensure seamless and secure connectivity across the enterprise.
• Conduct regular security assessments, audits, and penetration testing to identify weaknesses and recommend improvements.
• Lead the response to security incidents by investigating, mitigating, and implementing corrective measures to prevent recurrence.
• Collaborate closely with business stakeholders to ensure security compliance and alignment with business needs.
• Provide ongoing training, mentorship, and guidance to end-users on security best practices, fostering a culture of security awareness.
• Manage and optimize telecommunications systems to support reliable and efficient business communications.
• Serve as the primary backup for system administration tasks, ensuring business continuity and operational resilience.
• Administer the help desk ticketing system, ensuring proper documentation, escalation, and resolution of IT issues
• Travel requirements: As needed and up to 10%. Will need to travel to all Verdant sites in the US, UK and Germany.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity, Information Technology, or related field.
• Certifications such as CISSP, CEH, or CCNP Security are preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in network security and system administration.
• 3+ years of experience working with Cisco, Palo Alto, and/or Fortinet solutions
• 3+ years of hands-on experience with Cisco and Extreme routers and switches
• 3+ years of experience with network design and implementation on a large scale
• In-depth knowledge of firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPNs, and SIEM solutions.
• Familiarity with security frameworks (NIST, ISO 27001).
• Proficiency in network protocols and tools (TCP/IP, Wireshark, Nmap).
• Experience with help desk ticketing system administration and IT service management processes.
• Experience with Cisco Security products such as AMP, Umbrella
• Experience in performing migrations and upgrades on various platforms
• Familiar implementing wireless networks with Extreme Aerohive
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills.
• Ability to identify gaps and propose solutions
• Ability to lead others within a team and help create a growing department
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent planning and strategizing skills
• Proven success and prior experience working with a growing organization
• Independent and self-motivated
• Proactive, with the ability to initiate tasks without direct guidance.

Benefits

• Competitive and comprehensive health, dental and vision benefits.

• Generous matching 401k plan
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Health Savings Account with employer contribution and yearly roll over (cannot be combined with FSA)
• Health advocacy and services
• Company paid life insurance
• Company paid short term disability insurance
• Paid Vacation and Holidays
• Employee Assistance Program
• Company discount programs available including discounts on gym membership and equipment, hotels, rental cars, etc.

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