Senior Compliance Research Analyst at Qualys in Pune

Job description

Come work at a place where innovation and teamwork come together to support the most exciting missions in the world! We are looking for a technically strong and detail-oriented Senior Compliance Research Analyst with 5–8 years of experience to join our Security Compliance and Research team. The ideal candidate will have strong hands-on expertise in enterprise networking, network security devices, configuration hardening, and technical compliance research, with deep practical knowledge of Cisco routers and switches and experience across multiple network and security vendors, including Juniper, F5 BIG-IP, Palo Alto Networks, and Fortinet. This role involves researching, analyzing, developing, validating, and maintaining technical compliance policies and configuration standards based on industry benchmarks such as CIS Benchmarks, DISA STIGs, and vendor security hardening guidelines. The candidate will translate network and security requirements into actionable technical controls, define configuration validation logic, develop automation scripts, map technical controls to compliance frameworks, and ensure the accuracy and quality of compliance content across supported technologies. The ideal candidate should combine strong networking fundamentals with practical expertise in securing network infrastructure, firewalls, and application delivery platforms. The role requires independent ownership of assigned compliance content, strong technical troubleshooting and research capabilities, and effective collaboration with cross-functional teams. Key Responsibilities 1. Technical Research and Compliance Policy Development Independently research, analyze, and interpret security benchmarks, technical standards, and compliance requirements, with a primary focus on network infrastructure and security devices, including routers, switches, firewalls, and application delivery controllers. Translate security requirements into implementable technical controls, including configuration parameters, validation logic, expected values, remediation procedures, and supporting documentation. Analyze control intent, technical feasibility, security impact, and applicability across different vendors, device models, operating systems, and software versions. Research and interpret CIS Benchmarks, DISA STIGs, and vendor hardening guidelines to develop and maintain technically accurate configuration compliance policies. Map technical controls to security and compliance frameworks such as NIST SP 800-53, NIST CSF, ISO 27001, and CIS Controls, where applicable. Take ownership of assigned compliance content throughout its lifecycle, ensuring consistency, traceability, technical accuracy, and timely delivery. 2. Network Infrastructure Security and Hardening Apply strong hands-on knowledge of enterprise networking and security configuration across Cisco routers and switches, including Cisco IOS, IOS XE, and NX-OS. Analyze and validate network configurations involving VLANs, trunking, routing protocols, access control lists (ACLs), management interfaces, and network segmentation. Assess and harden network device management access, including SSH, authentication and authorization, role-based access, AAA, SNMP, management-plane restrictions, and secure administrative access. Review device configurations to identify insecure protocols, unnecessary services, weak management settings, excessive access permissions, and other configuration weaknesses. Evaluate network device logging, auditing, time synchronization, configuration backup, and monitoring settings to support security, accountability, and compliance requirements. Investigate configuration differences and security implications across device families, platforms, and software releases, and define appropriate validation and remediation guidance. 3. Firewall and Network Security Device Expertise Demonstrate strong practical knowledge of firewall configuration, security policy management, and hardening across Palo Alto Ne