EU Blue Card · Based in Malta

ZubairAli

Senior Network & Security Expert

Certified Network & Security Professional with 15+ years of experience managing, securing and optimising enterprise infrastructure across finance, government and telecom environments.

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● Secure profile
Zubair Ali, Senior Network and Security Expert
Zero Trust High Availability SOC Ready

Zubair Ali

Architecture · Operations · Automation

role: "Senior Network & Security Expert"
focus: ["Resilience", "Zero Trust", "Automation"]
platforms: ["Cisco", "Check Point", "F5"]
CCNP
PCNSE
NSE 7
Professional profile

Secure infrastructure, engineered for resilience.

Hands-on technical depth combined with strategic leadership across cybersecurity operations, enterprise networking, data centres, incident response and risk management.

Career summary

Experienced in building, operating and improving complex IT environments using Cisco, Palo Alto, Check Point, Fortinet, F5 and Huawei technologies. Strong record of leading cross-functional teams, coordinating with SOC functions, and translating technical risk into actionable business decisions.

Mission-critical network and security operations within regulated environments.
Firewall management, incident response, network automation and data-centre operations.
Architecture leadership, stakeholder advisory and cross-team knowledge transfer.
Proactive monitoring, risk-register management and continuous security improvement.

Security Architecture

Perimeter defence, threat prevention, policy governance and risk-aligned design.

Enterprise Networking

Routing, switching, WAN, wireless and scalable multi-site connectivity.

Automation & Monitoring

Workflow automation, configuration control, visibility and proactive detection.

Data Centres & ADC

High availability, F5 application delivery, Nexus switching and platform lifecycle.

CiscoCheck PointPalo AltoFortinetF5 BIG-IPHuaweiCisco ISEMerakiSolarWindsPRTG CiscoCheck PointPalo AltoFortinetF5 BIG-IPHuaweiCisco ISEMerakiSolarWindsPRTG
Credentials

Certified across networking and cybersecurity.

A multi-vendor certification portfolio spanning Cisco, Huawei, Palo Alto, Fortinet and Microsoft technologies.

✓
CCIE

CCIE Written

Data Centre / Routing & Switching / Security

✓
CCNP

Cisco Certified Network Professional

Advanced enterprise networking

✓
CCNA

Cisco Certified Network Associate

Networking foundations and operations

✓
HCIE

HCIE Written

Huawei Certified Internet Expert

✓
HCIP

Huawei Certified Internet Professional

Enterprise network technologies

✓
PA

PCNSE

Palo Alto Certified Network Security Engineer

✓
NSE7

NSE 7 Network Security Architect

Fortinet advanced security architecture

✓
AZ

Microsoft Azure Fundamentals

Cloud concepts, services and governance

Career journey

15+ years of infrastructure leadership.

Progressive responsibility across financial services, government, telecom and enterprise technology operations.

May 2024 — Present

Senior Network and Security Expert

Malta Financial Services Authority

Malta
  • Strategic and technical oversight of mission-critical security and network infrastructure.
  • Led new branch-office networking, enterprise architecture redesign and Wi-Fi 6 implementation.
  • Planned Cisco ISE 3.1-to-3.4 migration and managed BIG-IP F5 platform modernisation.
Additional responsibilities
  • Championed SCMS deployment and workflow automation initiatives.
  • Delivered threat-intelligence reports and risk-based advisories to leadership.
  • Implemented certificate-based authentication for wired and wireless access using Cisco ISE.
Jan 2023 — May 2024

Senior Network & Security Specialist

Malta Financial Services Authority

Malta
  • Managed complete network and security infrastructure across head office and Gozo branch.
  • Administered Check Point, F5 LTM/ASM, Cisco ISE, routing, switching and Meraki wireless.
  • Oversaw three data-centre locations, proactive monitoring and risk-register management.
Additional responsibilities
  • Enhanced core and perimeter firewall posture and supported IT Governance improvement.
  • Delivered knowledge-transfer sessions and optimised wireless and application delivery services.
  • Executed firmware and infrastructure lifecycle upgrades.
Jan 2022 — Jan 2023

Network & Security Engineer

Dell Technologies · Emirates Transport project

Dubai
  • Managed enterprise infrastructure serving Dubai operations and 57 MPLS-connected branches.
  • Supported Huawei USG, Palo Alto, F5, Cisco ISE, switching, routing, CUCM and Meraki.
  • Designed WAN, perimeter security and wireless architecture during FEDNET migration.
Additional responsibilities
  • Directed SOC improvement activities and maintained network-security risk registers.
  • Led CUCM upgrade and managed-service migration with collaboration services.
  • Supported data-centre upgrade architecture and multi-vendor troubleshooting.
Jun 2020 — Jan 2022

Network & Security Engineer

PureCS IT Infrastructure · Government entity project

Abu Dhabi
  • Provided operational support for a confidential government environment.
  • Troubleshot Palo Alto and Fortinet traffic flows and managed F5 LTM services.
  • Investigated latency and utilisation, coordinated vendors and maintained platform health.
Nov 2018 — Jun 2020

NOC Analyst

Cisco Systems · UAE Federal Network (FEDnet)

Dubai
  • Supported federal entities and government-to-government services in a 24×7 environment.
  • Troubleshot multi-context ASA, VPN, email security, DDoS events and hosted-service incidents.
  • Coordinated SOC, telecom providers and internal teams across migrations and service restoration.
Nov 2013 — Nov 2018

Senior Network Engineer

Wateen Solutions

Pakistan
  • Led the OMV project and supported Cisco Nexus data-centre technologies including VDC, vPC and FCoE.
  • Delivered DR, unified communications, wireless and large-scale cellular-site deployments.
  • Led a six-person support team and automated router configuration backups using Python.
Mar 2012 — Mar 2013

Network Engineer

Space Eyes Computer College

Pakistan
  • Implemented and troubleshot routing, switching, LAN, WAN and wireless services.
  • Performed IOS upgrades, password recovery and complex issue resolution.
  • Supported technology planning, change management, disaster recovery and service availability.
Selected impact

Modernisation projects with measurable operational value.

Recent programmes centred on secure access, resilience, visibility, platform lifecycle and reduced manual overhead.

01

Enterprise architecture redesign

Directed infrastructure redesign to align security, scalability and regulatory requirements with evolving business needs.

02

New branch-office network

Led design and implementation with resilience, secure connectivity and future growth built into the architecture.

03

Cisco ISE modernisation

Planned and executed migration from version 3.1 to 3.4 with continuity and minimal operational risk.

04

BIG-IP F5 migration

Managed platform refresh to improve application delivery performance, reliability and security.

05

Secure Wi-Fi 6 rollout

Spearheaded surveys, implementation and optimisation for secure, high-speed user connectivity.

06

Certificate-based access

Implemented endpoint identity validation for wired and wireless networks using Cisco ISE.

Technical competencies

Multi-vendor depth across the full infrastructure stack.

From data-centre switching and security platforms to monitoring, automation, wireless and application delivery.

Security & Application Delivery Platforms

Check PointPalo Alto PA-5220Fortinet FortiGateCisco ASACisco ESACisco WSAFireEyeF5 BIG-IP LTMF5 ASMHuawei USG

Routing, Switching & Data Centre Core

BGPOSPFEIGRPIPv6PBRSTP / MST / RSTPVLAN / TrunkingEtherChannelNexus 2K / 5K / 7KVDC / vPC / FCoE

Identity, Wireless & Collaboration Access

Cisco ISECertificate AuthenticationCisco MerakiHuawei WirelessCUCMCisco JabberExpressway C/ECisco Meeting Services

Monitoring, Systems & Automation Operations

PRTGSolarWinds NPMSolarWinds NCMManageEngineNNMiHP BSMIBM NetcoolCisco PrimePythonRed Hat Linux
Education

Academic foundation.

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Computer Sciences

University of Gujrat, Pakistan

2007 — 2011
Zubair Ali
Open to strategic conversations

Let’s build infrastructure that stays secure under pressure.

For senior network, cybersecurity architecture, infrastructure modernisation or advisory opportunities, contact me directly.

Email me Call +356 7794 4548 LinkedIn
Malta EU Blue Card holder zu********@*****ok.com
© Zubair Ali · Network & Security Portfolio