1. What is a Security Engineer at DXC Technology?
As a Security Engineer at DXC Technology, you are the frontline defender of complex, global enterprise networks. DXC Technology manages the mission-critical IT infrastructure for some of the world's largest companies, which means the security solutions you design, deploy, and maintain directly impact the operational resilience of millions of users. You will not just be managing isolated systems; you will be safeguarding interconnected, multi-tenant environments against sophisticated threats.
This role is highly strategic and heavily operational. You will be responsible for defining perimeter defenses, ensuring secure remote access, and maintaining continuous uptime for critical business applications. Your work will frequently involve advanced firewall management, particularly with industry-leading platforms like Palo Alto Networks, and you will be expected to navigate the intricacies of secure site-to-site communications and high-availability architectures.
What makes this position uniquely interesting at DXC Technology is the sheer scale and diversity of the client environments. You will encounter unique legacy systems integrating with modern cloud infrastructures, requiring a deep, practical understanding of network security. Expect to be challenged daily with complex, scenario-based problems that require both sharp technical acumen and a steady, methodical approach to troubleshooting.
2. Common Interview Questions
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Curated questions for DXC Technology from real interviews. Click any question to practice and review the answer.
Explain how symmetric and asymmetric encryption differ in key usage, performance, and real-world application.
Explain the concept of defense in depth and its significance in security architecture.
Choose the CIS control with the best ROI to uplift a newly acquired subsidiary’s security posture under tight time and budget constraints.
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Sign up freeAlready have an account? Sign in3. Getting Ready for Your Interviews
Preparing for the Security Engineer interviews requires a balance of deep technical review and practical, scenario-based thinking. Interviewers at DXC Technology are looking for candidates who can bridge the gap between textbook security concepts and real-world operational challenges.
Focus your preparation on the following key evaluation criteria:
- Core Network Security Knowledge – This is the foundation of your evaluation. You must demonstrate a robust understanding of network perimeters, firewall architectures, and secure communication protocols. Interviewers will test your depth in specific vendor technologies, most notably Palo Alto, as well as your grasp of underlying network fundamentals.
- Scenario-Based Troubleshooting – DXC Technology highly values engineers who can systematically diagnose and resolve issues. You will be evaluated on how you approach broken architectures, such as dropped VPN tunnels or failover synchronization errors, and how logically you isolate the root cause.
- Operational Reliability – Enterprise clients demand high uptime. Your ability to design, configure, and troubleshoot High Availability (HA) setups and redundant systems will be a major focal point. You must show that you understand how to maintain security without sacrificing availability.
- Communication and Client-Centricity – Because you will be supporting critical enterprise infrastructure, your ability to articulate complex technical issues to both technical peers and non-technical stakeholders is vital. The HR and behavioral rounds will heavily weigh your professionalism, teamwork, and cultural fit.
4. Interview Process Overview
The interview process for a Security Engineer at DXC Technology is generally described by candidates as smooth, well-structured, and highly practical. You will not typically face abstract brainteasers; instead, the process is designed to evaluate how you would perform on the job on day one. The overall difficulty is considered medium, with a strong emphasis on your hands-on experience rather than rote memorization.
Typically, the process consists of three main stages: two technical rounds and one HR/behavioral round. The technical rounds are deeply conversational and scenario-driven. Interviewers will probe your resume to validate your experience, quickly moving into practical troubleshooting exercises. You will be asked to walk through how you would configure specific firewall features or resolve common network outages.
The final HR round focuses on your career trajectory, your ability to handle high-pressure operational environments, and your alignment with the core values of DXC Technology. This round ensures you possess the communication skills necessary to thrive in a highly collaborative, globally distributed team.
The visual timeline above outlines the typical progression from initial screening through the technical deep dives and final HR evaluation. Use this to pace your preparation: focus heavily on your core technical and troubleshooting skills for the first two stages, and reserve time to practice your behavioral responses and professional narrative for the final HR round.
5. Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas
To succeed in the technical rounds, you need to anticipate the specific domains your interviewers will focus on. The technical evaluations at DXC Technology heavily favor applied knowledge over theoretical concepts.
Firewall Architecture and Management (Palo Alto Focus)
Firewalls are the core of this role. You will be expected to have a strong command of next-generation firewall (NGFW) concepts, with a particular emphasis on Palo Alto Networks. Interviewers want to see that you understand how to manage policies, configure security profiles, and utilize advanced features to protect enterprise perimeters.
Be ready to go over:
- Packet Flow – A deep understanding of how a packet traverses a firewall, including NAT, policy evaluation, and inspection phases.
- App-ID and User-ID – How to implement and troubleshoot application-layer and user-based routing and security policies.
- Security Profiles – Configuring and tuning Antivirus, Anti-Spyware, Vulnerability Protection, and URL Filtering.
- Advanced concepts (less common) – Panorama management, template stacking, and zero-trust architecture implementations.
Example questions or scenarios:
- "Walk me through the exact packet flow when a user attempts to access an external website through a Palo Alto firewall."
- "How would you migrate a legacy port-based rule to an App-ID based rule without causing an outage?"
IPSEC VPNs and Cryptography
Secure communication between sites is a critical responsibility. You will be tested extensively on your knowledge of Virtual Private Networks, specifically IPSEC VPNs. You must understand the underlying cryptography, the negotiation phases, and how to build robust, secure tunnels.
Be ready to go over:
- IKE Phases – The differences between IKE Phase 1 and Phase 2, including Main Mode vs. Aggressive Mode.
- Cryptographic Protocols – Understanding ESP, AH, encryption algorithms (AES), and hashing algorithms (SHA).
- NAT-Traversal (NAT-T) – How and why NAT-T is used when establishing VPNs across intermediate firewalls or routers.
Example questions or scenarios:
- "Explain the steps of IKE Phase 1 negotiation. What parameters must match for it to succeed?"
- "A site-to-site IPSEC VPN is down. Phase 1 is up, but Phase 2 is failing. What are the most likely causes and how do you troubleshoot them?"
High Availability (HA) and Redundancy
Because DXC Technology supports mission-critical environments, downtime is unacceptable. You will be evaluated on your ability to configure and troubleshoot High Availability (HA) pairs to ensure seamless failover during hardware or software failures.
Be ready to go over:
- Active/Passive vs. Active/Active – The use cases, benefits, and drawbacks of different HA deployments.
- HA Links and Synchronization – The roles of HA1 (Control Link) and HA2 (Data Link), and how state synchronization works.
- Split Brain Scenarios – How to identify, prevent, and recover from a split-brain situation in a firewall cluster.
Example questions or scenarios:
- "What happens to existing TCP sessions during an Active/Passive failover event on a Palo Alto firewall?"
- "You notice that your secondary firewall is marked as 'Suspended'. How do you investigate and resolve this HA state issue?"
Basic Network Troubleshooting
A Security Engineer must be a strong network engineer first. You will face scenarios that require you to diagnose routing, switching, and connectivity issues that intersect with security policies.
Be ready to go over:
- Routing Protocols – Basic understanding of OSPF, BGP, and static routing as they apply to firewall traffic forwarding.
- TCP/IP Fundamentals – The TCP 3-way handshake, subnetting, and analyzing packet captures (PCAPs).
- Diagnostic Tools – Effectively using ping, traceroute, telnet, and firewall-specific diagnostic commands.
Example questions or scenarios:
- "A user complains they cannot reach a specific server on a different subnet. Walk me through your troubleshooting steps from the client machine to the firewall."
