Principal Engineer Software, Palo Alto Networks
$147-237.5k
More information about location
3+ days a week in office (Santa Clara, CA)
Leading cybersecurity protections and software platform
Be an early applicant
Leading cybersecurity protections and software platform
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$147-237.5k
More information about location
3+ days a week in office (Santa Clara, CA)
1001+ employees
Company mission
To be the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.
Role
Who you are
- BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science or a related technical field, or equivalent experience
- 9+ years of relevant software engineering experience, with a proven track record of technical leadership and innovation
- Demonstrated experience defining and leading large-scale, cross-organizational technical initiatives from concept to completion
- Experience building and scaling platforms that serve thousands of engineers in complex environments
- Strong foundation in application and infrastructure security, including secrets management, supply chain security, and secure-by-default platform design
- Recognized expertise in developer platforms, cloud-native infrastructure, container orchestration technologies (e.g Kubernetes) and CI/CD
- Deep proficiency with a major cloud platform (GCP preferred), including IAM, managed databases, networking, and Workload Identity
- Experience designing and maintaining Infrastructure as Code (e.g. Terraform) at scale, including module architecture and state management
- Expertise in authentication/authorization systems: OAuth 2.0, OIDC, token lifecycle management, and zero-trust patterns
- Hands-on experience applying AI/ML/GenAI to solve complex software engineering problems
- Experience influencing and aligning senior leadership (Director, VP level) on technical strategy and roadmaps
Desirable
- Deep expertise in leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) and other generative AI techniques to build intelligent developer tools
- Experience building and operating observability stacks (metrics, logging, alerting) for distributed systems
- A history of significant contributions to the open-source community, publications in top-tier conferences, or patents in relevant fields
What the job involves
- At Palo Alto Networks, Secure Cloud and AI infrastructure is the foundation of our mission to protect the digital future
- We're seeking a world-class Principal Engineer (Sr Manager-equivalent) to lead the evolution of AI-driven tools within our Cloud Infrastructure and Platform Engineering (CIPE) organization
- You will be the key architect of our strategy to embed intelligence into every stage of the developer lifecycle—from ideation and documentation to coding, testing, deployment, and observability
- Your work will directly accelerate developer velocity, elevate our standards for software quality, and unlock new business opportunities by enabling the rapid integration of agentic AI into our products
- This role carries executive-level visibility and the autonomy to solve our most complex engineering challenges
- If you are a recognized expert in developer platforms and are passionate about leveraging AI to redefine engineering efficiency at a global scale, we want to hear from you
- This role is located at our dynamic Santa Clara California headquarters campus, and in office 3 days a week
- Define the Vision: Architect and own the technical roadmap for AI-enhanced developer tools and infrastructure in CIPE at Palo Alto Networks
- Evaluate and Execute Solutions: Lead the design and implementation of novel systems that leverage Large Language Models (LLMs), static/dynamic analysis, and machine learning to create a world-class, intelligent developer experience
- Drive Organization-Wide Impact: You are a builder, so you won't just stop at ideation. Beyond concepts, ensure your builds show step-change improvements in key engineering metrics like including code velocity, review cycle time, test effectiveness, incident reduction, and overall feature launches
- Lead Cross-Functional Initiatives: Spearhead complex, cross-functional projects that require influencing and aligning multiple engineering organizations and their leadership
- Enable Secure Innovation: Develop foundational AI platforms that empower teams to prototype, deploy, and scale threat-intelligent cloud features, embedding Palo Alto Networks' security natively
- Serve as Technical Authority: Act as the go-to expert on AI-augmented cloud platforms, mentoring senior engineers and infusing industry-leading practices into our high-stakes ecosystem
- Innovate at Enterprise Scale: Address intricate challenges in multi-cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP, and OCI) supporting thousands of microservices, secure workloads, and global threat detection pipelines
Our take
With cyber threats evolving at lightening speed, businesses need robust solutions to protect their data and infrastructure. And the global cybersecurity market is projected to grow significantly, driven by increasing cyberattacks and the adoption of digital transformation initiatives. Because of this, companies are seeking security platforms that can address these challenges efficiently.
That's where Palo Alto Networks steps in, a frontrunner in the cybersecurity arena. It offers a suite of AI-powered security solutions designed to safeguard enterprises across various sectors. Its platforms, such as Cortex XSIAM and Prisma AIRS, integrate advanced threat detection, zero trust architecture, and real-time response capabilities so organizations are ready to manage and mitigate risks.
Its leadership is evident too, with impressive growth and strategic partnerships. In 2025, the company surpassed $1.5B in sales through the Google Cloud Marketplace, highlighting the demand for its innovative security solutions. Additionally, a collaboration with AT&T aims to enhance cybersecurity offerings, further solidifying its market position.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
119% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (2 rounds)
Sep 2022
$34m
SERIES A
May 2022
$11m
SEED
Total funding: $45m
Company benefits
- Healthcare: We value your health and provide options so you can choose what best supports your lifestyle and personal health goals. Various nationwide plans — including Blue Shield of California, Kaiser Permanente, Delta Dental, VSP, and more — are available to you and your family. Our providers offer the flexibility you want and the coverage you need
- Wellness: With a large on-site gym and daily, instructor-led exercise classes at HQ in Santa Clara, Palo Alto Networks actively supports employee fitness. Our juice bar, Gym & Juice, features fresh juice blends, a quick and nutritious option pre- or post-workout. And our ongoing wellness speaker series highlights the latest trends in health and wellness
- Development: Professional development is serious business at Palo Alto Networks, where the Talent Development team offers 25+ courses to help employees boost their careers and develop leadership capability
- Financial: Most roles are eligible for equity grants, and we now offer new hires a quarterly vesting schedule right away. We want you to be fairly compensated and rewarded as soon as you make an impact – on our team, that happens immediately! And because we consider every employee a stakeholder in our long-term success, we offer an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) with a 24-month lookback. From life insurance to health savings accounts, we provide ways to help you protect and grow your wealth. Palo Alto Networks offers both traditional and Roth 401(k) options, along with a company match of 50% to a max annual amount of $1,000
- Time Off: In addition to paid corporate holidays, Flexible Time Off programs empower our employees to balance their work schedules with personal time off. We offer 12 weeks of full pay for medical leave and 6 weeks of full pay for parental leave. As a company with strong ties to the military and veterans, we also offer 26 weeks of full pay for military leave
- Perks: Our corporate discount program provides employees with significant discounts on merchandise, travel and entertainment. We offer many on-site perks at headquarters, including cafeterias, fuel service, dry cleaning service, EV charging stations, and a company store. We also provide complimentary drinks, fresh fruit, and snacks in break rooms across our campus to help everyone power through the day. Life at Palo Alto Network
Company HQ
Santa Clara, CA
Leadership
Nikesh Arora
(CEO & Chairman)Previously the President and COO at SoftBank, CBO at Google, and CMO at T-Mobile.
Nir Zuk
(Founder & CTO)Previously CTO at NetScreen Technologies, which was acquired by Juniper Neworks in 2004. They also co-founded OneSecure where they served as CTO and was the Principal Engineer at Check Point Software Technologies.
Lee Klarich
(CPO)Initially joined Palo Alto in 2006 as the EVP of Product Management and became CPO in 2018. Prior to this, they were the Director of Product Management at Juniper Networks and a Product Line Manager at NetScreen Technologies.
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