Principal Engineer Software, Tools & Platforms (Cortex)

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks®, we’re united by a shared mission—to protect our digital way of life. We thrive at the intersection of innovation and impact, solving real-world problems with cutting-edge technology and bold thinking. Here, everyone has a voice, and every idea counts. If you’re ready to do the most meaningful work of your career alongside people who are just as passionate as you are, you’re in the right place.

Who We Are

In order to be the cybersecurity partner of choice, we must trailblaze the path and shape the future of our industry. This is something our employees work at each day and is defined by our values: Disruption, Collaboration, Execution, Integrity, and Inclusion. We weave AI into the fabric of everything we do and use it to augment the impact every individual can have. If you are passionate about solving real-world problems and ideating beside the best and the brightest, we invite you to join us!

We believe collaboration thrives in person. That’s why most of our teams work from the office full time, with flexibility when it’s needed. This model supports real-time problem-solving, stronger relationships, and the kind of precision that drives great outcomes.

Job Summary

About the position

We seek a Principal Software Engineer who is first and foremost a software craftsman with a passion for building innovative tools and platforms. The ideal candidate will possess a deep-rooted background in software engineering and a strong understanding of the needs and challenges of R&D and DevOps teams. This role is for a true developer at heart, someone who excels at building high-quality, maintainable, and scalable software. If you have a passion for creating tools that enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and support the operational needs of a growing infrastructure, you're the candidate we're looking for.

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement resilient infrastructure solutions, with a strong focus on performance, security, and sound system design principles.

• Write product or system development code.

• Lead the design and development of complex product and system features.

• Initiate and lead technical design reviews with peers and stakeholders, driving decisions on best design practices and architectural patterns.

• Maintain/build resilient infrastructure focused on performance, security, and sound system design practices

• Provide expert-level code reviews, offering in-depth feedback on best practices, including style, accuracy, testability, efficiency, and overall code quality.

• Spearhead the creation and improvement of technical documentation, establishing standards and best practices.

• Provide advanced operational support and lead troubleshooting efforts for tools and applications maintained by the Cortex DevOps Tooling team.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

• 5+ years of hands-on experience designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, networking, storage, and compute platforms.

• 5+ years of deep expertise with one or more major cloud providers (AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud) and modern cloud-native architectures.

• 5+ years of extensive experience developing, deploying, and operating microservices on Kubernetes using modern cloud-native technologies.

• Demonstrated expertise in system architecture, scalability, reliability, performance optimization, security, observability, and operational excellence.

• 5+ years of Strong experience with infrastructure as code, CI/CD automation, platform engineering, and developer productivity tooling.

• Expert knowledge of software quality practices, code health, testing strategies, performance analysis, diagnostics, debugging, and production support.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven track record of leading enterprise-scale technical initiatives, influencing architecture across multiple engineering organizations, and driving engineering strategy without direct organizational authority.

• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to effectively influence executive leadership, architects, and engineering teams across the organization.

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Compensation Disclosure

The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and work location. For candidates who receive an offer at the posted level, the starting base salary (for non-sales roles) or base salary + commission target (for sales/com-missioned roles) is expected to be the annual range listed below. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.

$147,000.00 - $237,500.00/yr

Our Commitment

We’re trailblazers that dream big, take risks, and challenge cybersecurity’s status quo. It’s simple: we can’t accomplish our mission without diverse teams innovating, together.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with a disability. If you require assistance or accommodation due to a disability or special need, please contact us at  [email protected].

Palo Alto Networks is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity in our workplace, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or other legally protected characteristics.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?: Yes