Senior Principal Software Engineer (Cortex Xpanse) - job 1 of 3

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks® everything starts and ends with our mission:

Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.
Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. We are a company built on the foundation of challenging and disrupting the way things are done, and we’re looking for innovators who are as committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity as we are.

Who We Are

We take our mission of protecting the digital way of life seriously. We are relentless in protecting our customers and we believe that the unique ideas of every member of our team contributes to our collective success. Our values were crowdsourced by employees and are brought to life through each of us everyday - from disruptive innovation and collaboration, to execution. From showing up for each other with integrity to creating an environment where we all feel included.

As a member of our team, you will be shaping the future of cybersecurity. We work fast, value ongoing learning, and we respect each employee as a unique individual. Knowing we all have different needs, our development and personal wellbeing programs are designed to give you choice in how you are supported. This includes our FLEXBenefits wellbeing spending account with over 1,000 eligible items selected by employees, our mental and financial health resources, and our personalized learning opportunities - just to name a few!

At Palo Alto Networks, we believe in the power of collaboration and value in-person interactions. This is why our employees generally work full time from our office with flexibility offered where needed. This setup fosters casual conversations, problem-solving, and trusted relationships. Our goal is to create an environment where we all win with precision.

Your Career

The Cortex Vulnerability Intelligence Platform team is looking for a Senior Principal Software Engineer. This team is crucial for collecting, processing, and presenting vulnerability intelligence. Our platform holds an expansive knowledge of CVE and non-CVE vulnerability data, enabling direct investigation and precise vulnerability detection in software. This is a foundational role for Cortex's security offerings.

Your Impact 

As a Senior Principal Software Engineer, you'll be a pivotal leader, responsible for:

• Leading technical strategy across multiple teams, influencing key architectural and design decisions.

• Architecting and building high-impact features for the Vulnerability Intelligence Platform and supporting Cortex modules.

• Driving architectural sessions across Cortex to design scalable solutions that meet diverse team requirements.

• Mentoring engineers and fostering a culture of technical excellence and best practices.

• Championing new technologies and improving development practices within the engineering organization.

• Collaborating intensely with teams to solve complex problems and reduce technical debt.

• Taking full ownership of projects, from concept to production, ensuring high-quality delivery and ongoing support.

Your Experience 

We're looking for a seasoned engineer with:

• 8+ years of software engineering experience.

• Strong proficiency in Go.

• Deep expertise and strong opinions on software development best practices.

• Ability to lead across research, design, prototyping, and implementation phases.

• Working knowledge of at least one major cloud platform (GCP, AWS, or Azure), preferably GCP.

• Experience with CI/CD processes.

• Exceptional problem-solving skills.

• Proven technical team leadership.

Nice To Haves:

• Experience with or interest in frontend development

• Experience in vulnerability management.

• Experience handling raw internet data.

• Knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks and vulnerability methodologies.

• Basic understanding of exploit mechanics.

The Team

The Cortex Xpanse group is building an Exposure Management product to bring together the Palo Alto Networks proactive security product suite. As part of this effort, we are expanding the Cortex Vulnerability Assessment Research team and we’re looking for an experienced engineer to join us. At Xpanse, we believe that making the internet a safer place for our customers matters. The Unified Vulnerability and Exposure Management group builds the software that provides our customers visibility into their behind-the-firewall attack surface, allowing them to prioritize and remediate critical vulnerabilities using the XSIAM platform.

In this role, you will work with a highly talented team of engineers building a new product that leverages cutting-edge AI technology. You will drive technical designs and critical decisions related to the architecture, deployment strategy, and capabilities of the Vulnerability Assessment Research system. As you support your team, you will also be a part of the team of technical leaders building Unified Vulnerability and Exposure Management. You will collaborate closely with other engineers in the group and with other teams across the Cortex product suite. As part of this, you will help shape Palo Alto Networks vision of a proactive security platform. Your expertise will help secure  the world's most important organizations and impact the future of the cybersecurity industry.

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/commissioned roles) is expected to be between $182,000/YR - $295,000/YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.

Our Commitment

We’re problem solvers that 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.