Palo Alto Networks

Sr. Principal Software Engineer - Network Security - PanOS Dev

Palo Alto Networks • $183K — $297K *
Enterprise Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years of professional software development experience in enterprise networking or cybersecurity.
  • Proficiency in C, Go (Golang), and Python within a Linux/Unix development environment.
  • Experience with multi-threaded programming and designing high-performance distributed systems.
  • Hands-on experience with TCP/IP networking software and lower-level network protocols.
  • Track record of leading complex technical projects from conception to release.
  • Ability to mentor senior engineers and influence technical roadmaps across teams.
  • B.S. degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

  • Design, build, and maintain real-time security services and networking infrastructure.
  • Lead engineering projects from architecture and design through to deployment and monitoring.
  • Promote secure coding standards and robust system architecture as part of best practices.
  • Architect and control critical components of the GlobalProtect server for high availability and performance.
  • Independently diagnose and resolve complex issues in server-side and network-level systems.
  • Advocate for automated testing and continuous integration practices to enhance quality.
  • Utilize AI tools to improve coding efficiency and speed up project delivery.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive employee health insurance plans.
  • Flexible working hours and potential for remote work.
  • Opportunities for professional development and continuing education.
  • Investment in innovative technologies and tools to enhance productivity.
Full Job Description
Job Summary

The Team

Engineering - Our engineering team is at the core of our products and connected directly to the mission of preventing cyberattacks. We are constantly innovating - challenging the way we, and the industry, think about cybersecurity. Our engineers don't shy away from building products to solve problems no one has pursued before. We define the industry instead of waiting for directions. We need individuals who feel comfortable in ambiguity, excited by the prospect of a challenge, and empowered by the unknown risks facing our everyday lives that are only enabled by a secure digital environment.

Job Summary

We are seeking innovative engineers to design and develop security features for our next-generation firewalls. As a key member of the Layer-7 Security group, you will take ownership of your focus areas, applying your programming skills to solve real-world security problems. You will collaborate with multi-functional teams including product management, quality assurance, and field support throughout the entire software development cycle. This role requires a drive to build global products and a passion for bringing new ideas to the security discipline.

Responsibilities
  • Architect & Implement: Design, build, and maintain real-time, high-throughput security services and networking infrastructure.
  • Technical Leadership: Lead complex engineering projects end-to-end-from initial architecture and design reviews to deployment and production monitoring.
  • Operational Excellence: Promote engineering best practices, including secure coding standards, comprehensive code reviews, performance tuning, and robust system architecture.
  • Elevate Systems Ownership: Architect and own critical control-plane and data-plane components for the GlobalProtect server infrastructure, ensuring high availability, fault tolerance, and scalable performance
  • Advanced Troubleshooting: Diagnose and resolve complex server-side and network-level issues independently, even when presented with minimal diagnostic information.
  • Test Automation & Quality: Drive a culture of quality by advocating for aggressive automated testing, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), and high code coverage.
  • AI-Driven Productivity: Leverage AI-assisted development techniques and tools to maximize coding efficiency, streamline debugging, and accelerate project delivery.


Qualifications
Required Qualifications
  • Experience & Industry Background: 10+ years of professional software development experience in the enterprise networking or cybersecurity industry.
  • Core Engineering Skills: Proven proficiency in C,Go (Golang), Python programming within a Linux/Unix development environment.
  • Distributed Systems Architecture: Extensive experience with multi-threaded programming, asynchronous I/O, and designing large-scale, high-performance, or distributed server architectures.
  • Networking Expertise: Hands-on experience developing TCP/IP networking software and understanding lower-level network protocols.
  • End-to-End Ownership: Demonstrated track record of leading and successfully executing complex technical projects from conception to release.
  • Strategic / Cross-Functional Impact: Proven ability to mentor senior engineers, collaborate across product management and architecture teams, and influence long-term technical roadmaps.
  • Education: B.S. degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline (or equivalent practical experience).
Preferred Qualifications
  • API & Pipeline Integration: Experience with RESTful API design, implementation, and integration, alongside familiarity with modern CI/CD pipelines.
  • AI & Automation Mindset: Active experience using AI-assisted tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, LLM coding assistants) to boost engineering velocity and operational efficiency.
  • Automation First: A strong advocate for test-driven development (TDD), automated integration testing, and performance profiling.
  • Agile & Collaborative Attitude: A team player with a strong "can-do" attitude who thrives in a fast-paced environment and rapidly adapts to new technologies and platforms.


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.

$183,600.00 - $297,000.00/yr

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is an American multinational cybersecurity company with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. Its core products are a platform that includes advanced firewalls and cloud-based offerings that extend those firewalls to cover other aspects of security. The company serves over 70,000 organizations in over 150 countries, including 85 of the Fortune 100. It is home to the Unit 42 threat research team and hosts the Ignite cybersecurity conference.
Learn more about Palo Alto Networks
Size
11,870 employees
Market Cap
$42.6 billion
Industry
Net Income
-$368.2 million
Founded
2005
5 Year Trend
+25.7%
Revenue
$3.7 billion
NASDAQ

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