Sr. Technical Support Engineer, VM Specialist, US Government

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 ** To comply with U.S. federal government requirements, U.S. citizenship is required for this position.** You will work firsthand with our valued Public Sector customers, supporting their complex post-sales concerns where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of many factors. You’re a critical thinker in understanding the methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for obtaining results. You’ll enjoy networking with key contacts outside your area of expertise, with a strong ability to explain complex technical issues to both non-technical and technical professionals. As part of our U.S. Government (USG) team, you will be a designated customer advocate, assisting in providing tailored support, weekly reviews, root cause analysis for critical issues, release reviews, upgrade planning, and quarterly business reviews. You will provide personalized support and become deeply familiar with your customer’s implementation and business priorities, proactively driving best practices to help continuously improve their security posture. You will regularly participate in technical discussions with cross-functional teams, creating an environment of transparency that ultimately leads to better products, stronger partnerships, and enhanced cybersecurity outcomes. Your quick thinking and proactive support provide the fast assistance our Public Sector clients need to keep their environments secure—meaning you’ll need to move quickly, think strategically, and provide expert technical assistance in high-pressure situations. Key Responsibilities Offer advanced-level technical assistance to our Public Sector customers, ensuring prompt resolution of complex issues and providing tailored solutions to optimize their security infrastructure Effectively communicate technical solutions to technical and executive stakeholders, fostering trust and credibility within government agencies and organizations Provide tailored troubleshooting, configuration guidance, and best practices, with an understanding of government compliance and security requirements Take ownership of support cases from initiation to resolution, ensuring meticulous documentation of all troubleshooting steps, timely updates, and comprehensive closure summaries in the ticketing system Conduct multi-vendor troubleshooting on complex customer engagements, ensuring a seamless experience for public sector partners Utilize fault isolation and root cause analysis skills to provide post-sales technical support, configuration, troubleshooting, and industry best practices to customers Be a subject matter expert on core technologies of Palo Alto Networks product line, particularly in environments relevant to public sector customers Identify product defects (code, environment) via lab replication using network simulation, lab automation, performance testing, and validation tools File bug reports with the engineering team and develop test plans and best practices with Quality Assurance teams to improve overall software and hardware quality per release cycle Author Technical Support Bulletins and technical documentation in the Knowledge Base for training materials, marketing collateral, manuals, and problem-solving guides Travel to customer sites in the event of a critical situation to expedite resolution as required Provide support that includes mandatory weekend, holiday shift work and on-call support. Support includes a blend of as-needed and rotational coverage, which is subject to change. Qualifications Required Qualifications Minimum of 5 years of network security experience, with a preference for experience supporting government or public sector clients Able to effectively communicate complex technical issues to all levels and stakeholders, both internally and externally. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, self-motivated and detail-oriented with the ability to see the bigger picture. Ability to work independently as well as contribute as a team player. Knowledge of one or more virtualization hypervisors: VMWare ESX/ESXi, KVM/Qemu, Citrix, XenServer, or Microsoft Hyper-V. Basic knowledge of AWS and Microsoft Azure installation, configuration, and administration of security features. Basic knowledge of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Knowledge of deploying firewalls in one or more public cloud infrastructures such as AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI, and Alibaba. Good understanding of networking protocols including TCP/IP, Ethernet, VLAN, OSPF, and BGP. Good understanding of security protocols including IPSEC, SSL-VPN, and NAT. Good understanding of Unix/Linux and Windows operating systems. Preferred Qualifications Experience deploying third-party networking and security services into VMware NSX for vSphere. Experience with Cisco, Checkpoint, Juniper (Netscreen), or Fortinet products. Knowledge of traffic generation tools and scripting languages. Previous experience supporting Palo Alto Networks Products. Familiarity with AI Concepts. 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. $108,800.00 - $176,000.00/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 View email address on click.appcast.io. 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? No. Please note that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position. Please use this form to provide us with information that will help direct your request and find your data in all of our systems