Senior Principal Software Engineer (Prisma Access)

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

Job Summary Your Career: Palo Alto Networks® is shaping the future with technology that is transforming the way people and organizations operate in the cloud, at the network edge, and everywhere in between. Our mission is to be the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life. We are looking for an Engineering Manager to lead the Explicit Proxy team, one of the most technically complex and cross‑functional areas within Prisma Access. This role combines hands‑on technical depth (L4‑L7 proxy, multi‑cloud environments) with managerial excellence, guiding team members who build scalable network security services running at massive cloud scale. You’ll drive innovation at the core of our Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution, enabling enterprises to securely connect users to the internet, SaaS, and private applications — with scale, performance, and zero‑trust principles at the foundation.

Your Impact

Lead, mentor, and grow an engineering team within Prisma Access. Partner closely with Product Managers and cross‑functional groups to define priorities and build roadmaps. Align stakeholders across business units and communicate tradeoffs, risks, and execution plans with clarity. Build a culture of accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement. Guide teams on building highly scalable cloud‑native microservices. Ensure efficient deployment, observability, and runtime stability in production environments.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience managing a software engineering team in a large enterprise organization.
• 5+ years of experience as a hands‑on software engineer.
• Expertise in Explicit Proxy technologies: L4‑L7 Proxy, TCP/IP, SSL/TLS interception, authentication flows, PAC, DNS handling, and content filtering.
• Background in network security and cloud‑delivered SWG/SASE services.
• Knowledge of building multi‑tenant, cloud‑native architectures (Kubernetes, microservices, distributed data pipelines, observability stacks).
• Strong collaboration skills; able to align cross‑disciplinary teams around a shared goal.
• Demonstrated ability to plan, execute, and deliver roadmaps with high predictability.
• Proven track record of delivering complex, distributed cloud products end‑to‑end.
• Experience with large‑scale cloud architectures (GCP, AWS, or Azure)

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

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?: Yes