Principal Software Engineer (L7 Security)

Job Summary Principal Software Engineer role within the Layer-7 Security Software team, driving technical leadership and end-to-end delivery of high‑scale, distributed cloud security solutions and next‑generation firewalls (NGFW). The team focuses on core capabilities like Application Identification (App‑ID) and Content Inspection across hardware, virtual, container, and cloud environments. This position is high‑impact and requires comfort with ambiguity, challenges, and the unknown risks of a secure digital environment. Key Responsibilities Provide technical leadership for the end‑to‑end delivery of solutions, ensuring alignment with cross‑functional product management and quality assurance teams. Design, implement, and troubleshoot robust next‑generation cloud security solutions to address complex network security challenges. Drive the development of scalable cloud security architecture through hands‑on coding and strategic architectural planning. Manage the full product development lifecycle, from definition and design through implementation, testing, and deployment. Collaborate proactively with Product Management, SRE, and Quality Engineering to deliver high‑quality security‑as‑a‑service offerings to market. Simplify complex technical issues to improve end‑customer outcomes by working closely with customer support teams. Foster a culture of innovation, intellectual curiosity, and problem‑solving within the engineering organization. Qualifications B.S. degree in Computer Science, similar technical discipline or equivalent practical experience. Graduate degree (MS or Ph.D.) in Computer Science or similar technical discipline is preferred or equivalent military experience required. 7–10 years of experience in design and development of scalable solutions in relevant areas. Experience in C and Python programming. Proficient with Go programming. Experience with Redis, SQL or NoSQL database. Experience in Cloud Technologies like Kubernetes, Kafka, MongoDB, Redis etc. Experience with and web server backend development. Experience with networking development, e.g., TCP/UDP, socket programming. Experience with multi‑threaded programming and large‑scale, distributed, and/or high‑performance software design and architecture. Can‑do attitude, comfort learning new technologies and platforms. Verbal and written communication skills to work with multi‑functional groups. Preferred Qualifications Experience with container orchestration platforms, specifically Docker and Kubernetes. Comprehensive understanding of public cloud design considerations, including microservice architectures, global network infrastructure, and load balancing. Working knowledge of TCP/IP networking protocols and principles. Prior experience working with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or Amazon Web Services (AWS). Compensation Disclosure $147,000.00 – $237,500.00 per year Equal Opportunity and Accommodations 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 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. #J-18808-Ljbffr Palo Alto Networks, Inc.