Sr Principal Software Engineer (Posture Security)

Company Description

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 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 Description

Your Career

Architect/Sr. Principal Engineer, Backend - Cortex Cloud (Posture Security)

Team: Cortex Cloud - Posture Security

Palo Alto Networks is the industry leader in cybersecurity, dedicated to protecting our digital way of life. We are innovators at our core, challenging the status quo and committed to building the next generation of security products. We are looking for a seasoned and visionary Architect/Sr. Principal Engineer to join our dynamic backend engineering team, specifically focused on our Cortex Cloud Posture Security solutions. In this role, you will be instrumental in designing and developing robust, scalable, and high-performance backend systems that power our cutting-edge cloud security posture management capabilities.

Your Impact

• Lead the architectural vision and design for complex, large-scale backend systems and microservices that form the backbone of our Cortex Cloud Posture Security offerings.

• Develop and implement high-quality, resilient, and scalable backend services primarily using Go and Python.

• Drive system design discussions and decisions, ensuring solutions meet current Posture Security needs while being adaptable for future growth and technological advancements in cloud security.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including product management, frontend engineers, security researchers, and SRE, to define, design, and ship new features and platform enhancements for Cortex Cloud Posture Security.

• Mentor and guide senior and junior engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and continuous learning within the Posture Security team.

• Define and evangelize best practices for backend development, testing, and deployment within the organization, particularly as they apply to cloud-native security solutions.

• Analyze and resolve complex technical challenges and production issues, ensuring the reliability and performance of our Cortex Cloud Posture Security services.

• Contribute to and lead code reviews, design reviews, and architectural reviews related to Posture Security components.

• Stay abreast of emerging technologies and industry trends in cloud security, backend development, and posture management, evaluating and recommending their adoption where appropriate.

• Optionally, leverage your understanding of UI development and user experience to contribute to a more holistic product design and improved collaboration with frontend teams working on the Cortex Cloud interface.

Qualifications

Your Experience 

• 10+ years of experience in backend software development, with a proven track record of designing and delivering complex, distributed systems, preferably in a cloud security context.

• Deep expertise in Go and/or Python for backend development.

• Strong understanding of software architecture principles, including microservices, event-driven architecture, and distributed systems patterns.

• Proven experience with system design, data modeling, and API design (RESTful, gRPC).

• Experience with various database technologies (SQL and NoSQL), message queues (e.g., Kafka, RabbitMQ), and caching solutions.

• Solid understanding of cloud platforms (GCP, AWS, or Azure) and containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes), with a strong emphasis on security best practices within these environments.

• Demonstrated ability to lead technical projects and mentor engineers.

• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and troubleshooting skills.

• Strong communication and collaboration abilities, with a knack for explaining complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice to Have

• Understanding of UI