Principal Software Engineer (Data Plane)

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.

FLEXWORK is an employee-centric reimagining of how we work. We built FLEXWORK based on employee feedback – it is about flexibility, trust, and choice whenever possible. It’s been a journey of disruption that has yielded the best of our values. We offer as much flexibility as possible, and choices that enable you to be most productive, including benefits that meet your needs and learning opportunities that you feel passionate about.

Job Description

Your Career

As part of the Strata Network Security data plane team, you are responsible for developing and innovating solutions for Palo Alto Networks next-generation Firewalls. Specifically in the areas of flow/session management, networking technologies, High availability and data plane architecture. You will also be responsible for innovation, developing proof of concept and productizing 'new' ideas by implementing them and collaborating with team members.

We expect office-based employees to be in the office four days per week, with one day working from where they choose. We believe being together facilitates casual conversations and those magic moments where we can work on issues and ideas informally. These moments build capability and deepen trusted relationships and allow our people to feel safe in taking risks and being disruptive. Like so many companies, we are working through the details and things could change …. but in general if a role is deemed office-based we want our teams to be together four days per week.

Your Impact 

• Responsible for development of NextGen Network Security Components and Protocols for State-of-the-art firewalls deployed at Enterprise, Data Center, Cloud, and Service Provider environments
• Development of features and architecture for NextGen Security Hardware and Virtual platforms in areas of Network Security/Threats and stateful TCP/UDP inspection
• Develop scalable flow architecture for packet processing pipeline using DPDK for multi-core platforms and interface with ASIC functions
• Develop scalable software solutions for a distributed session architecture spanning across a cluster of firewalls
• Work with multi-functional team members on feature requirements, including but not limited to Product Management, QA, Support, etc.
• Product visionary, ideas on competitive edge, effective decision maker, take ownership and independently drive, lead tasks and assignments

Qualifications

Your Experience 

• Strong experience in C Programming  and large scale software development on Unix/Linux
• Strong technical knowledge in computer architecture and systems engineering
• Strong experience in packet processing, parsing, networking (L2-L4) protocols/architecture
• Experience in High Availability is preferable
• Experience in Python/JavaScript/PHP is preferable
• Experience in data plane forwarding and any network processor programming
• Experience in DPDK packet processing and performance tuning is desired
• Can-do attitude and ability to take initiative and drive open issues to completion
• Strong communication skills to work effectively with multi-functional groups
• BS/MS degree in Computer Science/Engineering or equivalent experience or equivalent military experience required

Additional Information

The Team

To stay ahead of the curve, it’s critical to know where the curve is, and how to anticipate the changes we’re facing. For the fastest growing cybersecurity company, the curve is the evolution of cyberattacks, and the products and services that proactively address them. Our engineering team is at the core of our products – connected directly to the mission of preventing cyberattacks. They are constantly innovating – challenging the way we, and the industry, think about cybersecurity. These engineers aren’t shy about creating products to solve problems no one has tackled before. They define the industry, instead of waiting for directions. We need individuals who feel comfortable in ambiguity, excited by the prospect of challenge, and empowered by the unknown risks facing our everyday lives that are only enabled by a secure digital environment.

Our engineering team is provided with an unrivaled opportunity to build the products and practices that will support our company growth ov