Principal, Strategy & Transformation

Company Description

** This role is based out of our Santa Clara CA headquarters with a hybrid working schedule of at least 3 days in office. 

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 take our mission of protecting the digital way of life seriously. We are relentless in protecting our customers and we believe that the unique ideas of every member of our team contributes to our collective success. Our values were crowdsourced by employees and are brought to life through each of us everyday - from disruptive innovation and collaboration, to execution. From showing up for each other with integrity to creating an environment where we all feel included.

As a member of our team, you will be shaping the future of cybersecurity. We work fast, value ongoing learning, and we respect each employee as a unique individual. Knowing we all have different needs, our development and personal wellbeing programs are designed to give you choice in how you are supported. This includes our FLEXBenefits wellbeing spending account with over 1,000 eligible items selected by employees, our mental and financial health resources, and our personalized learning opportunities - just to name a few!

At Palo Alto Networks, we believe in the power of collaboration and value in-person interactions. This is why our employees generally work full time from our office with flexibility offered where needed. This setup fosters casual conversations, problem-solving, and trusted relationships. Our goal is to create an environment where we all win with precision.

Job Description

Your Career

Palo Alto Networks is expanding its strategy organization and seeking a Principal for our central strategy and transformation team. 

The Strategy & Transformation team covers CEO-led initiatives ranging from AI to drive efficiency and effectiveness, margin improvement and central GTM initiatives. In addition this team drives the rhythm of the business and paints a picture of art of the possible future. 

In the short-term, this role will focus on designing & deploying AI at Scale for better Sales and Marketing initiatives and may expand to additional use-cases. In addition, this role will provide support in other corporate strategy and GTM initiatives. The role is beyond strategy and goes deep into execution to own and drive business outcomes. 

As a key leader, you will collaborate with top executives and cross-functional teams (Product, Engineering, Finance, Sales, Operations, IT) to tackle mission-critical business challenges and contribute to our industry-leading growth. This role offers a supportive, dynamic, and meritocratic environment that values innovation, learning, and teamwork. In this role, your contributions will directly impact our strategic success and drive innovation in the constantly evolving security landscape.

Your Impact

• Own and drive impactful business outcomes 
• Drive transformative change within the organization, wearing multiple hats (strategy development, product & program management, execution) to do what it takes to “move the needle”
• Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to gather insights, co-create deliverables, and drive execution to achieve business goals.
• Manage matrix teams and provide coaching & mentoring to team members
• Structure and analyze complex business problems, develop hypotheses, and present data-driven recommendations.
• Develop high-quality deliverables for exec-level consumption, including business cases and roadmap/execution plans. 
• Support strategy and business planning processes while fostering strategic capabilities across the organization.

Qualifications

Your Experience 

• 8-10 years of experience with 4+ years post-MBA with a minimum of 2 years in management consulting (MBB preferred but open to others), or top-tier tech strategy or "bizops" roles.
• Preferred academic credentials include a top-tier MBA or similar qualifications.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to engage with senior leadership and bridge business and technical discussions.
• Proven relationship-building and influential leadership skills.
• Experience in program management and overseeing large-scale transformations.
• A proactive self-starter who excels in fast-paced, high-growt