Sr Staff Security Researcher (Wildfire)

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 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

We are seeking a security research engineer to join our pioneering security team. This role is for a technical expert passionate about deconstructing complex threats and building the next generation detection systems. You will be responsible for leading our efforts in threat research, which demands a deep background in malware reverse engineering. You will also spearhead the design and implementation of innovative security solutions using generative AI, large language models (LLMs), and agentic systems to automate and scale our detection and analysis capabilities, keeping us ahead of sophisticated adversaries.

Your Impact

• AI-Driven Detection & Automation: Lead end-to-end machine learning projects for threat detection. This encompasses defining the model architecture, sourcing and preparing data, building and managing training pipelines, deploying models into production, and monitoring their performance. Design, build, and deploy innovative security solutions leveraging Generative AI and agentic systems. Develop intelligent agents and workflows to automate threat hunting, accelerate malware analysis, and streamline threat intelligence processes.

• Research & Publication: Disseminate cutting-edge research findings and contribute to the security community by publishing results in technical blogs, industry white papers, and academic papers, particularly on topics related to malware analysis and AI for security.

• Collaboration & Communication: Work closely with cross-functional teams, including other security services: threat prevention, internet security and IoT security, endpoint security to integrate and deliver sustainable and quality coverage and defense.

Qualifications

Your Experience 

• BS/MS/PhD degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

• 4+ years of experience in a research or engineering role, demonstrated experience in leading machine learning projects in malware domain or detection systems, including a strong understanding of model development, data preprocessing, and deployment.

• Proven experience in the complete software development lifecycle, with proficiency in one or more programming languages (e.g., Python, Go, C++).

• Strong experience in reverse engineering, system security, threat research, malware/code analysis or vulnerability research is a big plus

• A proven track of top tier publications in cybersecurity related areas is a big plus.

• Demonstrated experience in leading machine learning projects, including a strong understanding of model development, data preprocessing, and deployment is a plus

• Solid understanding of the threat landscape, including common attack vectors, malware techniques, and threat actor tactics is a plus.

Additional Information