Sr Principal Engineer Software

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks®, we're united by a shared mission-to protect our digital way of life. We thrive at the intersection of innovation and impact, solving real-world problems with cutting-edge technology and bold thinking. Here, everyone has a voice, and every idea counts. If you're ready to do the most meaningful work of your career alongside people who are just as passionate as you are, you're in the right place.

Who We Are

This role is remote, but distance is no barrier to impact. Our hybrid teams collaborate across geographies to solve big problems, stay close to our customers, and grow together. You will be part of a culture that values trust, accountability, and shared success where your work truly matters.

Job Description

Job SummaryWe are seeking an experienced Senior Principal Software Engineer to design, build, and maintain our cutting-edge, cloud-based security product infrastructure. This role is for a passionate engineer who thrives on solving problems at a massive scale, loves to code world-class security and networking services, and excels in a collaborative, fast-paced environment. You will be a key individual contributor, taking ownership of feature areas and driving innovation to protect customers from evolving online threats.Key ResponsibilitiesLead the complete software development lifecycle, from requirement analysis and design through to deployment and ongoing support.Innovate and implement new product features based on feedback from customers, partners, and internal teams.Design, develop, and deploy highly scalable and performant features for a multi-tenant cloud environment, ensuring reliability for thousands of customers.Proactively collaborate and exchange information with other teams to accomplish shared objectives and ensure product alignment.Troubleshoot and resolve complex issues in the product to ensure high-quality, stable, and secure releases.Serve as a subject matter expert, clearly communicating technical goals, architectural decisions, and desired outcomes to the project team.Challenge the status quo by curiously and positively questioning assumptions to drive continuous improvement and innovation in product features.

Qualifications (Additional Job Description)

Required QualificationsBachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.15+ years of professional software development experience.Extensive hands-on programming expertise in Java and Python.Proven experience building highly available, scalable, and performant distributed systems with a service-oriented architecture (SOA).Deep experience with major cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP), container orchestration (Kubernetes), and virtualization technologies (e.g., ESXi, KVM).Preferred QualificationsMaster's degree or PhD in Computer Science or a related field.Experience with messaging infrastructure such as Kafka or GCP Pub/Sub.Familiarity with both SQL and NoSQL database technologies.Demonstrated ability to quickly learn and apply new and emerging technologies in a fast-paced environment.