Principal Machine Learning Engineer (Cloud Platform Management - Security Posture) - job 1 of 2

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.

Your Career

Help build what is next.  Our Cloud Management Platform is a public cloud delivered management platform to manage all Palo Alto Networks Next generation network security solutions. It’s an easy-to-use, scalable and secure platform to operationalize complex deployments using the Palo Alto Networks network security portfolio.

This role is located at our dynamic Santa Clara California headquarters campus with a minimum of 3 days in office.

Your Impact

• Conceptualize, Collaborate and Develop highly scalable cloud native Network Management System for managing devices and services at scale in hybrid deployments
• Lead and Design next-generation configuration data management architecture and security posture products for customers
• Build Consolidated and unified framework to support AIops functionality including bpa (best practice checks and custom checks), policy optimizer, policy analyzer for all of the form factors
• Hands-on participation in developing next generation configuration management architecture
• Technical leadership and end-to-end delivery of solutions in collaboration with cross-functional product management, development and quality assurance teams in a fast paced environment
• Deliberate and build frameworks to improve quality of micro services
• Work with DevOps and Technical Support teams to investigate and resolve critical customer defects
• Recruit and Mentor new team members

Your Experience 

• MS/BS in Computer Science or equivalent or equivalent military experience
• 10+ years of experience in building large enterprise applications required
• 5+ years experience in technical leadership roles in building major cloud native apps or subsystems
• Proven ability to lead and collaborate with many cross-functional teams with an emphasis on end-to-end delivery
• Experience in the full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, peer review, and operations

Must haves

• Strong programming experience with Python (Java and Go nice to have as well)
• Data analysis experience
• Machine learning/deep learning frameworks (e.g. scikit-learn, TensorFlow/Keras, PyTorch)
• LLMs, Embedding/vector databases, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
• Formal modeling, SMT solvers
• Graph theory
• Containerization experience (e.g. Docker, Kubernetes)

Also required & Preferred Qualifications:

• Security Domain Knowledge: Familiarity with security best practices, risk assessment, and common threat models. Understanding of security frameworks such as NIST, CIS Benchmarks, ISO 27001, or STIGs is a plus.
• Configuration Schema Expertise: Experience working with configuration schemas such as JSON, YAML, or XML, especially in the context of security policy enforcement
• Security Policy & Profiles: Understanding of security policies, access control models, and configuration profiles across operating systems, cloud environments, and enterprise applications.
• Knowledge of security controls and compliance requirements in cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP) and on-prem environments.
• Familiarity with logging, monitoring, and security incident response practices.

• Experience with or familiarity of Test Driven Development and Continuous Integration 
• Experience developing in Kubernetes based environments is a plus
• Experience developing microservice based solutions on public cloud infrastructure 
• Knowledge of and experience building enterprise software with graph databases 
• Experience building network and security configuration management systems 
• Experience building appliance based network management solutions 

The Team

Our engineering team is at the core of our products – connected directly to the mission of preventing cyberattacks. We are constantly innovating – challenging the way we, and the industry, think about cybersecurity. Our engineers don’t shy away from building products to solve problems no one has pursued before.

We define the industry, instead of waiting for directions. We need individuals who feel comfortable in ambiguity, excited by the prospect of a challenge, and empowered by the unknown risks facing our everyday lives that are only enabled by a secure digital environment.

Compensation Disclosure

The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and work location. For candidates who receive an offer at the posted level, the starting base salary (for non-sales roles) or base salary + commission target (for sales/commissioned roles) is expected to be between $126000 - $204500/YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.

Our Commitment

We’re problem solvers that take risks and challenge cybersecurity’s status quo. It’s simple: we can’t accomplish our mission without diverse teams innovating, together.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with a disability. If you require assistance or accommodation due to a disability or special need, please contact us at  [email protected].

Palo Alto Networks is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity in our workplace, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or other legally protected characteristics.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?: Yes