Principal Researcher (Decoder and common service)

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

You will be part of the team that develops the Intrusion Prevention System to power the Palo Alto Networks’s next generation firewall. The content team is responsible for decoding network protocols, identifying applications and detecting threats on enterprise customers’ networks, providing common service to support a variety of network security services. 

As a member of the content team, you have the opportunity to work on our IPS content engine and other advanced threat prevention products, and collaborate with different intelligent teams on various advanced cybersecurity features. 

Your Impact

• Research protocol RFC and related application implementation
• Research common file types for file identification, blocking, DLP, etc.
• Research and provide defense mechanisms against popular protocol/firewall evasions
• Develop protocol and file type decoders, and integrate the detection solutions into the IPS engine of the Palo Alto Networks next generation firewall
• Build common services to support various network security services
• Develop internal tools to monitor and support the cyber security products
• Cross-team collaboration, discover and integrate advanced cybersecurity features to inline product solutions

Your Experience 

• Strong programming and debugging skills, C/C++ or go experience is preferred
• Excellent understanding of common networking protocols such as HTTP, SSL, SMTP, FTP, Websocket, GRPC, etc.
• Experience in analyzing network traffic using tools like Wireshark, Fiddler, tcpdump etc.
• Familiar with Linux/Unix development environment
• Team player, and good communication skills to work with cross-functional groups
• Knowledge and experience of next generation firewall and cyber security services is a plus
• Experience with research of GenAI applications is a plus
• 5+ years industry experience
• BS/MS in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering or equivalent or equivalent military experience required

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 $157000 - $255000/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