Senior Distinguished Engineer, Vulnerability and Exposure Management (Cortex Expanse)

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!

Your Career

We're looking for an experienced Cybersecurity Research Lead for our Cortex Xpanse Vulnerability and Exposure Management product. This role is ideal for engineers who thrive on solving complex security challenges and are dedicated to advancing the field through innovative research and development. We need a leader who can take initiative, drive projects to completion, and inspire a team to push the boundaries of vulnerability management.

Your Impact

• Lead research for the Cortex Xpanse Vulnerability and Exposure management product
• Develop and enhance a cutting-edge Vulnerability Assessment (VA) content creation system
• Provide guidance and mentorship to junior security analysts and researchers, assisting in their professional development and training
• Participate in rapid response to emerging threats to ensure we are able to deploy content quickly and meet customer security needs
• Work closely with research and engineering teams to understand their concerns, utilize their skills, and enable their testing needs
• Take part in architecture strategy sessions - design solutions that accommodate the requirements of the various teams and groups
• Take ownership of projects, drive them to completion, and support them in production
• Collaborate closely with other Cortex research organizations

Your Experience 

• 12+ years of experience in cybersecurity research field
• Deep understanding of Windows, Linux, macOS and Unix-based systems
• Knowledge of LLM
• Strong understanding of lab setup options and existing frameworks, and ability to set up lab infrastructure – including the pros and cons of various infrastructure options
• Experience with scanning and vulnerability testing fundamentals (open source scanners, TCP/IP and networking protocols, pen testing tools)
• Experience using cloud managed services (ideally in GCP)
• Strong understanding of TCP/IP and networking protocols (eg. HTTP, FTP, SSH, SNMP)
• Proficient in one or more programming languages
• Proven experience in guiding and educating team members to enhance their skills and knowledge

Nice to have

• Significant experience with common open source security software such as Nuclei, OpenVAS, and Nmap
• Deep knowledge of current penetration and security assessment tools such as Metasploit, Nmap, Burp Suite, Wireshark, etc. 
• Knowledge of network architectures - understands subnetting and routing and how VLANs work and affect network scanning
• malware analysis, reverse engineering, vulnerability research, hacking

The Team

The Cortex Exposure Management Scanning team is expanding, and we’re looking for an experienced cyber researcher with a strong engineering background to join our team. At Xpanse, we believe that making the internet a safer place for our customers matters. The Cortex Vulnerability Assessment Research & Scanning teams build the software that provides our customers visibility into their behind-the-firewall attack surface, allowing them to prioritize and remediate critical vulnerabilities using the XSIAM platform.

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 $248,000 - $341,750/ year. 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.