Sr Staff Research Engineer

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

Your Impact

• Protect our customers against malicious actors on the Internet

• Develop novel techniques and approaches for understanding the internet and characterizing data for insights relevant to cyber threat intelligence

• Collaborate with US government partners in investigating and reporting malicious cyber activity for analysts and senior leaders

• Aid in developing software to better leverage Palo Alto Networks datasets in the various missions of threat hunting, vulnerability discovery, and as-yet undetermined missions

• Grow our library of datasets and integrate new capabilities into our tools

• Build prototypes that generate insights for customers and help to operationalize them towards cyber threat hunting

• Discover the emergent properties of the Internet so we start to expect the unexpected

• Mentor junior staff, share best practices and technical expertise with a multidisciplinary team

Your Experience 

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or other technical discipline (or equivalent professional experience)

• GCTI, GPEN, OSCP, CEH certifications a plus

• Professional experience manipulating large datasets and a high level of comfort with SQL and database operations 

• Proficiency in Python, Go, and/or Rust 

• High-level understanding of computer networks, protocols, and of how the Internet works

• Experience collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data from multiple sources, documenting the results, and providing meaningful analytic products

• Knowledge of the principal methods, procedures, and techniques of gathering information and producing, reporting, and sharing intelligence

• Broad knowledge of nation-state linked APT groups with emphasis on differences in Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures

• Knowledge of the Intelligence Community, US Government, and federal cyber centers

• Experience using tools such as nmap, nessus, dsniff, netcat, network sniffers, and fuzzers

• Ability to concisely communicate complex subject matter to technical and non-technical audiences

• At minimum, you must be eligible for a security clearance, active Top Secret preferred

The Team

Expanse’s global collections architecture yields the best and most detailed global view into the device layer of the public Internet data set ever created. The Xpanse National Security Division leverages datasets ranging in size from gigabytes to petabytes in unconventional ways to produce unparalleled cybersecurity insights. NSD also conducts its own unique collection and analysis in support of special projects.

Our work is varied, exciting, and meaningful. We rapidly prototype new capabilities to address specific customer needs. We improve our Internet intelligence through other, unique forms of data collection. We develop, maintain, and use our own tools to perform threat hunting. We stand up infrastructure and conduct our own vulnerability research of customer networks. We are consistently shown the impact of our work and are proud to be a part of our nation’s cyber defense.

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 $136,000 - $219,000/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.