Systems Engineering Manager

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

The Manager, Systems Engineering, Commercial is the technical leader for a team of 11 Systems Engineers distributed nationally. You will guide and develop your team to become comprehensive architects with multi-discipline skill sets, fostering cross-training in SOC, Cloud, Networking, and NetSec. You will drive a culture of continuous learning and collaboration, ensuring your team members become true platform experts across the full Palo Alto Networks portfolio. 

You will work closely with the District Sales Managers, Regional Vice Presidents and, along with your team, build relationships with customers with the goal of helping them detect and prevent advanced cyberattacks and breaches. Your mentorship will help the team translate technical expertise into business value discussions, equipping them to engage CIOs, CTOs, and CISOs with cost-benefit analyses that drive strategic decisions. You will also nurture talent within your team and provide valuable feedback to the product management team on new feature requests and product improvements based on insights gained from customer interactions.

Your Impact

• Recruit and hire top-tier Systems Engineers into the territory, fostering a team with diverse technical skills across SOC, Cloud, Networking, and NetSec
• Provide training, mentoring, and career development support to ensure team members evolve into multi-discipline architects across the Palo Alto Networks platform
• Support the team in complex evaluations, problem-solving, and challenging customer environments
• Lead and coach team members on successful technical validation efforts, ensuring technical wins in assigned opportunities
• Define and monitor individual development plans for each team member, fostering growth into portfolio architects
• Drive cross-training initiatives across SOC, Cloud, Networking, and NetSec to develop well-rounded security experts
• Ensure the team can articulate business value through proposals, cost-benefit analysis, and business consulting
• Work closely with Professional Services, Customer Success, and Specialist teams to ensure overall customer implementation and adoption of solutions
• Provide technical leadership in customer interactions, sharing security trends and standard methodologies to enhance the selling process
• Drive Palo Alto Networks platform adoption within customer accounts by aligning technical solutions with business imperatives
• Act as an escalation point for pre-sales and post-sales teams for any technical issues
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key customers to establish reference accounts and assist in defining expansion strategies
• Present to customers as an expert at all levels, from technical practitioners to CIOs, CTOs, and CISOs, driving business discussions centered around value versus cost
• Develop deep competitive knowledge and coach the team on effectively positioning Palo Alto Networks solutions against competitors
• Ensure the team is adept at architecting large, complex environments and guiding customers in designing end-to-end security solutions
• Collaborate with Product Management, Technical Marketing, and R&D to provide feedback from customer engagements and influence product development
• Travel up to 30-50% nationally to support team development and customer engagements

Your Experience

• Experience leading pre-sales Systems Engineering teams with a focus on technical mentorship and career development
• Strong technical background as a Senior System Engineer/Specialist with experience across multiple security domains
• Expertise in architecting comprehensive security solutions, spanning Network Security, SASE, SaaS, CNAPP, and SOC transformation technologies
• Deep understanding of competitive landscape and ability to differentiate Palo Alto Networks offerings
• Proven ability to translate technical solutions into business value, guiding customers through cost-benefit analysis discussions
• Strong business acumen and near-term potential to grow team into a C-level advisors 
• Experience with proposals, business value consulting, and cost-benefit analysis
• Exceptional communication (written and verbal) and presentation skills
• Ability to develop strategic technical plans in collaboration with Sales leadership
• Passion for fostering cross-functional collaboration and continuous technical learning within a team

The Team

Our Systems Engineering team members work hand-in-hand with large organizations worldwide to keep their digital environments protected. We educate, inspire, and empower our potential clients in their journey to security.

You are empowered with unmatched systems and tools and a team built on joint success. You won’t find someone at Palo Alto Networks that isn’t committed to your success – with everyone pitching in to assist when it comes to solutions selling, learning, and development. Our Systems Engineering community is driven by the mission to be our customers’ cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting their digital way of life.

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/com-missioned roles) is expected to be between $224000/YR - $308000/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.