Principal Engineer - Core Engineering (NetSec)

Palo Alto Networks

Principal Engineer - Core Engineering (NetSec)

Santa Clara, CA
Full Time
Paid
  • Responsibilities

    Job Description

    Your Career

    We are looking for an exceptional Principal Engineer to lead the technical design and implementation of critical infrastructure,SRE and DevOps solutions. This role demands deep technical expertise in modern DevOps & SRE practices, distributed systems, and cloud-native technologies. You will focus on building scalable frameworks, driving automation, and enhancing operational maturity across engineering teams.

    As the Principal Engineer of the Core DevOPs team part of NetSeC cloud infrastructure and platform engineering(CIPE) org, you will play a pivotal role in building the technical backbone that supports Palo Alto Networks’ SASE global scale. Your work will directly influence the reliability, scalability, and efficiency of systems across the SASE organization, driving innovation and operational excellence.

    What We Offer:

    • A highly technical and collaborative environment
    • Opportunities to work on cutting-edge technologies and solve complex challenges
    • A chance to shape the future of DevOps and SRE practices at a leading cybersecurity company

    Your Impact

    • Core DevOps Framework
      • Architect and implement a unified DevOps framework to integrate and standardize provisioning and deployment pipelines from multiple product teams
      • Develop a “one-click” infrastructure and deployment solution to simplify and accelerate delivery processes across teams
      • Leverage technologies such as Kubernetes, Terraform, and gitlab systems to create scalable and modular frameworks
    • Cloud Cost Observability and Optimization
      • Extend existing FinOps platforms to provide granular, real-time cloud cost observability and actionable insights for engineering teams
      • Build automated cost anomaly detection systems and remediation workflows using cloud-native tools and custom solutions
      • Implement policy-as-code frameworks for cost management and resource optimization
    • DevOps/SRE Maturity Automation
      • Design automated scorecard systems to continuously assess and benchmark the DevOps and SRE maturity of individual teams
      • Build telemetry systems and dashboards that provide actionable insights into reliability, scalability, and operational efficiency metrics
    • Infrastructure and Tooling Expertise
      • Drive adoption of best practices in infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD pipelines, and observability platforms
      • Collaborate with engineering teams to identify gaps and develop solutions for improving reliability, scalability, and performance
      • Evaluate and introduce cutting-edge tools, frameworks, and practices that align with the organization’s technical strategy
  • Qualifications

    Qualifications

    Your Impact

    Technical Depth

    • 7+ years in software engineering, technology architecture, and DevOps with a demonstrated ability to design, implement, and maintain secure, scalable, and resilient systems to support software development and deployment
    • BS in CS, CE, EE or relevant field or equivalent military experience
    • Extensive experience in designing and building scalable cloud-native infrastructure on platforms like AWS, GCP, or Azure
    • Strong expertise in container orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes), service mesh architectures, and infrastructure-as-code tools (e.g., Terraform, Pulumi)
    • Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, Go, or Java for automation and tool development
    • Deep knowledge of distributed systems and cloud platform concepts
    • Solid understanding of fundamental CI/CD, GitOps, and DevOps concepts and experience with building pipelines using technologies such as gitlab and jenkins
    • Proven high-growth startup experience in scaling and supporting engineering teams, with the ability to lead by example and foster a high-performance culture

    Operational Excellence

    • Deep understanding of distributed systems, reliability engineering, and incident management
    • Experience with building observability pipelines, including metrics, logs, and distributed tracing (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry)
    • Familiarity with database technologies such as PostgreSQL, MySQL, and NoSQL systems, with a focus on reliability and scalability

    Cost Optimization Expertise

    • Practical experience with FinOps practices, including cost observability, anomaly detection, and policy enforcement
    • Experience building automated workflows for cost reduction and cloud resource optimization

    DevOps Leadership

    • Proven ability to design frameworks and tools that are adopted across multiple teams and scale effectively
    • Strong understanding of CI/CD principles, pipeline optimization, and deployment strategies
    • Ability to assess team maturity using data-driven methodologies and deliver tailored solutions to enhance operational practices

    Additional Information

    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.and downtime.

    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 $147000 - $237500/YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.

    #LI-TD1

    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 accommodations@paloaltonetworks.com.

    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.