Cortex XSIAM SME

Programmers.io; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Programmers.io seeks an experienced Cortex XSIAM expert to architect, deploy, and operate enterprise SIEM/SOAR solutions. You will own data onboarding, broker VM configurations, XQL-based detections, and multi-source normalization to deliver reliable visibility.

The role involves collaborating with customers and internal security teams to design detection content aligned with MITRE ATT&CK, tune alerts, and build actionable dashboards.

Qualifications

• 6+ years hands-on experience deploying and managing SIEM and SOAR solutions.
• Direct experience with Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSIAM.
• Onboarding log sources and integrating them into Cortex XSIAM.
• Developing and managing XSIAM Data Models and normalization across data sources.
• Crafting and optimizing detection logic using XQL for correlation rules and dashboards.
• Experience with endpoint integration and policy tuning for better visibility.
• Familiarity with MITRE ATT&CK and best practices for threat detection.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with technical leads to define a robust log ingestion strategy for Cortex XSIAM using Broker VMs and Collectors.
• Serve as Security Analyst and SIEM Engineer, owning end-to-end workflows from onboarding to detection content development and incident support.
• Design and implement XQL-based correlation rules to detect and alert across endpoint, network, and cloud environments.
• Create, tune, and manage data models to normalize and enrich telemetry data.
• Build operational dashboards using XQL to provide insights into threat posture and coverage.
• Act as SME for XSIAM log ingestion, correlation logic, alert tuning, and detection strategy development.
• Engage with customers to assess environments and recommend log onboarding and threat coverage.
• Monitor, optimize, and troubleshoot log source ingestion pipelines and Collector/Broker VM performance.
• Fine-tune alerts to minimize false positives and improve SOC efficiency.
• Collaborate with threat intel and detection engineering to map detections to ATT&CK techniques.
• Support analysts in investigations and leveraging XSIAM automation features.
• Drive automation opportunities using XSIAM playbooks to reduce manual workload.
• Conduct workshops and health checks to promote adoption and maturity of XSIAM usage.
• Participate in post-incident reviews and gap analyses to strengthen threat detection.

Skills

Cortex XSIAM

XQL

Log onboarding

Data models

Dashboards

Regex

JSON parsing

Threat hunting

MITRE ATT&CK

XDR integration

Endpoint integration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Security, or related field

Palo Alto Networks Certified XSIAM Engineer / XSIAM Analyst / EDU-270

Tools

Broker VMs

Collectors

Job description

Experience / Qualifications Cortex XSIAM

• Exceptional written and verbal communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• 6+ years of hands-on experience deploying and managing SIEM and SOAR solutions in large-scale enterprise environments, including direct experience with Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSIAM.
• Proven expertise in onboarding log sources and integrating them into Cortex XSIAM using Broker VMs, XDR Collectors, and custom ingestion methods.
• Proficient in developing and managing XSIAM Data Models, including field mapping, enrichment, normalization, and schema standardization across multiple data sources.
• Strong experience crafting and optimizing detection logic using XQL (XSIAM Query Language) to build high-fidelity correlation rules, dashboards, and proactive threat hunting queries.
• Solid understanding of Palo Alto XDR endpoint integration, sensor health monitoring, and policy tuning for enhanced endpoint visibility.
• Experienced in event collection strategy, log onboarding, log tuning, and normalization to ensure high-quality and actionable data within the XSIAM platform.
• Demonstrated ability to translate security monitoring requirements into use cases and actionable detection content, aligned with MITRE ATT&CK and industry best practices.
• Familiarity with broader SIEM technologies (e.g., Splunk, IBM QRadar) and how they compare/contrast with Cortex XSIAM architecture and capabilities.
• Strong grasp of security operations workflows, alert triage, threat detection, incident response, and automation within XSIAM.
• Hands-on experience creating and managing security dashboards and visualizations to provide meaningful insights for SOC teams and leadership.
• Expertise in Regular Expressions (Regex), JSON parsing, and log analysis to derive context-rich detection strategies.
• Working knowledge of generating performance and health reports across log source status, ingestion rates, data pipeline performance, and detection coverage.
• Relevant certifications (e.g., Palo Alto Networks Certified XSIAM Engineer or XSIAM Analyst or XSIAM EDU-270). Bachelor's degree in computer science, Information Security, or related field is a plus.

Activities / Responsibilities Cortex XSIAM

• Collaborate with technical leads and stakeholders to define and execute a robust log ingestion strategy for Cortex XSIAM using Broker VMs and Collectors.
• Serve as both a Security Analyst and SIEM Engineer, owning end-to-end workflows from data onboarding to detection content development and incident response support.
• Design and implement XQL-based correlation rules to detect and alert on suspicious behavior across endpoint, network, and cloud environments.
• Create, tune, and manage data models to normalize and enrich telemetry data in alignment with Cortex XSIAM's schema requirements.
• Build operational dashboards using XQL that provide actionable insights into threat posture, detection efficacy, and log source coverage.
• Act as SME for XSIAM log ingestion processes, correlation logic, alert tuning, and detection strategy development.
• Engage directly with end customers to assess their environment, identify visibility gaps, and provide strategic recommendations for log onboarding and threat coverage.
• Monitor, optimize, and troubleshoot log source ingestion pipelines and Collector/Broker VM performance.
• Fine-tune alerts and detections to minimize false positives and improve SOC analyst efficiency.
• Collaborate with threat intelligence and detection engineering teams to implement behavioral detections mapped to ATT&CK techniques.
• Support analyst teams in interpreting alerts, performing incident investigations, and leveraging XSIAM's investigation and automation features.
• Drive automation opportunities using XSIAM playbooks to reduce manual workload and enhance response times.
• Conduct workshops, training sessions, and periodic health checks with customers to promote adoption and maturity in their XSIAM usage.
• Participate in post-incident reviews and detection gap analysis to strengthen overall threat detection strategy.