Distinguished Forward Deployed Engineer, AI Security

Palo Alto Networks; Clayton (NC); Remote; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Palo Alto Networks is seeking a Distinguished Forward Deployed Engineer for Prisma AIRS, embedded within strategic enterprise engineering teams. The role spans AI safety, zero-trust architecture, and distributed systems, architecting and deploying secure AI workloads to production.

You will lead architectural reviews, write high-performance code, and define deployment standards across enterprise environments, serving as a Tier-4 escalation point for critical outages and complex systems.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional software development and distributed systems experience.
• Master-level proficiency in Python, Go, or C++, with expertise in asynchronous programming and high-concurrency systems.
• Expert-level knowledge of LLM orchestration, vector databases, runtime guardrails, and prompt injection mitigation.

Responsibilities

• Write production-grade code (Python, Go, C++) integrating Prisma AIRS into enterprise microservices and AI infrastructure.

Skills

Python

Go

C++

LLM orchestration

Distributed systems

Asynchronous programming

Education

PhD in CS/AI

Tools

Kubernetes

Terraform

LangChain

LlamaIndex

Job description

Our Mission At Palo Alto Networks®, we’re united by a shared mission—to protect our digital way of life. We thrive at the intersection of innovation and impact, solving real-world problems with cutting-edge technology and bold thinking. In order to be the cybersecurity partner of choice, we must trailblaze the path and shape the future of our industry. Disruption, Collaboration, Execution, Integrity, and Inclusion. We weave AI into the fabric of everything we do and use it to augment the impact every individual can have. This role is remote, but distance is no barrier to impact. Our hybrid teams collaborate across geographies to solve big problems, stay close to our customers, and grow together.

As a Distinguished Forward Deployed Engineer for Prisma AIRS, you will serve as the principal technical authority embedded within strategic enterprise engineering teams. Operating at the intersection of AI safety, zero-trust architecture, and distributed systems, you will architect, build, and deploy secure enterprise-grade AI workloads to production. You will write highly performant code, define industry-leading deployment standards, and bridge high-impact enterprise environments with core product engineering. Lead Architectural Design Reviews to build zero-trust, high-availability AI safety topologies across enterprise environments.

• Write production-grade code (Python, Go, C++) integrating Prisma AIRS into enterprise microservices and AI infrastructure.
• Build high-throughput middleware and proxy extensions for real-time prompt security and identity-aware access controls.
• Architect automated IaC deployment modules and SDK wrappers to accelerate rapid enterprise product adoption.
• Serve as the ultimate tier-4 escalation point for mission-critical production outages and complex distributed systems.
• Analyze telemetry pipelines to resolve edge-case failures across agentic frameworks like LangChain and LlamaIndex.
• Upstream custom plugins, platform optimizations, and core engine enhancements to primary Prisma AIRS repositories.
• Author enterprise reference architectures and whitepapers to establish industry standards for AI security and compliance.
• 10+ years of professional software development and distributed systems architecture experience in production environments.
• ~ D. in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, or equivalent practical experience.
• ~ Master-level proficiency in Python, Go, or C++, with expertise in asynchronous programming and high-concurrency systems.
• ~ Expert-level knowledge of LLM orchestration, vector databases, runtime guardrails, and prompt injection mitigation.
• ~ Advanced mastery of containerization, custom Kubernetes operators, service meshes, and infrastructure-as-code across major cloud providers.
• ~ Comprehensive knowledge of enterprise security protocols, data loss prevention, and network segmentation frameworks.
• ~ Deep experience building, evaluating, and securing autonomous AI agent architectures and tool-use execution environments.
• Prior contribution to open-source AI security tools, red-teaming research, or LLM vulnerability benchmark suites.
• Hands-on experience with automated synthetic data generation, ML-driven data sanitization pipelines, and offline evaluation sandboxes.

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 the annual range listed below. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. We’re trailblazers that dream big, take risks, and challenge cybersecurity’s status quo. 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 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. Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?: Yes