Principal Backend Engineer - AI Security Platform

Palo Alto Networks; California (MO); On-site; USD 156,000 - 253,000; Full time

Job summary

Palo Alto Networks is seeking a highly skilled Principal Software Engineer for the Prisma AIRS backend team. The role focuses on building scalable server-side applications that secure AI platforms and models in production.

You will define the technical direction, work across microservices, and collaborate with product and frontend teams to deliver robust, high-performance backend services in a fast-paced, security‑driven environment at our Santa Clara, CA campus.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software engineering with large distributed systems.
• Strong knowledge of Go, Java, C++, or Python; cloud experience preferred.
• Experience with Postgres/NoSQL and data storage techniques.
• Cloud exposure with GCP/AWS/Azure; microservices experience.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop scalable backend systems powering Prisma AIRS.
• Lead and collaborate with product managers and frontend engineers.
• Set technical direction and ensure high performance, reliability, and security.
• Drive end-to-end projects from conception to production.

Skills

Go (preferred)

Java

C++

Python

Distributed systems

UML / API design

Education

BS or MS in Computer Science

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

CI/CD

Grafana

Job description

Palo Alto Networks is seeking a highly skilled Principal Software Engineer for the Prisma AIRS backend team. The role focuses on building scalable server-side applications that secure AI platforms and models in production.

You will define the technical direction, work across microservices, and collaborate with product and frontend teams to deliver robust, high-performance backend services in a fast-paced, security‑driven environment at our Santa Clara, CA campus.