Principal Consultant, Incident Preparedness - Proactive Services (Unit 42)

Palo Alto Networks; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Palo Alto Networks is seeking a client-facing Principal Consultant to lead proactive incident preparedness engagements. You will drive tabletop exercises, incident response plan development, and maturity assessments with diverse client stakeholders.

The role emphasizes hands-on IR and preparedness, collaboration with Unit 42 teams, and travel about 20% to meet client needs. You will partner with clients to strengthen cyber resilience, review security plans, and deliver high-impact outcomes with

Qualifications

• 8+ years of incident preparedness and incident response consulting.
• Experience leading complex client-facing cybersecurity engagements.
• Hands-on IR and preparedness with emphasis on preparedness.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end proactive incident preparedness projects (TTX, IRP, maturity assessments).
• Review client Crisis Management, IR, and BCP documents to identify gaps.
• Plan and facilitate TTXs for diverse audiences and deliver post-exercise reports.
• Manage client engagements from scoping to final delivery with high quality.
• Collaborate with clients and internal teams to improve cyber resilience.
• Share learnings to enhance service delivery methodologies.
• Travel ~20% to meet client engagement needs.

Skills

Incident preparedness

Incident response

Client-facing leadership

Tabletop Exercises

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Information Security

Master's degree

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. Here, everyone has a voice, and every idea counts. If you’re ready to do the most meaningful work of your career alongside people who are just as passionate as you are, you’re in the right place.

Who We Are

In order to be the cybersecurity partner of choice, we must trailblaze the path and shape the future of our industry. This is something our employees work at each day and is defined by our values: 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. If you are passionate about solving real-world problems and ideating beside the best and the brightest, we invite you to join us!

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. You will be part of a culture that values trust, accountability, and shared success where your work truly matters.

Job Summary

As a client-facing Principal Consultant, you will be a key leader in our proactive services engagements. You will work directly with a diverse range of customers and their key stakeholders to manage and deliver high-impact incident preparedness services. This role is pivotal in helping clients strengthen their cyber resilience by leading proactive assessments and providing expert advisory.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of proactive incident preparedness projects, including Tabletop Exercises (TTX), Incident Response Plan development, and Response Maturity Assessments.
• Critically review and analyze client documentation, such as Crisis Management, Incident Response, and Business Continuity plans, to identify gaps and provide actionable recommendations.
• Design, plan, and facilitate a variety of TTXs for diverse audiences, from technical teams to C-suite executives, delivering detailed post-exercise reports with strategic insights.
• Manage the full lifecycle of client engagements, from initial scoping and stakeholder alignment to final deliverable production, ensuring high-quality outcomes and customer satisfaction.
• Proactively collaborate with clients and internal Unit 42 teams, serving as a trusted advisor to enhance their overall cyber resilience and preparedness posture.
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of service delivery methodologies and internal team knowledge by sharing insights and applied learnings from client engagements.
• Travel as required (approximately 20%) to meet client engagement needs and business demands.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Security, Computer Science, Cyber Security, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of combined experience in incident preparedness and incident response consulting.
• Demonstrated experience leading and delivering complex, client-facing cybersecurity engagements from scoping through to completion.
• Mandatory, hands‑on experience in both incident response (IR) and incident preparedness, with a primary focus on preparedness.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a relevant field.
• Relevant industry certifications such as CISSP, GCIH, GCFA, or CISM.
• Experience presenting complex security topics and findings to executive-level stakeholders.
• Familiarity with major cybersecurity frameworks such as NIST, ISO 27001, and MITRE ATT&CK

Our Commitment

We’re trailblazers that dream big, 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 [e-mail].

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.

Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?: Yes