Principal Engineer (Console)

Jobs Paloaltonetworks; California; Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Palo Alto Networks is seeking a Platform Engineer to build the core backend and orchestration for Console's AI agents, enabling scalable enterprise workflows. You’ll own the architecture, state management, and reliability of autonomous AI-powered processes.

Collaborate with AI and Product Engineering to evolve an AI-native platform, delivering robust, scalable systems while balancing performance, security, and developer velocity.

Qualifications

• <100 chars>5+ years of backend or distributed systems engineering.
• <100 chars>Experience designing scalable backend services and APIs.
• <100 chars>Experience with asynchronous processing and state management.
• <100 chars>Track record shipping complex platform products from ground up.
• <100 chars>Strong architectural judgment and ambiguity navigation.

Responsibilities

• Design and build the core backend services and distributed systems powering Console's AI agents and enterprise workflows.
• Own the architecture and development of agent execution and orchestration systems for asynchronous, long-running workflows.
• Build scalable systems for workflow state management, concurrency, fault tolerance, and recovery for reliable production execution.
• Develop shared APIs, execution frameworks, and reusable platform abstractions to accelerate new agent capabilities.
• Build foundational integration and tool execution systems for secure interaction with enterprise apps and APIs.
• Collaborate with AI and Product Engineering to evolve the agentic architecture and translate AI capabilities into scalable systems.

Skills

Backend engineering

Distributed systems

Async processing

Architecture design

Autonomous AI

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!

We believe collaboration thrives in person. That’s why most of our teams work from the office full time, with flexibility when it’s needed. This model supports real‑time problem‑solving, stronger relationships, and the kind of precision that drives great outcomes.

Job Summary

About the Role

We're looking for a Platform Engineer to build the core systems that power Console's AI agents. You'll work at the intersection of backend engineering, distributed systems, and agentic AI, owning the execution and orchestration infrastructure that enables our agents to autonomously execute complex workflows across enterprise applications.

You’ll tackle challenging engineering problems around agent orchestration, distributed execution, state management, and reliability, building the foundational services and abstractions that make our agents more capable, scalable, and resilient. Working closely with AI and Product Engineering, you'll shape the architecture of an AI-native platform as we scale across the enterprise.

This is a high-ownership role for engineers who thrive on complex technical challenges, enjoy building systems from the ground up, and want to define how autonomous AI systems operate in production.

What You'll Do

• Design and build the core backend services and distributed systems that power Console's AI agents and enterprise workflows.
• Own the architecture and development of our agent execution and orchestration systems, enabling complex, asynchronous, and long-running workflows across enterprise applications.
• Build scalable systems for workflow state management, concurrency, fault tolerance, and recovery to ensure reliable agent execution in production.
• Develop shared APIs, execution frameworks, and reusable platform abstractions that accelerate the development of new agent capabilities.
• Build foundational integration and tool execution systems that enable agents to securely interact with enterprise applications and APIs.
• Partner closely with AI and Product Engineering to evolve our agentic architecture, translating emerging AI capabilities into scalable, production-grade systems.
• Drive technically complex projects from architecture through production, making thoughtful tradeoffs across performance, scalability, reliability, and development velocity.

Qualifications

Who You Are

• 5+ years of experience in backend, platform, or distributed systems engineering, building and shipping production-grade software.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, with experience designing scalable backend services, APIs, and distributed architectures.
• Experience building complex systems involving asynchronous processing, concurrency, state management, or distributed workflows.
• A track record of owning and shipping technically complex products or foundational systems from the ground up, ideally in startup or high-growth environments.
• Strong architectural judgment and the ability to navigate ambiguity, make thoughtful technical tradeoffs, and execute with a high degree of autonomy.
• Product‑minded, with strong instincts for designing simple, extensible systems that solve complex engineering challenges.
• Comfortable collaborating across engineering disciplines and taking ownership of technically challenging problems beyond your immediate scope.
• An AI-native builder who actively explores emerging AI technologies and development tools, with opinions on how they're changing the way software is designed, built, and operated.

Nice to Have

• Experience building agentic AI platforms, workflow orchestration engines, or distributed task execution systems.
• Familiarity with LLM application architectures, agent frameworks, tool calling, or AI evaluation and observability.
• Experience building secure, multi‑tenant SaaS platforms or enterprise integration frameworks.
• Experience building foundational platform services or developer frameworks adopted across engineering teams.
• Founding engineering or early‑stage startup experience, particularly building 0→1 products or systems.

Compensation Disclosure

• /yr

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