Principal Software Engineer (Customer Profile Test Engineering)

Palo Alto Networks; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 147,000 - 200,500; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Restricted stock units

Bonus eligibility

Inclusive work environment

Job summary

A leading cybersecurity company based in Santa Clara seeks a Principal Software Engineer to validate customer use cases for next-generation firewall solutions. The ideal candidate will have 8+ years in networking security, excellent communication skills, and experience with automated testing processes. Responsibilities include designing test plans, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and mentoring juniors. The position offers a competitive salary range of $147,000 to $200,500 per year, depending on experience, plus benefits.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years in the networking security industry or equivalent experience.
• Experience with L4-L7 Network layers testing.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, GCP.

Responsibilities

• Design and validate customer focused use cases on the security platform.
• Drive collaboration with cross-functional teams for software quality.
• Mentor and coach new team members in the engineering team.

Skills

Network design understanding

Network security product testing

Scripting with Python

Communication skills

Education

BS/MS degree in Networking Security

Tools

GNU tools

Test tools from Spirent and Ixia

Job description

Principal Software Engineer (Customer Profile Test Engineering)

Our Mission At Palo Alto Networks® everything starts and ends with our mission: Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.

Our Vision A world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before.

Who We Are We take our mission of protecting the digital way of life seriously. We are relentless in protecting our customers and believe that the unique ideas of every member of our team contribute to our collective success. Our values were crowdsourced by employees and are brought to life through each of us everyday – from disruptive innovation and collaboration, to execution. We create an inclusive environment where we all feel included and respected.

Job Description Palo Alto Networks NGFW (Next Generation Firewall) group is looking for a seasoned and accomplished Customer Profile Test (CPT) engineer with experience validating customer use cases and solutions. You will be part of a world-class engineering team that works on various ground-breaking security (On-Prem and Cloud) technologies & use cases. We are looking for highly motivated engineers who have intellectual curiosity, love the challenge of solving complex problems with variable factors and creativity in obtaining solutions. Our organization thrives on collaborative synergy, requiring engineers who excel in high-level communication and cross-functional teamwork.

Your Impact As a Principal Software Engineer in the CPT (Customer Profile Test Engineering) team, you will be responsible for testing the use cases for Palo Alto Networks’ next-generation firewall (On-Premise and Cloud NGFW) & Cloud Delivered Security Solutions (CDSS). You will play a pivotal role in shaping our future direction by participating in requirements and design discussions. Your responsibilities will extend beyond the development sphere, involving direct engagement with our top-tier customers, account managers, customer success and sales teams. This multifaceted role will require close collaboration with development and product management teams, as well as key stakeholders across the organization. You will craft and execute comprehensive test plans based on customer use case requirements and design specifications. Your expertise will be crucial in designing and maintaining complex end-to-end topologies that simulate real-world deployment scenarios, ensuring robust validation of our designs. This role offers a unique opportunity to influence product development while also contributing to customer satisfaction and sales initiatives. You will drive the efficiency and reliability of our products by validating them thoroughly to understand potential risks, bugs, or issues, providing an exemplary customer experience for our end users. You love hunting for problems within the code, seeking issues to correct, and enjoy the challenge of a code-based scavenger hunt that includes testing, providing feedback, and identifying alternative suggestions for our product’s environment.

• Design, develop and validate customer focused use cases on our next-generation security platform & cloud security services
• Ownership of end to end workflow for major components of the service in its first release
• Leadership opportunity to drive collaboration with internal/external cross-functional efforts to deliver best in quality software
• Open Engineering environment to suggest and improve the development process for an agile team
• Collaboratively work with DevOps and the Technical Support teams to troubleshoot customer issues and build better customer experiences
• Interview, mentor and coach new team members as part of the growing team

Qualifications

• Detailed understanding of modern network design, implementation, and troubleshooting
• Involve with analyzing, testing, and modeling Palo Alto Networks platforms in complex deployment scenarios
• Experience testing network security products, preferably with firewalls and security services
• Experience with GNU tools and good to have experience with typical test tools from Spirent and Ixia
• Experience with Python and similar scripting language, and strong ability to develop, maintain, and monitor automated processes is must
• Experience testing L4-L7 Network layers
• L3 network testing experience with knowledge of most common switching and routing protocols
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills are a must
• Experience with testing in a Virtualization environment, including cloud platforms AWS, Azure, GCP etc. is plus
• Past experience with technical presentations, customer interfacing, and requirements interpretation is plus
• BS/MS degree with minimum 8+ years of experience in the networking security industry, or equivalent experience or equivalent military experience required

Compensation Disclosure The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and work location. 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/commissioned roles) is expected to be between $147,000/YR - $200,500/YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.

Our Commitment We’re problem solvers that 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

Seniority level Associate

Employment type Full-time

Industry Computer and Network Security