Principal Software Engineer — Cybersecurity Data Systems

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 147,000 - 238,000; Full time

Job summary

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is seeking a Principal Software Engineer for the Cortex Attack Surface Management team. You will contribute to the full lifecycle—from architecture to deployment—to build scalable data pipelines and high‑throughput systems.

You will design and scale distributed services, create APIs, and mentor engineers while collaborating across Cortex modules to deliver trustworthy intelligence. This role emphasizes leadership, rigorous engineering practices, and the ability to

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience designing, developing, deploying, and supporting scalable systems.
• Proficiency in Python and Go programming languages.
• Extensive experience with API design and RESTful/microservices architecture.
• Experience building and maintaining data pipelines and ETL processes.
• Ability to lead across research, design, prototyping and implementation phases.
• Expertise with CI/CD, automated testing, and agile methodologies.
• Working knowledge of major cloud platforms (GCP, AWS, or Azure), preferably GCP.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain the core services and data pipelines.
• Lead architecture strategy sessions—design solutions for Cortex modules.
• Collaborate with the team to reduce technical debt and evolve practices.
• Drive best practices and evangelize new technologies within engineering.
• Collaborate with engineers to ensure high-quality output.
• Take ownership of projects, drive to completion, and support production.

Skills

Python

Go

RESTful APIs

Data pipelines

CI/CD

Agile methodologies

Cloud platforms (GCP/AWS/Azure)

Kubernetes

Tools

Kubernetes

Job description

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is seeking a Principal Software Engineer for the Cortex Attack Surface Management team. You will contribute to the full lifecycle—from architecture to deployment—to build scalable data pipelines and high‑throughput systems.

You will design and scale distributed services, create APIs, and mentor engineers while collaborating across Cortex modules to deliver trustworthy intelligence. This role emphasizes leadership, rigorous engineering practices, and the ability to