Senior Principal Backend Engineer - Cloud-Native Python/Go

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.; Santa Clara (CA); Hybrid; USD 184,000 - 297,000; Full time

Job summary

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is seeking a Senior Principal Backend Engineer for the Cortex group.

You will lead backend development for Cortex XSOAR, XDR, and XSIAM, shaping data models, APIs, and scalable services in collaboration with cross-functional teams. The role emphasizes technical leadership, architecture, and delivery at scale, with hybrid work options and a strong emphasis on security, reliability, and performance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 14+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a focus on distributed, cloud-native application development.
• Expert-level programming skills in Python, Go, or Java, with proven experience building large-scale distributed systems.
• Extensive experience with cloud development, including REST APIs, databases, serverless computing, and microservices architectures.
• Demonstrated experience as a hands-on technical lead or architect on complex software projects.

Responsibilities

• Serve as an acknowledged technical leader, providing consultation and proactively collaborating across engineering teams to ensure alignment.
• Drive the full lifecycle of projects from requirements gathering to final design and implementation, acting as a project lead or mentor.
• Lead the alignment of planned work across the product by partnering with product management, UX design, and engineering stakeholders.
• Utilize a big-picture perspective to identify, analyze, and provide practical solutions for complex existing and impending technical problems.
• Design, build, and optimize highly scalable data models and queries using technologies such as MySQL and BigQuery, focusing on the details to ensure performance.
• Develop robust business logic and API endpoints using Python and Flask, and build high-performance backend services using Go.
• Proactively identify, articulate, and mitigate risks in projects to ensure smooth execution and high-quality output.
• Mentor and empower other engineers across the department, fostering a culture of technical excellence and applied learning.

Skills

Python

Go

Java

Distributed systems

Cloud

Education

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science/Computer Engineering

Tools

MySQL

BigQuery

Flask

REST APIs

Job description

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is seeking a Senior Principal Backend Engineer for the Cortex group.

You will lead backend development for Cortex XSOAR, XDR, and XSIAM, shaping data models, APIs, and scalable services in collaboration with cross-functional teams. The role emphasizes technical leadership, architecture, and delivery at scale, with hybrid work options and a strong emphasis on security, reliability, and performance.