Senior Principal Software Engineer (Cloud Management)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 147,000 - 237,500; Full time

Job summary

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. in Santa Clara, California, is looking for a skilled technical professional to develop and support cloud-based services. The role includes responsibilities such as requirements analysis, technical design, and collaboration with QA teams. Ideal candidates will have strong programming skills in Golang and Python and solid understanding of cloud environments such as GCP and Kubernetes. Strong communication and analytical skills are essential for success in this role.

The compensation range for this position is between $147,000.00 and $237,500.00 based on qualifications and experience, with additional benefits provided.

Qualifications

• Experience with GCP and Kubernetes infrastructure is preferred.
• Familiarity with security best practices and risk assessment is a plus.
• Knowledge of configuration schemas like JSON, YAML, or XML.

Responsibilities

• Conduct requirements analysis.
• Engage in technical design and implementation.
• Collaborate with QA teams for testing.
• Manage release and deployment processes.
• Provide ongoing maintenance and operational support.

Skills

Strong programming and scripting skills (Golang, Python, etc)

Solid understanding of infrastructure and cloud environments

Hands-on experience developing cloud-based services

Experience with observability frameworks

Ability to leverage AI tools to improve productivity

Strong communication skills

Strong analytical thinking

Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams

Job description

Must-Have Skills

• Strong programming and scripting skills (Golang, Python, etc)
• Solid understanding of infrastructure and cloud environments (experience with k8s infra context and GCP preferred, AWS experience acceptable)
• Hands‑on experience developing and operating cloud‑based services
• Demonstrated willingness and ability to leverage AI tools and agents to improve productivity across research, design, implementation, and operational support activities
• Experience with observability frameworks and operational monitoring for cloud-native services (metrics, logging, tracing, and alerting)

Product / Technology Stack Overview

• The team develops highly scalable cloud applications using Golang in a GCP environment
• The role involves working across the full software development lifecycle, including system design, implementation, deployment, and operational support for distributed cloud services

Desired Soft Skills

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate both high-level system architecture and detailed technical design
• Strong analytical thinking with close attention to implementation details
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross‑functional teams

Nice-to-Have Skills or Experience

• Security Domain Knowledge: Familiarity with security best practices, risk assessment, and common threat models
• Configuration Schema Expertise: Experience working with configuration schemas such as JSON, YAML, or XML, especially in the context of security policy enforcement
• Security Policy & Profiles: Understanding of security policies, access control models, and configuration profiles across operating systems, cloud environments, and enterprise applications

How Success Is Measured in This Role

• Consistent delivery of high-quality features within planned timelines
• Effective collaboration and influence across Product Line Management (PLM) and QA teams
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent tasks within a fast-paced development environment with ongoing CI/CD release cadence

Role Summary

• Requirements analysis
• Technical design
• Implementation
• QA collaboration
• Release and deployment
• Ongoing maintenance and operational support
• The role may also involve occasional customer interactions for production support
• Participation in the team’s on-call rotation is 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/com-missioned roles) is expected to be the annual range listed below.

$147,000.00 - $237,500.00/yr

Equal Opportunity and Accommodation

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.

Immigration Sponsorship

Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?: Yes