Senior Staff Penetration Testing Engineer

Palo Alto Networks; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 152,000 - 246,000; Full time

Job summary

Palo Alto Networks in Santa Clara, CA is seeking a senior penetration tester to conduct comprehensive assessments across cloud-native applications, large-scale infrastructure, and complex networks, covering FedRAMP-mandated vectors. You will lead red team exercises, identify vulnerabilities in cloud services and orchestration platforms, and integrate AI-enabled testing to accelerate threat discovery.

You will advise SRE and Engineering teams on remediation and secure design, mentor junior

Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive penetration tests across a diverse portfolio of cloud-native applications, large-scale infrastructure, and complex network architectures, covering all FedRAMP-mandated attack vectors.
• Execute multi-tenant isolation testing and segmentation validation.
• Identify, exploit, and document vulnerabilities in cloud services, container orchestration platforms, and automated deployment pipelines.
• Plan and lead assumed-breach, objective-based red team operations against systems — including lateral movement, privilege escalation, and persistence — to test the effectiveness of defensive controls, monitoring, and alerting systems.
• Integrate AI-assisted testing frameworks and LLM-driven automation into penetration testing workflows to accelerate threat discovery, analysis, and exploit development.
• Provide expert-level security guidance to SRE and Engineering teams during remediation planning and secure architectural design.
• Lead the security assessment of internal tooling, identity management systems, and third-party integrations.
• Research and develop custom tooling or scripts to automate testing and improve the efficiency of offensive engagements.
• Translate complex technical findings into high-impact reports and presentations for both technical stakeholders and executive leadership.
• Mentor junior team members and act as a subject matter expert on emerging threats and exploitation trends.

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

• Conduct comprehensive penetration tests across a diverse portfolio of cloud-native applications, large-scale infrastructure, and complex network architectures, covering all FedRAMP-mandated attack vectors.

• Execute multi-tenant isolation testing and segmentation validation.

• Identify, exploit, and document vulnerabilities in cloud services, container orchestration platforms, and automated deployment pipelines.

• Plan and lead assumed-breach, objective-based red team operations against systems — including lateral movement, privilege escalation, and persistence — to test the effectiveness of defensive controls, monitoring, and alerting systems.

• Integrate AI-assisted testing frameworks and LLM-driven automation into penetration testing workflows to accelerate threat discovery, analysis, and exploit development.

• Provide expert-level security guidance to SRE and Engineering teams during remediation planning and secure architectural design.

• Lead the security assessment of internal tooling, identity management systems, and third-party integrations.

• Research and develop custom tooling or scripts to automate testing and improve the efficiency of offensive engagements.

• Translate complex technical findings into high-impact reports and presentations for both technical stakeholders and executive leadership.

• Mentor junior team members and act as a subject matter expert on emerging threats and exploitation trends.

Qualifications

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. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here (https://benefits.paloaltonetworks.com/) .

$152,300.00 - $246,400.00/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? No. Please note that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.