Sr. Principal Software Engineer (L7 Security)

Palo Alto Networks; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 277,000; Full time

Job summary

Palo Alto Networks is seeking a Principal Software Engineer in San Jose, California. You will lead technical efforts to design and deliver cutting-edge cloud security solutions, collaborating with cross-functional teams.

The ideal candidate will have over 15 years of software engineering experience with a strong background in cloud technologies, programming in Go or Java, and expertise in distributed systems. This role offers the opportunity to innovate at the intersection of cybersecurity and cloud technology.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of relevant software engineering experience.
• 5+ years of hands-on programming experience in Go or Java.
• Experience designing high-performance distributed software applications.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for solution delivery.
• Design, implement, and troubleshoot cloud security solutions.
• Manage the full product development lifecycle.

Skills

Programming in Go or Java

Cloud technologies

Backend development

Proficiency in Python or C

Container orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent

Tools

Kafka

Redis

SQL

GCP

AWS

Job description

Job Summary

As a Principal Software Engineer within the Engineering team, you will drive the technical leadership and end-to-end delivery of next-generation cloud security solutions. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to design, implement, and troubleshoot high-scale distributed systems, playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of our network security architecture. This role offers the opportunity to innovate at the intersection of cloud technology and cybersecurity, delivering impactful security-as-a-service offerings that protect our digital way of life.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for the end-to-end delivery of solutions, ensuring alignment with cross-functional product management and quality assurance teams.
• Design, implement, and troubleshoot robust next-generation cloud security solutions to address complex network security challenges.
• Drive the development of scalable cloud security architecture through hands‑on coding and strategic architectural planning.
• Manage the full product development lifecycle, from definition and design through implementation, testing, and deployment.
• Collaborate proactively with Product Management, SRE, and Quality Engineering to deliver high-quality security-as-a-service offerings to market.
• Simplify complex technical issues to improve end‑customer outcomes by working closely with customer support teams.
• Foster a culture of innovation, intellectual curiosity, and problem-solving within the engineering organization.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent field with 15+ years of relevant software engineering experience.
• Minimum of 5 years of hands‑on programming experience in Go or Java, with additional proficiency in Python or C highly valued.
• Proven experience designing and developing high‑performance, high‑scale distributed software applications in a cloud environment.
• Strong technical proficiency with cloud technologies such as message queue (Kafka/PubSub/Redis), Data Storage (SQL/Bigtable/Redis/Mongo/BigQuery).
• Demonstrated expertise in backend development, including REST APIs, databases, and serverless computing for distributed cloud applications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with container orchestration platforms, specifically Docker and Kubernetes.
• Comprehensive understanding of public cloud design considerations, including microservice architectures, global network infrastructure, and load balancing.
• Working knowledge of TCP/IP networking protocols and principles.
• Prior experience working with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or Amazon Web Services (AWS).

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/).

$170,000.00 - $277,000.00/yr

Accommodations

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].

Equal Opportunity Employment

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.

Confidentiality

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Immigration Sponsorship

Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?: Yes