Sr. Staff Engineer (Cortex Vulnerability Experience Platform)

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

Job summary

Palo Alto Networks in Santa Clara, CA is seeking an experienced Software Engineer to join the Cortex Vulnerability Experience Platform team. This role focuses on building unified vulnerability and exposure management experiences within XSIAM, visualizing, prioritizing and remediating posture security problems in customer environments.

You will design and implement features, participate in architecture, collaborate with engineering teams, promote best practices, and take ownership from

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience as a professional software engineer.
• Strong proficiency in Python.
• Experienced and opinionated about software development and best practices across backend and frontend.
• Able to switch between research, design, prototype, and implementation.
• Working knowledge of at least one major cloud platform (eg GCP, AWS, or Azure), preferably GCP.
• Experience with CI/CD process.
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• Technical team leadership.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain the features for the unified vulnerability and exposure management experience
• Take part in architecture strategy sessions - design solutions that accommodate the requirements of the various groups across Cortex
• Collaborate with teams to solve problems, reduce technical debt, and evolve development practices
• Drive technical best practices and evangelize new technologies within the engineering org
• Collaborate with other engineers and ensure that your team delivers high-quality output
• Take ownership of projects, drive them to completion, and support them in production
• Be a champion of test-driven development

Skills

Python

Backend development

Frontend development

Cloud platforms

CI/CD

Problem solving

Technical leadership

Tools

Jenkins

GitLab Runners

Grafana

Prometheus

StackDriver

BigQuery

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

Your Career

The Cortex Vulnerability Experience Platform team is expanding, and we're looking for an experienced Software Engineer to join our team. This team is responsible for building unified vulnerability and exposure management experience within XSIAM. This experience involves visualizing, prioritizing and remediating the posture security problems (vulnerabilities, misconfigurations etc) in the customer's environment.

Your Impact

• Design, build, and maintain the features for the unified vulnerability and exposure management experience
• Take part in architecture strategy sessions - design solutions that accommodate the requirements of the various groups across Cortex
• Collaborate with teams to solve problems, reduce technical debt, and evolve development practices
• Drive technical best practices and evangelize new technologies within the engineering org
• Collaborate with other engineers and ensure that your team delivers high-quality output
• Take ownership of projects, drive them to completion, and support them in production
• Be a champion of test‑driven development

Qualifications

Your Experience

• 8+ years of experience as a professional software engineer writing software
• Strong proficiency in Python
• Experienced and opinionated about software development and best practices across backend and frontend
• Able to switch between research, design, prototype, and implementation
• Working knowledge of at least one of the major cloud platforms (eg GCP, AWS, or Azure), preferably GCP
• Experience with CI/CD process
• Strong problem‑solving skills
• Technical team leadership

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Go, Angular and React
• Common understanding of CVEs or Software vulnerabilities
• Knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks and vulnerability methodologies
• Proficiency in Linux and Windows operating systems
• Demonstrates a basic understanding of how a variety of exploits work and shows skills in enumerating and selecting the correct exploit for a given system
• Experience with Jenkins or Gitlab Runners
• Experience with Grafana and Prometheus
• Experience with StackDriver for log‑based debugging
• Experience working in vulnerability management domain
• Experience working with BigQuery

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.

$147,000.00 - $237,500.00/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.

Equal Opportunity

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.