Principal Software Engineer; Cortex Platform

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.

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.

We are seeking a Principal Backend Engineer to join our Cortex backend engineering group, a team dedicated to developing, innovating, and scaling the Cortex Platform. In this role, you will contribute to the core backend of Cortex products like XSOAR, XDR, and XSIAM, and shared infrastructures. We are looking for a passionate engineer with a can‑do attitude who thrives on solving complex problems and delivering value to thousands of customers.

Cortex is a world‑leading cybersecurity platform that provides comprehensive security solutions to protect organizations from advanced threats. Our team is responsible for developing and maintaining the core components of the Cortex platform, including the data pipeline, analytics engine, and user interface. We are a fast‑paced and innovative team that is passionate about building the best security products in the world.

• Lead the end‑to‑end backend development of features and components, from design and development to testing, deployment, and maintenance.
• Collaborate effectively with peers across diverse teams and disciplines to shape solutions and ensure seamless integration with other product components.
• Drive team‑wide technical excellence by actively participating in code reviews, design reviews, and architectural decisions.
• Maintain a production‑first mindset, providing real‑time mitigation and solutions to production issues to ensure platform stability and customer satisfaction.
• Challenge the status quo by exploring and applying new technologies and methodologies to innovate and scale the Cortex Platform.
• Simplify complex systems by designing and implementing elegant, scalable, and maintainable backend services.
• Mentor junior engineers, empowering others by sharing knowledge and fostering a culture of technical growth and accountability.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, including the development of scalable server‑side applications.
• Extensive hands‑on programming skills in Go and/or Python.
• Proven experience with major cloud platforms (e.g., GCP, AWS, Azure).
• Deep understanding and experience with Microservices architecture (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker, Serverless).
• Strong computer science fundamentals and experience with distributed computing concepts (e.g., CAP theorem, master election, distributed databases).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with big‑data architectures using technologies like Kafka, Splunk, or Flink.
• Hands‑on experience with both SQL and No
  
  SQL databases (e.g., Big Query, Elasticsearch).
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure‑as‑code practices.
• Knowledge of cybersecurity, information security, or software security principles.

The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and work location. For…