Principal Software Engineer Job at Palo Alto Networks (Santa Clara)

Principal Software Engineer

Palo Alto Networks

Location:
United States , Santa Clara

Category:
IT - Software Development

Contract Type:
Not provided

Salary:

147000.00 - 237500.00 USD / Year

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Job Description:

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.

Job Responsibility:

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

Requirements:

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 of 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)

Nice to have:

Experience with big-data architectures using technologies like Kafka, Splunk, or Flink
Hands-on experience with both SQL and NoSQL databases (e.g., BigQuery, Elasticsearch)
Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure-as-code practices
Knowledge of cybersecurity, information security, or software security principles

Additional Information:

Job Posted:
April 11, 2026

Employment Type:

Fulltime

Work Type:

On-site work

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