Principal AI Automation / Test Engineer (Cloud NGFW)

Palo Alto Networks•Office - USA - CA - Headquarters, CA

19d•$187,000 - $302,500•Onsite

About The Position

Palo Alto Networks' Next-Gen Firewall Cloud Security team is seeking a Principal Software Automation/Test Engineer with expertise in Public and Private Cloud Security testing and automation for a technical leadership role. You will join a world-class software QA engineering team focused on groundbreaking Cloud security products. As a Principal Software Automation/Test Engineer, you will be responsible for building, automating, and executing functional testing scenarios for our products in virtualized environments. You should have hands-on experience with a wide range of networking technologies. You will collaborate closely with development and product management teams, testing and presenting results to identify new approaches. You will contribute to design discussions and help shape the future direction of our software. Your role is crucial in driving the efficiency and reliability of our products through thorough testing to identify potential risks, bugs, or issues, ensuring an exemplary product experience for end-users. You are driven to achieve the highest quality in your work, actively seeking out and correcting problems within the code, and enjoying the challenge of a code-based scavenger hunt that involves testing, providing feedback, and suggesting improvements for our product's environment. Our tech stack is deeply integrated with AI, and you will ensure quality in this rapidly evolving environment where AI powers both the products and the development processes.

Requirements

12+ years of related experience
Deep understanding of testing methodologies and experience with functional testing
Experience testing Firewall or Network Security appliances
Proven track record of building autonomous testing systems or AI-powered quality engineering tools.
Demonstrated passion for applying innovative AI-based tools to accelerate coding and testing processes
Design, migrate, and optimize legacy operational processes into AI-driven, autonomous workflows.
Provision and manage AI traffic across platforms like AWS Bedrock and Google Vertex AI, utilizing AI Gateways to ensure optimal rate limiting, cost control, and observability.
Proficient with Python scripting and should be able to run and debug existing scripts
Experience and Good domain knowledge with cloud-based deployments (AWS/Azure/GCP/OCI preferred)
Experience with QA test or automation teams involved with Cloud and Network security and Rest APIs
Experience with Linux and open source tools is desired
Knowledge using commercial test tools such as Spirent Avalanche, IX Load or Breaking Point is desirable
MSEE/CS or BS/CS career-level of experience in the Networking Security industry, or equivalent experience or equivalent military experience required

Responsibilities

Participate in all aspects of QA product lifecycle - Scoping, test case creation and maintenance, feature, regression, execution, and automation
Work cross-functionally with Product Management, Software, and Quality Engineering teams to deliver cloud security products to the market in a timely fashion with excellent quality.
Responsible for functional testing of Palo Alto Networks’ next-generation VM/CN firewalls and Cloud NGFW in various cloud providers.
Drive automation within and across cross-functional teams, striving for technical and operational excellence in every step of the release.
Develop tools and infrastructure to improve the quality and efficiency of testing.
Work closely with customer support and field teams to improve end-customer outcomes.
Learn and implement test cases that provide insight into customer deployment scenarios.