Principal Enterprise Network Security Architect

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

2d • $154,000 - $249,500 • Onsite

About The Position

The Team
Information Technology - Working at a high-tech cybersecurity company within Information Technology is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You’ll join the brightest minds in technology, creating, building, and supporting tools and enabling our global teams on the front line of defense against cyberattacks. We’re connected by one mission but driven by the impact of that mission and what it means to protect our way of life in the digital age. Join a dynamic and fast-paced team of people who feel excited by the prospect of a challenge and feel a thrill at resolving technical gaps that inhibit productivity.

Requirements

• Minimum Bachelors degree with relevant coursework and 12+ years of progressive experience in enterprise networking and network security engineering, with a demonstrable track record of leadership in large-scale environments.
• Deep expertise in Zero Trust architecture, advanced network segmentation, and Proven experience designing and securing massive, global hybrid-cloud infrastructures (AWS, Azure, or GCP paired with on-prem).
• Extensive hands-on experience architecting and implementing security automation and infrastructure-as-code frameworks Advanced capability in writing infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Ansible) and building CI/CD pipelines. This is an automation-first environment.
• Experience with leveraging AI/ML tools to simplify operational tasks and build auto-healing capabilities.
• Strong understanding of AI and Large Language Model (LLM) architectures, including AI application components, data flows, APIs, and model integration. Ability to design and secure AI-enabled solutions by addressing identity and access management, data privacy, prompt injection, model security, API protection, governance, and regulatory compliance
• Exceptional expertise in firewall technologies, VPN, IDS/IPS, NAC, and advanced micro segmentation strategies.
• Mastery of routing, switching, and TCP/IP protocols; significant experience with Arista, Juniper, or equivalent enterprise-grade network hardware.
• Must be local to SF bay area

Nice To Haves

• A deep and proven background with Palo Alto Networks products and platforms (e.g., NGFW, Panorama, Prisma Access).
• Superior troubleshooting and analytical skills to diagnose and resolve the most complex security issues.
• Exceptional communication and technical leadership skills with a proven ability to drive cross-functional collaboration and influence strategic decisions.

Responsibilities

• Own the architectural blueprint and governance for our global network security footprint, ensuring scalability across hybrid environments.
• Define, develop, and enforce enterprise-wide security policies, including segmentation, access control, and traffic inspection, serving as a subject matter expert.
• Drive the integration of security into all layers of network design, proactively collaborating with security, infrastructure, and IT teams to ensure alignment.
• Proactively identify vulnerabilities and lead complex remediation efforts across on-prem and cloud environments, simplifying complex problems to establish best practices.
• Leverage Palo Alto Networks products and third-party platforms to enhance network visibility, protection, and threat intelligence.
• Champion and implement advanced network security automation using scripting, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure-as-code best practices, setting the technical direction.
• Serve as the ultimate escalation authority during critical security events, designing long-term architectural remediations to ensure the same issue never happens twice.
• Provide technical mentorship to senior engineers, contribute significantly to our architectural standards, and foster a strong security-first culture.

Benefits

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior