Principal Software Engineer (Cortex Platform)

Palo Alto Networks • Santa Clara, CA

19h • $140,000 - $230,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

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.

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 Haves

• 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.

Responsibilities

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees