Principal Software Engineer (Machine Learning)

Palo Alto Networks

3d•Onsite

About The Position

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. Who We Are 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. Job Summary We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer (ML) to drive the development, architecture, and scaling of our cutting-edge, cloud-based Data Security Platform. This infrastructure operates at a massive scale, protecting customers from evolving online threats and attacks. We are looking for a passionate individual contributor who can bring strong software engineering expertise and technical leadership to our team. You should be driven to solve complex problems and eager to expand your skill set.

Requirements

BS/MS in Computer Science/Engineering with a minimum of 10 years of equivalent experience.
Technical Expertise (Backend and Cloud): Extensive experience in backend development using Java, Spring Boot, and J2EE.
Solid hands-on experience with cloud-native platforms such as GCP or AWS, Kubernetes, and Docker.
System Architecture and Performance: Proven expertise and knowledge in microservices, distributed systems, and performance optimization.
Demonstrated success in architecting and designing robust solutions for high-transaction, high-data-volume enterprise or consumer-facing applications.
Development Practices: Proficient in the Agile development process and a strong proponent of Agile methodologies.
A firm commitment to automation testing, consistently striving for high code coverage.
Possesses a proactive, results-oriented approach ("can-do attitude") toward problem-solving, quality assurance, and execution.

Nice To Haves

Strong experience in building Cloud Security products.
Proficiency in developing REST APIs, coupled with expertise in JSON.
Hands-on experience with both NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB) and Relational Databases.
In-depth experience with technologies such as Redis, and Kafka.
Solid experience with modern containerization and cloud technologies, including Docker and Kubernetes.
Experience in major cloud platforms: AWS, GCP, and Azure.
Proven ability to mentor junior team members within a high-performing environment.
Highly Desirable: Experience building products that incorporate ML/AI techniques.
Significant Plus: Experience with CASB or general SaaS application development.
Significant Plus: Background in the data security domain.

Responsibilities

End-to-End Backend Development: Own the complete lifecycle of features and components, including design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Proactively work with peers across teams to shape solutions, ensure product integration alignment, and exchange information.
Technical Leadership & Quality Assurance: Contribute to and drive team-wide efforts, including code reviews, design reviews, and architectural decisions, ensuring high-quality and maintainable code.
Production Stability & Mitigation: Apply a production-oriented approach by providing real-time mitigation and effective solutions to production issues for platform stability.
Independent Feature Delivery & Domain Expertise (Data Security): As a principal engineer, independently drive and collaborate on high-impact feature delivery, specifically within the Data Security domain.
Continuous Improvement & Innovation: Curiously explore new technologies and methodologies to enhance backend services and AI capabilities.
Take full ownership of specific feature segments, demonstrating accountability for quality and timely delivery from conception to release.
Proactively collaborate and exchange information with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration of product features and infrastructure.
Drive innovation by contributing ideas and participating in brainstorming sessions to challenge the approach and enhance product capabilities.
Simplify complex technical problems and focus on details to deliver high-quality, robust, and performant solutions.
Actively share knowledge and mentor other engineers, contributing to a positive and collaborative team dynamic that empowers others.
Continuously seek opportunities for improvement within team processes and the product itself by applying learnings and challenging the status quo curiously and positively.
Serve as a technical expert who helps accelerate the adoption of the very best engineering practices, while staying current on industry innovations, trends, and practices.
Deliver on critical business needs and be recognized across the company as a go-to engineering resource on given domains.
Work willingly with others towards common goals, understanding the responsibilities, activities, and ways to foster relationships.
Act as a role model and mentor who exemplifies the best of the Palo Alto Networks culture.
Deeply understand customers' needs by doing the research to develop insight into their needs and desires, with a consistent focus on usability and scalability.