Senior Director, NAM Support (Network Security)

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

5d•$244,800 - $336,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Director of Network Security Support Engineering will lead our Americas NGFW technical organization. This is not a traditional operations role; it is an engineering-intensive leadership position designed for an AI-ready, architect-level technical leader. You will sit at the intersection of Enterprise Support, Product Architecture, and Core Engineering, fielding tier-4/developer-level escalations for our Network Security portfolio and driving the architectural feedback loop to engineer friction out of the product. Your Impact AI-Native Engineering: Create and execute the technical roadmap to transition NetSec support from reactive triage to predictive resolution. You will directly oversee the implementation of AI/LLM models specialized in automated log parsing (TSF files) and real-time telemetry analysis to radically lower MTTR. Tier-4 Architectural Escalations: Serve as the final technical escalation point for Fortune 500 CIOs/CISOs during critical, complex network outages or security incidents. You must be capable of conducting deep-dive root cause analysis (RCA) alongside Core Engineering and principal architects. Engineering Interlock & Product Influence: Build a programmatic, bi-directional feedback loop with Product Management and Development Engineering. Translate complex, systemic field issues into architectural requirements to ensure future software releases are inherently more supportable.

Requirements

15+ years’ experience in a high growth SaaS/Cloud Enterprise Technical Support Organization, or similar experience.
At least 3+ years in a Senior Director leadership capacity leading geographically dispersed teams.
Strong technical background with expertise in cybersecurity domains such as network security and cloud security.
Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to build and maintain relationships with sales, product, and engineering teams.
Exceptional communication and leadership skills, with a proven ability to lead and inspire diverse, global teams.
Demonstrated experience leading global direct/indirect teams of +500 across multiple languages and cultures.
Proven track record of managing global technical support teams and driving rapid and efficient resolution of complex technical issues.
Demonstrated experience in process optimization, automation, and leveraging technology to enhance support delivery.
Strong business acumen with experience in managing budgets, resources, and P&L responsibilities.
Prior experience managing networking or enterprise security product services.
STEM Bachelor’s Degree required or equivalent experience.
Deep technical expertise in leveraging AI/LLM frameworks to radically automate customer engineering.
Proven track record of moving organizations from reactive ticketing to predictive support (e.g., automated TSF log parsing, real-time telemetry analysis, and self-healing workflows).
Strong technical fluency in Palo Alto Networks' core architecture.
Ability to comfortably navigate conversations regarding PAN-OS internals, control vs. data plane separation, and deployment across physical (PA-Series) and cloud (VM/CN-Series) form factors.
Executive presence paired with deep technical authority.
Ability to act as a "trusted advisor" to Fortune 500 CISOs during critical outages, while simultaneously holding your own in architectural deep-dives with Core Engineering and Principal Developers to drive root-cause resolutions.
Thought leadership with the ability to look at systemic field failures and translate them into a roadmap for product hardening.
Focus on the long-term mission of engineering friction out of the platform rather than just managing queue metrics.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or MBA preferred.

Responsibilities

Create and execute the technical roadmap to transition NetSec support from reactive triage to predictive resolution.
Oversee the implementation of AI/LLM models specialized in automated log parsing (TSF files) and real-time telemetry analysis to radically lower MTTR.
Serve as the final technical escalation point for Fortune 500 CIOs/CISOs during critical, complex network outages or security incidents.
Conduct deep-dive root cause analysis (RCA) alongside Core Engineering and principal architects.
Build a programmatic, bi-directional feedback loop with Product Management and Development Engineering.
Translate complex, systemic field issues into architectural requirements to ensure future software releases are inherently more supportable.
Create a high-performance, customer-obsessed culture across a globally dispersed team of 100+ technical professionals.
Inspire, attract, and scale elite technical talent (such as TAC escalation engineers and network security architects).
Drive major architectural and operational improvements that measurably lower MTTR and optimize team efficiency.
Manage budgets, resources, and P&L responsibilities.
Manage networking or enterprise security product services.