Principal Engineer Software (Backend)

Our Mission

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

The Team
Our engineering team is at the core of our products - connected directly to the mission of preventing cyberattacks. We are constantly innovating - challenging how we and the industry think about cybersecurity. Our engineers don't shy away from building products to solve problems no one has pursued before.
We define the industry, instead of waiting for directions. We need individuals who feel comfortable in ambiguity, excited by the prospect of a challenge, and empowered by the unknown risks facing our everyday lives that are only enabled by a secure digital environment.
Job Summary
With Prisma AIRS, Palo Alto Networks is building the world's most comprehensive AI security platform. Organizations are increasingly building complex ecosystems of AI models, applications, and agents, creating dynamic new attack surfaces with risks that traditional security approaches cannot address. In response, Prisma AIRS delivers model security, posture management, AI red teaming, and runtime protection. Our customers can confidently deploy AI-driven innovation while ensuring a formidable security posture from development through runtime.
We are looking for a highly skilled and experienced Senior Staff Engineer to join the Prisma AIRS Model Security team. In this role, you will play a crucial part in designing, developing, and optimizing robust, scalable, and high-performance backend systems that power our cutting-edge AI security platform.
This role is located at our dynamic downtown Seattle office, and in office 3 days a week.
Key Responsibilities
Design and build innovative, scalable software products to ensure our customers can use AI securely
Own new features/functionality from start to finish. Participate in all phases of the product development cycle, from definition, design, through implementation and test. Ensure that applications are production-ready, scalable, and reliable
Collaborate with product managers, frontend software engineers, product designers, and infrastructure engineers to shape the future of Prisma AIRS Model Security
Operate production services with hundreds of enterprise customers as a true owner, ensuring that Prisma AIRS customers experience top-notch reliability, availability, and performance
Develop expertise in new technologies and keep up with the rapidly evolving AI security landscape

Qualifications
Preferred Qualifications
Expertise in at least one programming language such as modern Python (type hints, Pydantic, etc), Go, Java, C#, or C++
8+ years experience in designing large distributed system and web services in the cloud
Experience writing comprehensive unit, integration, and end-to-end tests
Experience with a major cloud provider like Google Cloud Platform (preferred), AWS, or Azure
Experience with CI/CD pipelines, GitLab, and Grafana is a plus
Experience partnering with front end engineers (collaborate on schema required to power a UI, for example) is a plus
Excellent written and verbal communication, able to collaborate and convey ideas effectively
Self-disciplined, self-managed, self-motivated, and strong sense of ownership, urgency, and drive
Ready to understand and dissect new technology stacks quickly
Excited about working in an agile and fast paced environment.
BS or MS in Computer Science, a related field, or equivalent professional experience or equivalent military experience

Compensation Disclosure

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.

$147,000.00 - $237,500.00/yr

Our Commitment

We're trailblazers that dream big, take risks, and challenge cybersecurity's status quo. It's simple: we can't accomplish our mission without diverse teams innovating, together.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with a disability. If you require assistance or accommodation due to a disability or special need, please contact us at

Palo Alto Networks is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity in our workplace, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or other legally protected characteristics.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?: Yes