Principal Test Engineer

Company Description

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks everything starts and ends with our mission:

Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.
Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. We are a company built on the foundation of challenging and disrupting the way things are done, and we're looking for innovators who are as committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity as we are.

Who We Are

We take our mission of protecting the digital way of life seriously. We are relentless in protecting our customers and we believe that the unique ideas of every member of our team contributes to our collective success. Our values were crowdsourced by employees and are brought to life through each of us everyday - from disruptive innovation and collaboration, to execution. From showing up for each other with integrity to creating an environment where we all feel included.

As a member of our team, you will be shaping the future of cybersecurity. We work fast, value ongoing learning, and we respect each employee as a unique individual. Knowing we all have different needs, our development and personal wellbeing programs are designed to give you choice in how you are supported. This includes our FLEXBenefits wellbeing spending account with over 1,000 eligible items selected by employees, our mental and financial health resources, and our personalized learning opportunities - just to name a few!

At Palo Alto Networks, we believe in the power of collaboration and value in-person interactions. This is why our employees generally work full time from our office with flexibility offered where needed. This setup fosters casual conversations, problem-solving, and trusted relationships. Our goal is to create an environment where we all win with precision.

Job Description

Your Career

At Palo Alto Networks, we build the world's most advanced cybersecurity platforms. The manufacturing operations team is responsible for the manufacturing capabilities to build our next generation network firewalls. We are looking for a talented test engineer with extensive experience in developing diagnostics and validation. The ideal candidate is expected to have a deep test design knowledge of the intricacies of high speed networks, and be able to design and build test suite for factory deployment. Primary responsibilities include developing, documenting, maintaining and executing scalable, high performance automated test coverage solutions using JavaScript, Python, and other languages/tools where appropriate. Candidates are expected to have a passion for replicable, structured approaches to automated testing and a desire to collaborate with senior application architects and developers in the creation of automation solutions that other development team members can contribute to independently.

This is an in office role in our HQ (Santa Clara, CA)

Your Impact

• Lead the design and development of manufacturing test automation frameworks for complex firewall and security appliance products, ensuring high reliability, scalability, and ease of deployment across global sites.
• Drive Design for Testability (DFT) and manufacturing excellence by influencing product architecture early in the development cycle-actively participating in PRD discussions, system and diagnostic design, schematic and layout reviews.
• Architect and implement modular, extensible, and maintainable test automation software for new hardware platforms, with integration into remote instrumentation, data acquisition, and measurement systems.
• Provide technical leadership and mentoring to junior engineers, and act as a key liaison between R&D, manufacturing operations, and Contract Manufacturers (CMs).
• Lead root cause analysis and provide advanced debugging tools and strategic guidance to CMs to resolve systemic manufacturing issues.
• Work cross-functionally with Program Management, Hardware, Software, and Operations teams to align test coverage with product requirements and delivery timelines.
• Drive the standardization of test platforms and promote best practices in automation, code reuse, and continuous improvement.
• Evaluate and introduce emerging technologies or test methodologies to ensure the team stays ahead of evolving manufacturing and diagnostic needs.
• Operate autonomously with minimal oversight, demonstrating strong ownership, strategic thinking, and execution capability across multiple projects or product lines.
• Represent manufacturing test engineering in executive or technical reviews, providing insights into product readiness, risk mitigation, and coverage metrics.

Qualifications

Your Experience

• Extensive hands-on experience in programming, with a strong emphasis on automated test development and validation in a manufacturing environment.
• Proficient in multiple programming languages, including C/C++, Python, Node.js, and Tcl/Tk, with the ability to architect scalable and maintainable test frameworks.
• Solid understanding of software development best practices, including the use of version control systems such as Perforce and SVN.
  Experience with relational database design and management, particularly MySQL; ability to store, query, and analyze test data effectively.
• Proven track record in defining, designing, and documenting manufacturing test requirements for complex hardware products.
• Strong familiarity with network protocols (e.g., Ethernet, TCP/IP) and hardware bus protocols such as I2C, SPI, UART, and PCIe.
• Comfortable working in a Linux-based environment; scripting and automation in shell/bash is a plus.
• Experience integrating and using instrumentation APIs and device drivers (e.g., SCPI, VISA, USB, GPIB) for automated control of test equipment.
• Familiar with bootloaders and system initialization processes, including U-Boot and BIOS/UEFI.
• Ability to read and interpret schematics, layout files, and system block diagrams, and use this information for test development and debug.
• Demonstrated strong debugging and troubleshooting skills, with the ability to isolate hardware, software, and firmware issues in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams (HW, SW, Ops) and providing technical leadership in a product development or manufacturing setting.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to document test procedures and interface effectively with global teams and contract manufacturers.

Additional Information

The Team

Our World-Wide Operations team is a team of professionals with extensive business and project management experience in the contract manufacturing industry. This team has a proven track record of success in all aspects of supply chain and project management. We're dedicated to growing production, reducing operating costs, and improving product quality by utilizing World-class Manufacturing concepts to optimize supply chain processes and strategies. Our manufacturing team leadership establishes clear objectives, defining and implementing profit improvement and profiling inventory management, valuation, and lead-time improvement programs. If you have a passion for extensive end-to-end manufacturing and supply chain with the knowledge and experience, we want you!

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/commissioned roles) is expected to be between $133000 - $215500/YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.

Our Commitment

We're problem solvers that 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.