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.
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 Senior Principal Software Architect to define and drive the long-term architectural vision for our Identity Platform. In this role, you will lead the design and evolution of our next-generation Identity services, ensuring they meet the highest standards of scalability, security, resiliency, and operational excellence. As one of the organization's senior technical leaders, you will shape architecture across multiple product areas, influence strategic technology decisions, and partner with Engineering, Product Management, Security, and Architecture leadership to build a world-class Identity platform. You will establish architectural standards, mentor engineering teams and architects, and drive modernization initiatives that accelerate innovation while reducing technical debt.
What you'll do
Define and evolve the long-term architecture and technology strategy for the Identity Platform.
Lead the design of large-scale, cloud-native SaaS systems that meet demanding scalability, security, availability, and performance requirements.
Establish architectural principles, design standards, and engineering best practices across multiple teams and organizations.
Partner with Product Management, Engineering, Security, and fellow architects to translate business and cybersecurity requirements into scalable technical solutions.
Lead architecture reviews, identify technical risks, and guide teams toward successful implementation.
Mentor architects and senior engineers, fostering technical excellence and growing future technical leaders.
Represent the Identity organization in architecture forums and contribute to the broader engineering strategy across Palo Alto Networks.
Requirements
12+ years of software engineering experience, including several years in software architecture or principal engineering roles.
Proven experience architecting and delivering large-scale cloud-native SaaS platforms.
2+ years of practical experience architecting and deploying AI/ML capabilities, with deep familiarity in modern GenAI patterns (LLMs, RAG, Vector Databases, Fine-Tuning, Agentic Workflows, and GenAIOps).
Strong understanding of AI security, prompt injection defenses, privacy considerations, and cost-management models in cloud environments.
Deep expertise in distributed systems, microservices, asynchronous architectures, and enterprise software design patterns.
Strong programming background in .NET, Java, Python, Go, or similar technologies.
Extensive experience with AWS (preferred) or Azure cloud architectures.
Demonstrated experience leading architecture for multiple enterprise-scale products from concept through production.
Strong understanding of scalability, resiliency, observability, security, and non-functional requirements.
Excellent communication, technical writing, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence executive and engineering leadership.
Nice to have
Deep understanding of Identity and Access Management (IAM), including Directory Services, Authentication, Authorization, SSO, OAuth2/OIDC, SAML, and RBAC/ABAC.
Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, Infrastructure-as-Code, and modern CI/CD platforms.
Experience designing multi-tenant SaaS platforms and operating services at global scale.
Strong background in Agile software development and iterative architecture practices.
Experience mentoring architects and leading cross-organizational technical initiatives.
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 accommodations@paloaltonetworks.com.
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? No. Please note that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.