Principal/ Senior Software Engineer | Backend & Cloud (Cortex Cloud)

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 As a Senior or Principal Software Engineer in Cortex Cloud, you will contribute to the development and scaling of cloud-native security solutions for enterprise organizations. This role involves working within an established team to evolve a high-traffic product, with a focus on refining architecture, optimizing the technology stack, and maintaining engineering standards. Your responsibilities include writing reliable code, influencing product direction, and designing distributed systems. You will be expected to make technical decisions that impact the long-term stability and performance of cloud workload protection services. AI Integration & Engineering Workflow A core component of our development process is the use of AI. Rather than basic code completion, we integrate AI assistants as functional components of our workflow. Our team utilizes a multi-agent AI system (IDEX/ProDex) that assists across the development lifecycle: from planning and architecture to code analysis and security reviews. In this role, you will: Work with AI Tools: Utilize platforms such as Gemini, Claude, and Cursor for tasks beyond code generation, including root-cause analysis, system design reviews, and architectural assessment. Develop AI-Augmented Workflows: Help refine how AI is integrated into the SDLC, including the orchestration of agents and the development of internal tools that extend AI capabilities across our codebase. Maintain Quality Standards: While AI assists in increasing velocity, you are responsible for the technical output. This includes critical review of all generated code and ensuring that AI-assisted work aligns with our architectural requirements and security benchmarks. Interact with Specialized Agents: Coordinate with AI agents (Product, Architecture, Security) that operate on shared context to assist in managing complex engineering tasks. We are looking for engineers who are interested in leveraging AI as a technical tool to manage complexity and who want to contribute to the practical application of human-AI collaboration in a cloud environment. Qualifications Your Experience Backend Engineering: 5+ years of experience building and maintaining production-grade distributed systems. Languages: Proficiency in Go (Golang) is a strong advantage. We are open to engineers with deep expertise in other backend languages (Java, Python, Rust, C#, or Node.js) who are willing to transition to a Go-primary stack and have a focus on clean, well-tested code. Fundamentals: Strong grasp of system design, data structures, and algorithms in high-scale cloud environments. Standards: Experience with CI/CD, comprehensive testing (unit, integration, E2E), and rigorous code reviews. Cloud: Proficiency in AWS, GCP, or Azure, including cloud-native services. Reliability: Experience with observability (monitoring, logging, tracing) and system profiling. Education: B.Sc. or M.Sc. in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or equivalent technical/military experience. Advantages Advanced Go: Deep experience with concurrency and memory management patterns. Distributed SaaS: Background in managing multi-tenant, cloud-based SaaS at scale. Cybersecurity: Familiarity with threat detection or cloud security infrastructure. AI Systems: Interest in agentic workflows or prompt engineering in production. 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.