Principal/Senior Backend Engineer - XDR (Threat & Detection)

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 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 Description

Your Career

We are building the engine that powers the security validation of the world’s leading cybersecurity products. Our team is developing a complex, high-scale infrastructure that automates attack scenarios and delivers "Environment as a Service" to users across the entire company.

We are looking for a Senior Backend Engineer who is not just a coder, but a system thinker with a wide field of vision. You will be dealing with a system that touches multiple cloud, on-prem providers and services, requiring you to understand how complex distributed components interact.

You will join a group where scalability, and performance are paramount. This is a unique opportunity to build a platform used by everyone—from Sales Engineers demonstrating our capabilities to Core Developers ensuring our products can stop the latest threats.

Your Impact

• Architect and Build: You will design and develop high-performance backend microservices using Python (FastAPI) that orchestrate complex attack simulations and infrastructure setup.
• Scale and Orchestrate: You will manage the complexity of parallel services and containerized components (Docker/Kubernetes/Amazon ECS/etc.), ensuring our infrastructure can handle high concurrency and massive scale.
• Drive Efficiency: You will build tools that reduce testing cycles from days to hours, directly impacting the developer experience and the speed at which we release products.
• Empower the Business: You will create a platform that is robust enough for developers but accessible enough for non-technical teams, directly aiding in the demonstration, marketing and sale of our products.
• Data Integration: You will implement efficient data handling and storage strategies using BigQuery, MongoDB, and Redis to ensure real-time availability and historical analysis.
  
  

Qualifications

Your Experience

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in backend software development, with a strong emphasis on Python.
• Deep experience with modern Python frameworks, specifically FastAPI.
• Proven track record of designing and maintaining Microservices or distributed systems. You understand the complexities of inter-service communication and system architecture.
• Experience working with containerization and orchestration (Docker & Kubernetes) in a production environment.
• Strong experience with database technologies, specifically MongoDB, Redis, and data warehousing solutions like BigQuery.
• Ability to see the "Big Picture"—you can navigate a system that interacts with multiple external areas and cloud providers.
• Low-level understanding of Operating Systems (Linux/Windows internals) - advantage
• Background in Cybersecurity or experience with attack simulation/red-teaming tools - advantage
• Strong Networking knowledge (TCP/IP, HTTP/S, DNS) - advantage
• Experience with multiple Cloud Providers (AWS, GCP, Azure) - advantage
  
  

Additional Information

The Team

Our team acts as a force multiplier for the entire organization. We are the builders of the "Red Button" that simulates real-world cyber threats, and the architects of the environments where those threats are neutralized. We serve a diverse user base, ranging from low-level kernel developers to high-level sales professionals. We are a team that values autonomy and broad vision. We don't just write scripts; we build robust, scalable platforms that define how Palo Alto Networks tests and validates its security posture. If you are excited by the prospect of building infrastructure that "touches everything" and solving complex engineering challenges, this is the place for you.

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 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.