Principal Security Researcher – Security Automation - Infra & AI Integration (Cortex Cloud)

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!

Job Description

Your Career

Are you passionate about leveraging existing research infrastructure to advance security automation? Do you want to join our Security Automation Response and Remediation Team to transform innovative research into product features?

As a Principal Security Researcher, you will utilize and augment our established BI systems, CI/CD pipelines, and research infrastructure to meet team requirements while incorporating LLM capabilities. You will help mature promising research efforts into production-ready product features that enhance our security automation capabilities. Your expertise in security research, infrastructure utilization, and modern AI technologies will drive the evolution of our security operations.

Your Impact

Leverage existing research infrastructure to enhance security automation workflows across multiple security domains (Endpoint, Identity, DSPM, NDR)
Utilize and augment established BI data systems and CI/CD pipelines to support security research initiatives
Transform research concepts into mature, production-ready product features
Integrate LLMs and AI technologies into existing security workflows to improve detection and response capabilities
Develop tools that extend our current infrastructure to better support security research and remediation planning
Collaborate with product teams to translate successful research outcomes into customer-facing features
Partner with cross-functional teams to integrate your innovations with XDR, EDR, NDR, SOAR, and big data platforms

Qualifications

Your Experience

Strong understanding of research infrastructure, including how to effectively use BI systems, data pipelines, and automation frameworks
Experience working with CI/CD environments and methodologies to support security research initiatives
Familiarity with LLMs and AI applications in cybersecurity, including model integration into security workflows
Solid understanding of security operations, incident response, and threat research
Strong programming skills (Python preferred), with experience in automation scripting
Experience with data analysis and querying large-scale security datasets
Track record of maturing research concepts into production-ready solutions
Proven ability to work independently and as part of a research team
Critical thinker with a strong ability to innovate in security automation and AI integration

Advantages:

Experience working with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP)
Knowledge of how to leverage containerization technologies for research purposes
Experience with XDR/EDR/NDR/SOAR products and how to extend their capabilities
Intimate knowledge and understanding of attack methods and techniques
Experience developing security tools that leverage AI/ML models
Background in transforming security research into product features

Additional Information

The Team

Our research team is at the core of our products and connected directly to the mission of preventing cyberattacks. We are constantly innovating — challenging the way we, and the industry, think about cybersecurity. Our researchers 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.

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.

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.