Senior Security Researcher - Agent ML (Cortex)

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 using cutting-edge technology to help protect the world against cyber threats? Do you live and breathe the cyber security world? Do you want to take part in an innovative and disruptive AI security group that has an impact on many customers?

You will be part of a strong security research and data science team who solve highly complex security challenges using disruptive technologies, ML algorithms and a lot of data.

As part of that, you will take part in the design and development of new groundbreaking AI security solutions which make a direct impact on many customers.

At Palo Alto Networks we value diverse viewpoints and experiences, as we are solving complex cyber security challenges. We are committed to a safe and inclusive workspace.

Your Impact

Be at the forefront of security innovation, building next-gen detection capabilities powered by machine learning, big data, and deep threat intelligence.
Dive deep into low-level systems, reverse engineering, and file-type behavior to uncover novel attack vectors - and then turn that insight into scalable, ML-driven protections.
Work hand-in-hand with rockstar data scientists, engineers, and PMs in a fast-paced, collaborative environment where ideas move quickly from whiteboard to production.
Lead high-impact research initiatives that fuse classic security expertise with modern data science - shaping models, influencing pipelines, and driving real-world protection outcomes.
Be a key player in a multidisciplinary team where your deep security expertise will directly influence ML model design, data pipeline strategy, and real-world product impact.

Qualifications

Your Experience

At least 5 years of experience in cyber security research space
At least 3 years of experience with endpoint security research or offensive \ defensive low-level, file related realms
Proven experience in the low level world, including OS internals, dynamic and static analysis of malware and software and reverse engineering
Proven experience in running end-to-end research POCs from ideas to customer impact solutions including the design, execution, analysis and conclusions of your research, methodologies and outcomes
Investigation skills and critical thinking using analytics, data mining, and data interpretation
Familiarity with analysis of various file types
Proficient hands-on coding skills in Python
Experience with SQL or related query languages
Excellent communication skills - ability to present research results in a clear and meaningful manner

Advantages:

Proficiency in C \ CPP
Experience with data-driven or ML models
Experience with big data platforms (e.g GCP)

Additional Information

The Team

Our engineering 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 engineers 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 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.