# Senior Principal Software Engineer, Tools & Platforms (Cortex) at Palo Alto Networks

- Company: Palo Alto Networks
- What the company does: Implement Zero Trust, Secure your Network, Cloud workloads, Hybrid Workforce, Leverage Threat Intelligence & Security Consulting. Cybersecurity Services & Education for CISO’s, Head of Infrastructure, Network Security Engineers, Cloud Architects & SOC Managers. Backed by Greylock, Sequoia and Felicis.
- Company website: https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/
- Type: Startups
- Level: Principal and up
- Location: Office - USA - CA - Headquarters
- Work setup: On-site
- Posted: 2026-11-04
- Apply by: 2026-12-19
- Apply: https://paloaltonetworks.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/panwexternalcareers/job/Office---USA---CA---Headquarters/Senior-Principal-Software-Engineer--Tools---Platforms--Cortex-_JR-024031?utm_source=1752vc&utm_medium=careers
- Page: https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/palo-alto-networks-senior-principal-software-engineer-tools-and-platforms-cortex/

## About the role

We are seeking a Sr. Principal Software Engineer who is first and foremost a software craftsman with a passion for building innovative tools, platforms, and infrastructure that enable engineering excellence at scale. This is a highly influential technical leadership role for an engineer who combines deep software engineering expertise with strategic thinking and a proven ability to shape technology direction across multiple teams and organizations. Found on 1752vc Careers, the job board for startup and VC roles.

## What they're looking for

- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
- 9+ years of hands-on experience designing, building, and operating large-scale distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, networking, storage, and compute platforms
- 9+ years of deep expertise with one or more major cloud providers (AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud) and modern cloud-native architectures
- 9+ years of extensive experience developing, deploying, and operating microservices on Kubernetes using modern cloud-native technologies
- 7+ years of extensive hands-on programming skills in Python and/or GO
- Demonstrated expertise in system architecture, scalability, reliability, performance optimization, security, observability, and operational excellence


Source: 1752vc Careers, https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/palo-alto-networks-senior-principal-software-engineer-tools-and-platforms-cortex/