
Senior Staff Engineer Software (Cortex Platform)
Required skills
- Python
- Go
- RDBMS
- NoSQL
- GCP
- AWS
- Azure
- Docker
- Kubernetes
- CI/CD
Nice to have
- Containerization
- Orchestration
Role summary
Palo Alto Networks is seeking a Senior Staff Engineer for their Cortex Platform team. This role involves leading end-to-end backend development of features and core components for Cortex XSOAR, XDR, and XSIAM. The engineer will design, build, and maintain high-scale, distributed server-side applications, contribute to architectural decisions, and collaborate with peers and customers. The position requires a Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience, 5+ years of software engineering experience with scalable server-side applications, proficiency in Python or Go, and experience with RDBMS, NoSQL, distributed cloud products, and microservices architecture. Preferred qualifications include cloud platform experience (GCP, AWS, Azure) and containerization/orchestration technologies (Docker, Kubernetes).
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
The Team
Cortex Platform - The Cortex Platform team is responsible for developing and maintaining the backend of Cortex products, including Cortex XSOAR, Cortex XDR, and Cortex XSIAM. The team focuses on developing, innovating, and scaling the Cortex Platform, along with contributing to shared Cortex infrastructures and components, to bring value to thousands of customers.
Job Summary
We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join our Cortex backend engineering group. In this role, you will be pivotal in developing, innovating, and scaling the Cortex Platform, contributing to shared infrastructures and components. This position is for a passionate engineer with a can-do attitude, who thrives on solving complex problems and delivering significant value to our global customer base by enhancing our Cortex product suite.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the end-to-end backend development of features and core components through the entire lifecycle, from design and development to testing, deployment, and maintenance.
- Proactively collaborate and exchange information with peers across different teams and disciplines to design and integrate effective solutions.
- Engage with customers to understand their challenges and provide robust technical solutions that address their day-to-day operational needs.
- Contribute to team-wide technical and architectural decisions, participating actively in code and design reviews to ensure quality and alignment.
- Design, build, and maintain high-scale, distributed server-side applications, ensuring reliability and performance.
- Focus on the details of implementation to ensure the simplicity and maintainability of code for shared Cortex infrastructures and components.
- Apply learning from new technical challenges to continuously improve system architecture and development processes.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
- 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, including designing and building scalable server-side applications.
- Proven experience with a variety of database technologies, including both RDBMS and NoSQL systems.
- Demonstrated experience in designing and working with distributed cloud products and microservices architecture.
- Proficiency in Python or Go programming languages.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field.
- Hands-on experience with major cloud platforms such as GCP, AWS, or Azure.
- Experience with containerization and orchestration technologies like Docker and Kubernetes.
- Familiarity with modern CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure as code.
LI-HYBRID
LI-NP1
Compensation Disclosure
The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and work location. For candidates who receive an offer at the posted level, the starting base salary (for non-sales roles) or base salary + commission target (for sales/com-missioned roles) is expected to be the annual range listed below. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.
- /yrOur 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?: YesSample Palo Alto Networks interview questions
- 1
What are the key components and considerations in designing a real-time newsfeed?
system designmedium - 2
What maximum bandwidth does a switched Fibre Channel network support?
technicalmedium - 3
Pacific and Atlantic Water Flow Calculate water flow from a matrix to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Input: heights = [[2,1],[1,2]] Output: [[0,0],[0,1],[1,0],[1,1]] Explanation: All cells can flow to both oceans because water can move to adjacent cells of equal or lower height or directly off the edges.
technicalmedium - 4
Aggressive Cows Maximize the minimum distance between aggressive cows in stalls. Input: stalls = [0,4,3,7,10,9], cows = 3 Output: 4 Explanation: Placing the cows at positions 0, 4, and 10 yields a maximum possible minimum distance of 4 between any two cows.
technicalmedium - 5
What series of events take place when you type traceroute and hit enter?
technicalmedium
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