Senior Software Engineer (cortex Xpanse Vulnerability)

Senior Software Engineer

At Palo Alto Networks, everything starts and ends with our mission: Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life. 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.

The Cortex Vulnerability Intelligence Platform team is looking for a Senior Software Engineer. This team is crucial for collecting, processing, and presenting vulnerability intelligence. Our platform holds an expansive knowledge of CVE and non-CVE vulnerability data, enabling direct investigation and precise vulnerability detection in software. This is a foundational role for Cortex's security offerings.

As a Senior Software Engineer, you'll be a pivotal leader, responsible for:

• Leading technical strategy across multiple teams, influencing key architectural and design decisions.
• Helping to architect and build high-impact features for the Vulnerability Intelligence Platform and supporting Cortex modules.
• Assisting in architectural sessions across Cortex to design scalable solutions that meet diverse team requirements.
• Mentoring engineers and fostering a culture of technical excellence and best practices.
• Championing new technologies and improving development practices within the engineering organization.
• Collaborating intensely with teams to solve complex problems and reduce technical debt.
• Taking full ownership of projects, from concept to production, ensuring high-quality delivery and ongoing support.

We're looking for a seasoned engineer with:

• 5+ years of software engineering experience.
• Strong proficiency in Go.
• Deep expertise and strong opinions on software development best practices.
• Ability to lead across research, design, prototyping, and implementation phases.
• Working knowledge of at least one major cloud platform (GCP, AWS, or Azure), preferably GCP.
• Experience with CI/CD processes.
• Exceptional problem-solving skills.
• Proven technical team leadership.

Nice to haves:

• Experience with or interest in frontend development.
• Experience in vulnerability management.
• Experience handling raw internet data.
• Knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks and vulnerability methodologies.
• Basic understanding of exploit mechanics.

The Cortex Xpanse group is building an Exposure Management product to bring together the Palo Alto Networks proactive security product suite. As part of this effort, we are expanding the Cortex Vulnerability Assessment Research team and we're looking for an experienced engineer to join us. At Xpanse, we believe that making the internet a safer place for our customers matters. The Unified Vulnerability and Exposure Management group builds the software that provides our customers visibility into their behind-the-firewall attack surface, allowing them to prioritize and remediate critical vulnerabilities using the XSIAM platform.

In this role, you will work with a highly talented team of engineers building a new product that leverages cutting-edge AI technology. You will drive technical designs and critical decisions related to the architecture, deployment strategy, and capabilities of the Vulnerability Assessment Research system. As you support your team, you will also be a part of the team of technical leaders building Unified Vulnerability and Exposure Management. You will collaborate closely with other engineers in the group and with other teams across the Cortex product suite. As part of this, you will help shape Palo Alto Networks vision of a proactive security platform. Your expertise will help secure the world's most important organizations and impact the future of the cybersecurity industry.

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/commissioned roles) is expected to be between $165,000/YR - $210,000/YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.