Palo Alto Networks' Cortex Cloud is looking for a Principal Backend Engineer to design and scale the core backend infrastructure for the Cortex Cloud Platform, impacting the security posture of thousands of customers across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
Requirements
- 7+ years of progressive software engineering experience, with a heavy focus on developing cloud-native applications at scale.
- Expert-level programming skills in at least one of: Python, Go, or Java.
- Deep practical experience in distributed systems architecture and microservices.
- Proven ability to build and deliver high-volume services, leveraging technologies like ElasticSearch, Pub/Sub, REST APIs, and Serverless computing.
- A strong understanding of public cloud design considerations (security, networking, load balancing) and the limitations of building services at a global scale.
- Experience acting as a hands-on tech lead or architect, making data-driven trade-off judgments.
Responsibilities
- Lead the design and implementation of large-scale, resilient distributed systems.
- Serve as the project lead, aligning key stakeholders—from Product Management and UX to fellow engineering teams—to ensure seamless, timely delivery.
- Act as a technical consultant and collaborator across team boundaries, proactively identifying and mitigating risks in design and execution.
- Design, build, and optimize data models and high-performance queries using cutting-edge technologies like MySQL and BigQuery to handle massive data throughput.
- Actively mentor and guide engineers across the department, raising the bar for engineering excellence and best practices.
Other
- Exceptional troubleshooting abilities and a "can-do" attitude when faced with complex, ambiguous problems.
- The compensation package also includes restricted stock units (RSUs) and a bonus.
- We are committed to an inclusive and diverse workplace and believe 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.
- Palo Alto Networks is an equal opportunity employer.
