Principal Security Researcher

Skip to main content Saved Jobs (0) Job Alerts EN Deutsch (German) English (English) 日本語 (Japanese) Search Jobs Keywords Location Search Jobs Close Button Security Awareness! Read more to learn about how we're keeping job seekers safe. Palo Alto Networks is on a mission to keep the digital world safe, and this extends to job seekers as well. Please be mindful of a current bad actor practice of recruiters impersonating us. If you receive an email from someone who does not have a @paloaltonetworks.com email address, please do not respond or engage. Job Details Revolutionizing protection. Define what’s next in cybersecurity. Principal Security Researcher Santa Clara, California, United States Product Engineering Ref ID: JR-019138 Apply Save Job Current Employees, apply here Our MissionAt 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 AreIn 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 SummaryYour CareerYou will be part of the team that builds and delivers the threat detection capabilities powering Palo Alto Networks’ Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP). The ATP detection team is responsible for decoding network protocols, identifying applications, and detecting threats across our enterprise customers’ networks.As a Principal Security Researcher, you will play a key technical leadership role in shaping how ATP detects and prevents real-world attacks. You will propose and drive innovative technical ideas from concept to production, own multiple projects or a broader technical area with measurable impact, and provide technical leadership to other researchers or developers. This is a hands-on leadership role: you are expected to define direction, make technical decisions, and contribute directly to vulnerability research, exploit analysis, and production detection work.Your ImpactShape ATP detection strategy by identifying important vulnerability, exploit, and attack technique areas where new or improved protections are needed.Drive innovative detection ideas from concept to production, delivering measurable improvements in coverage, quality, speed, or scalability.Improve rapid response capability for zero-days, high-impact CVEs, and emerging attack vectors by guiding technical assessment, detection strategy, and release decisions.Raise the quality and consistency of IPS protections by defining detection approaches, validation expectations, and technical review standards for complex cases.Expand the team’s ability to deliver protections at scale through practical automation, detection pipeline improvements, and AI-assisted research workflows.Provide hands-on technical leadership to researchers or developers through...