Sr Principal Engineer Software ADEM (Autonomous Digital Experience Management) - Palo Alto Networks

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks® everything starts and ends with our mission:

Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.
Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. We are a company built on the foundation of challenging and disrupting the way things are done, and we’re looking for innovators who are as committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity as we are.

Who We Are

We take our mission of protecting the digital way of life seriously. 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. This includes our FLEXBenefits wellbeing spending account with over 1,000 eligible items selected by employees, our mental and financial health resources, and our personalized learning opportunities - just to name a few!

At Palo Alto Networks, we believe in the power of collaboration and value in-person interactions. This is why our employees generally work full time from our office with flexibility offered where needed. This setup fosters casual conversations, problem-solving, and trusted relationships. Our goal is to create an environment where we all win with precision.

Your Career

Palo Alto Networks' ADEM (Autonomous Digital Experience Management) group is seeking an accomplished Senior Principal Software Engineer with expertise in developing client-side software for Windows and macOS. You will be part of a world-class engineering team working on innovative solutions in the ADEM domain, focusing on building robust, efficient, and scalable agents for monitoring and enhancing digital experiences. You will collaborate with a multi-functional team of engineers to design and develop software systems that address complex challenges in the ADEM space, driving performance and reliability across diverse environments.

Your Impact

• Responsible for complete software development process including requirement analysis, design, development, deployment, and support
• Collaborate with other cross functional teams in order to create tight integrations of product features and infrastructure
• Write clean, testable, readable, scalable and maintainable code that scales and performs well for thousands of customers
• Participate actively and be a factor to design and development discussions
• Identify areas for improvement within the team and actively push for positive change through new initiatives or optimizations

Your Experience 

• 10+ years of solid experience in programming, design, and development, with a focus on client-side software for Windows and macOS
• Strong understanding of system-level programming, including OS-specific features, file systems, and inter-process communication
• Extensive hands-on (expert level) programming skills in C++, C#, Objective-C, or Swift, with experience building and optimizing desktop applications for Windows and macOS platforms
• Proven expertise in developing cross-platform software solutions, including experience with frameworks like Qt, Electron, or native SDKs for Windows and macOS
• Experience in building multithreaded, concurrent, and performance-optimized applications, with a focus on reliability and low resource consumption
• Strong understanding of network protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP/HTTPS), socket programming, and VPN technologies
• Familiarity with software deployment, auto-update mechanisms, and version management on client devices
• Knowledge of telemetry data collection, including logs, metrics, and traces, and integration with client-side observability tools
• Experience in designing intuitive user interfaces and seamless background processes, ensuring minimal disruption to end-user activities
• Exposure to CI/CD pipelines and tooling specific to desktop application development (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD), and automated testing frameworks for Windows and macOS
• Strong knowledge of system security, including encryption, secure communication, and client-side security best practices
• Experience with packaging, signing, and distributing client software through channels like Windows Installer (MSI), Windows Store, and Apple’s Developer tools and App Store
• Familiarity with performance monitoring, troubleshooting tools, and system diagnostics on both Windows and macOS
• Knowledge of network infrastructure and security concepts is a plus
• M.S./B.S. degree in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering or equivalent military experience required

The Team

Our engineering team is at the core of our products – connected directly to the mission of preventing cyberattacks. We are constantly innovating – challenging the way we, and the industry, think about cybersecurity. Our engineers don’t shy away from building products to solve problems no one has pursued before. We define the industry, instead of waiting for directions. We need individuals who feel comfortable in ambiguity, excited by the prospect of a challenge, and empowered by the unknown risks facing our everyday lives that are only enabled by a secure digital environment.

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/commissioned roles) is expected to be between $170000 - $277000/YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.

Our Commitment

We’re problem solvers that 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.