> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/2711114-sr-principal-data-engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/2711114-sr-principal-data-engineer). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md).

---

# Sr. Principal Data Engineer

- **Company:** Palo Alto Networks
- **Location:** Santa Clara, CA, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $183,600.0 - $297,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Cloud Computing, Computer Programming, Computer Networks, Computer Engineering, Distributed Systems, Memory Management, Network Security, Machine Learning, Network Protocols, Software Engineering, Data Streaming, System Programming, TCP/IP, Multithreading, Computer Networking Systems, High Performance Computing, Concurrency, Caching, Cyber Threat Analysis, Information Technology, Low Latency, Grpc
- **Published:** September 4, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.techcareers.com/job.asp?id=3377291867&tx=JR4337FFP&pt=1&aff=0B19D771-A501-4A5E-8338-2A822B784D54&utm_source=Job%20Feed&utm_medium=textkernel&utm_campaign=DE&utm_term=0B19D771-A501-4A5E-8338-2A822B784D54

## About the Role

* BS/MS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).
 * 5+ years of software engineering experience focusing on systems programming, high-performance computing, or networking infrastructure.
 * Exceptional programming skills with a deep understanding of memory management, concurrency, and multi-threading.
 * Knowledge of Rust is highly desired and considered a strong additional advantage.
 * Strong background in optimizing distributed systems for low-latency (sub-millisecond) performance.
 * Familiarity with caching strategies, data streaming architectures, and network protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP/2, gRPC).

The Team

We believe collaboration thrives in person. That's why most of our teams work from the office full time (3 days a week at our Santa Clara headquarters), with flexibility when it's needed. This model supports real-time problem-solving, stronger relationships, and the kind of precision that drives great outcomes.

## Description

As a Data Plane Engineer, you will be instrumental in building the core infrastructure that powers our next-generation security platform. You will design and develop our detection and prevention engines, focusing on ultra-low latency, high-throughput packet processing, and sidecar architectures. Operating at the heart of our network security stack, your work will ensure that our customers can enforce complex security policies at line speed without compromising on performance or reliability.

Your Impact

 * Design, build, and optimize our core inline detection/prevention engine, ensuring maximum throughput and absolute minimal latency for network traffic.
 * Develop robust sidecar architectures to securely intercept, inspect, and route traffic in distributed and cloud-native environments.
 * Engineer and maintain highly efficient trace store mechanisms for deep network telemetry, observability, and rapid threat forensics.
 * Architect high-performance algorithms to achieve sub-ms policy evaluation, enabling real-time security enforcement at scale.
 * Implement advanced memory management techniques, focusing on local cache optimization and high-speed data streaming pipelines.
 * Collaborate closely with threat research and machine learning teams to seamlessly integrate advanced detection models directly into the data plane.


## Related Videos

- [From Messy Queries to Scalable Systems - How Data Engineering actually works](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100203-from-messy-queries-to-scalable-systems-how-data-engineering-actually-works)
- [HTTP headers that make your website go faster](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1676-http-headers-that-make-your-website-go-faster)
- [An Applied Introduction to eBPF with Go](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1075-an-applied-introduction-to-ebpf-with-go)
- [Exploring the Power of gRPC-Gateway for Writing RESTful Services](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2072-exploring-the-power-of-grpc-gateway-for-writing-restful-services)
- [Event based cache invalidation in GraphQL](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/433-event-based-cache-invalidation-in-graphql)
- [Turning Container security up to 11 with Capabilities](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/718-turning-container-security-up-to-11-with-capabilities)

## Related Articles

- [Highest Paying Tech Companies for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/220-highest-paying-tech-companies-for-developers)
- [How We Built a Worry-Free System That Runs for 10+ Years – And What We’d Do Again](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/751-how-we-built-a-worry-free-system-that-runs-for-10-years-and-what-we-d-do-again)
- [Everything a Developer Needs to Know About MCP with Neo4j](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/604-everything-a-developer-needs-to-know-about-mcp-with-neo4j)
- [Dev Digest 120 - Apple and peers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/455-dev-digest-120-apple-and-peers)
- [The Best X (Twitter) Accounts for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/294-the-best-x-twitter-accounts-for-developers)
- [Dev Digest 134 - Where pixels sing?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/477-dev-digest-134-where-pixels-sing)