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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Principal Engineer Software - **Company:** Palo Alto Networks - **Location:** Santa Clara, CA, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $183,600.0 - $297,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), Data Analysis, Computing Platforms, Automation of Tests, BigTable, BigQuery, Cloud Computing, Cloud Database, Computer Programming, Continuous Integration, Distributed Data Store, Distributed Systems, Fault Tolerance, Monitoring of Systems, Identity and Access Management, Python (Programming Language), Network Security, Secure Coding, Software Engineering, System Programming, Google Cloud, Reliability of Systems, Backend, Kubernetes, Information Technology, Restful APIs, Data Pipelines, Docker, Golang, Microservices - **Published:** September 15, 2026 - **Apply:** https://startup.jobs/sr-principal-engineer-software-back-end-paloaltonetworks-com-9873940 ## About the Role * Education & Experience: BS/MS in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related technical field (or equivalent practical experience) with 14+ years of experience in software engineering, specifically focused on backend systems, platform architecture, or distributed cloud services. * Programming & Tech Stack: Deep programming expertise in Golang (Go) or Python is required. * Microservices & APIs: Proven track record of building and scaling RESTful APIs, gRPC services, and event-driven microservices. * Container Ecosystems: Extensive experience with container orchestration platforms, specifically Docker and Kubernetes. Additional Experience: * Systems Programming: Familiarity with the Rust programming language is highly desired. * GCP Cloud Data Infrastructure: Familiarity and hands-on experience with GCP Bigtable, BigQuery, and Spanner for managing large-scale distributed databases and analytics. * Enterprise Security Concepts: Familiarity with network security concepts, identity and access management (IAM), or modern authorization frameworks is a strong plus. 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 Software Engineer, you will build the highly scalable, distributed cloud architectures that power our next-generation threat prevention ecosystem. You will develop the critical control plane and microservices that orchestrate our advanced AI models, manage security policies, and interface with our high-throughput data pipelines and inline engines. Your work will directly enable our customers to seamlessly deploy and manage cutting-edge AI security solutions at global scale., * Design, build, and maintain highly scalable, fault-tolerant backend services and APIs that serve as the backbone for our new security platform. * Develop the robust control plane that orchestrates security policies, manages configurations, and coordinates deployments across distributed environments. * Write clean, performant, and secure code, with a primary focus on Golang or Python, ensuring system reliability under massive scale. * Architect and deploy microservices using container orchestration (Kubernetes) across Google Cloud Platform (GCP) infrastructure. * Build robust integration layers bridging the gap between high-speed data planes, massive telemetry pipelines, and user-facing management consoles. * Champion software engineering best practices, including rigorous automated testing, CI/CD pipeline development, and comprehensive system monitoring. ## Related Videos - [Docker Compose: Rediscovered](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1978-docker-compose-rediscovered) - [Go with the Flow: Stop the Leaks Before Your Memory's a Waterfall!](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100073-go-with-the-flow-stop-the-leaks-before-your-memory-s-a-waterfall) - [Developing the Backend with Stefan Lingler, CTO at Shpock](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100360-developing-the-backend-with-stefan-lingler-cto-at-shpock) - [Inside Bitpanda's Tech Stack: Scaling a European Fintech Leader - Markus Dorner](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1979-inside-bitpanda-s-tech-stack-scaling-a-european-fintech-leader-markus-dorner) - [Docker build without Docker](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100114-docker-build-without-docker) - [Platform Engineering vs. DevOps Why not both?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/885-platform-engineering-vs-devops-why-not-both) ## Related Articles - [Highest Paying Tech Companies for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/220-highest-paying-tech-companies-for-developers) - [The Best X (Twitter) Accounts for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/294-the-best-x-twitter-accounts-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) - [How we Build The Software of Tomorrow](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/120-how-we-build-the-software-of-tomorrow) - [Where To Find Software Engineering Jobs](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/396-where-to-find-software-engineering-jobs) - [Why Attend a Developer Event in 2026?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/688-why-attend-a-developer-event-in-2026)