Principal Researcher

Company Description 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 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 Your Career We are seeking a Principal Researcher in Security Content Validation to lead the testing and validation of efficacy of detection rules This role requires an expert-level Python coder with a deep background in advanced QA methodologies dedicated to researching designing and implementing automation frameworks that ensure the highest fidelity and scalability of Security Content validation Your Impact This Principal-level role is central to securing our customers cloud environments by driving innovative research into quality assurance and developing high-fidelity validation content Designing developing and maintaining expert-level automated testing and validation frameworks leveraging expert Python skills to ensure the accuracy and scalability of security detection rules and overall product stability Researching and applying emerging QA technologies e g AI ML-driven testing for security detection rules validation including investigating complex failure modes and architectural weaknesses to develop innovative detection prevention strategies the Secure QA Mindset Establishing and enforcing best practices for high-fidelity security content validation including rigorous test case creation and management for compliance standards and threat detection Actively contributing to ongoing process enhancements in test automation Continuous Integration Continuous Deployment CI CD pipelines and deployment practices serving as the authority on quality process design Mentorship Serving as a technical leader coaching and guiding QA engineers and researchers on advanced testing techniques and research methodologies Communication Clearly articulating complex quality metrics research findings and validation strategies to engineering teams product management and executive leadership Bonus - Establishing industry thought leadership by publishing insightful blogs on security domain Qualifications Your Experience Overall Experience 8-10 years of experience in Quality Assurance SDET Software Development Engineer in Test QA Research Ideal - 5 years of experience specifically designing and architecting test automation frameworks for complex systems preferably in the security or cloud domain Must Have - Expert-level proficiency in Python programming for building complex scalable test automation frameworks and security validation tools Must Have - Deep application of QA principles including rigorous quality gates and functional policy testing strong debugging skills in cloud native deployments and exceptional written and verbal communication Must Have - At least 3 years of hands-on experience in public cloud technologies AWS GCP or Azure with an understanding of cloud resource configurations and security requirements Highly Desirable - Very good understanding of Computer Networks Cloud Networks and Web-based protocols like HTTP S REST with a deep security understanding of vulnerabilities exploits and defensive techniques related to them Highly Desirable - Experience with advanced QA concepts like combinatorial testing model-based testing or leveraging GenAI LLM based automations for test generation or defect analysis Highly Desirable - Familiarity with development tools Git CI CD bug tracking and experience with technologies SQL BigQuery JSON for validation and data analysis Additional Information 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 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