Sr Staff Research Engineer

Job description

Our Mission At 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 Are In 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 Summary The Team As the intelligence engine behind our Next-Generation Security platform, Palo Alto Networks’ Cloud-Delivered Security Services (CDSS) drives global cybersecurity initiatives on a massive scale. Joining the CDSS team means contributing to a foundational security backbone that very few organizations worldwide can match. Directly tied to our mission of thwarting cyber threats, our research division serves as the core of our product ecosystem. We continuously push boundaries, redefining traditional security concepts and proactively establishing industry standards rather than following them. Our researchers embrace uncharted territory, developing novel solutions for unprecedented challenges. We are looking for talented professionals who thrive in ambiguous environments, welcome complex problem-solving, and feel inspired to mitigate the hidden risks of our digital landscape by ensuring a robust, secure environment. Job Summary Our core CASB research team is seeking a motivated, highly strategic, and technically sound Sr. Staff Security Researcher. In this role, you will drive global technical leadership and innovation, pioneering advanced research initiatives to defend against sophisticated cyberattacks. You will partner with principal researchers and cross-functional engineering leadership to architect cutting-edge threat detection capabilities across our Strata, Prisma, and Cortex portfolios. Key Responsibilities Core Responsibilities, Research & Innovation • Lead deep-dive security research into complex SaaS applications, API architectures, and cloud environments to architect pioneering data protection and threat prevention technologies. • Spearhead the design and conceptualization of next-generation inline inspection algorithms and security controls to safeguard sensitive data across enterprise cloud ecosystems. • Define the strategic direction for self-directed security research, investigating novel attack vectors, emerging threat behaviors, and evasive adversary tactics. • Conduct comprehensive protocol and traffic analysis to formulate robust network security countermeasures against highly targeted attacks. Automation, AI & Advanced Analytics • Architect and scale high-throughput automated analysis frameworks for real-time traffic ingestion, payload decoding, and telemetry processing. • Leverage advanced AI/ML models, deep learning, and anomaly detection paradigms to analyze live network communications and enhance threat mitigation efficacy. • Develop custom tools, automated research pipelines, and AI-assisted workflows to accelerate the research life cycle and optimize operational efficiency. Collaboration & Product Integration • Collaborate closely with senior engineering and research leaders across product boundaries to drive multi-functional security initiatives and platform integrations. • Translate complex research discoveries and threat intelligence into production-grade protections across Palo Alto Networks' security suite. • Mentor junior and mid-level researchers, fostering technical excellence, peer collaboration, and rigorous research methodologies within the team. • Serve as a subject matter expert, effectively communicating research insights, technical whitepapers, and strategic recommendations to executive leadership and key stakeholders. Qualifications • Experience: 4-9 years of dedicated, hands-on experience in security research, network security, and threat analysis. • Deep technical expertise in network protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP/S, TLS, DNS), web APIs, and modern SaaS infrastructure. • Mastery of packet-level inspection and traffic analysis tools (e.g., Wireshark, Fiddler, OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite). • Advanced proficiency in Python, Go, or JavaScript for building production-grade research tooling and automation pipelines. • Proven t