Palo Alto Networks
Principal Machine Learning Engineer (AI Agents)
Palo Alto Networks, Santa Clara, California, us, 95053
Overview
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 looking for innovators who are committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity. Who We Are
We protect our customers relentlessly and believe the unique ideas of every team member contribute to our collective success. Our values—disruptive innovation, collaboration, execution, integrity, and inclusion—guide how we work every day. Our development and personal wellbeing programs offer choice in how you are supported, including FLEXBenefits and resources for mental and financial health and personalized learning opportunities. At Palo Alto Networks, we value collaboration and in-person interactions, with a generally office-based setup and flexibility where needed. Our goal is to create an environment where we all win with precision. Job Description
Your Career We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer with deep expertise in designing, building, and scaling AI-powered platforms. In this role, you will help shape the future of our agentic platform by leveraging advanced machine learning (ML) techniques to tackle complex, large-scale challenges and deliver impactful customer experiences. Lead the design, prototyping, and productionization of AI agent systems that solve complex user and business problems in cybersecurity applications. You’ll own agent architectures end-to-end—from planning and orchestration to evaluation, deployment, and observability—while mentoring engineers and shaping our AI strategy. This role is located at our Santa Clara Headquarters Campus 3 days a week. Your Impact
Design & build agentic systems: Architect workflows and POCs using frameworks such as Google ADK and LlamaIndex; implement tool use, function calling, and multi-step planning. Retrieval & reasoning: Develop RAG pipelines (indexing, retrieval, reranking), code-interpreter/tool execution flows, and robust context management. Model evaluation: Define evaluation suites for performance, efficiency, safety, and business alignment; analyze latency, quality, and cost trade-offs. Scale & reliability: Deploy models and agents to production; build scalable ML pipelines for batch and real-time/streaming use cases; implement monitoring and guardrails. Platform & CI/CD: Drive end-to-end delivery with modern CI/CD; automate testing, rollout, and experiment tracking. Collaboration & leadership: Partner with ML engineers, data scientists, and product to deliver roadmaps; mentor teammates and lead technical design reviews. Documentation & communication: Maintain clear specs and decision records; communicate complex concepts to technical and non-technical audiences. Strategy & incubation: Contribute to AI product vision; incubate new AI initiatives and design microservices-based solutions on GCP. Qualifications
Your Experience Basic Qualifications 8+ years in ML, data/analytics, and software engineering with production experience. Strong coding skills in Python and proficiency with SQL, including performance/scalability optimization. Preferred Qualifications End-to-end experience designing and deploying RAG systems (indexing strategy, retrieval optimization, reranking). Expertise with LLMs and fine-tuning techniques (e.g., LoRA/QLoRA), prompt/agent design, and function-calling patterns. Familiarity with Google ADK (agents, long-term knowledge/memory) and LlamaIndex (graph construction, query engines). Strong background in NLP and/or recommender systems; experience with evaluation methods and dataset curation. Experience with microservices on GCP (e.g., GKE/Cloud Run, Pub/Sub, Vertex AI, CloudSQL/BigQuery) and real-time streaming. Ability to work independently and in cross-functional teams with excellent written and verbal communication. Hands-on experience with vector search and RAG frameworks. Proven track record deploying ML systems to production with CI/CD and observability. M.S. or Ph.D. in a technical field (or equivalent practical experience). Additional Information
The Team Our engineering team is at the core of our products – connected directly to the mission of preventing cyberattacks. We are constantly innovating and challenging the industry to rethink cybersecurity. Our engineers solve problems no one has pursued before and thrive in ambiguity and risk-taking to secure our digital environment. Compensation Disclosure The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and work location. The base salary range is intended to reflect the posted level. It may include additional components such as stock units and bonuses. A description of our employee benefits may be found here. Our Commitment We’re problem solvers who take risks and challenge cybersecurity’s status quo. 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. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical 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 information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?
No. Please note that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.
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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 looking for innovators who are committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity. Who We Are
We protect our customers relentlessly and believe the unique ideas of every team member contribute to our collective success. Our values—disruptive innovation, collaboration, execution, integrity, and inclusion—guide how we work every day. Our development and personal wellbeing programs offer choice in how you are supported, including FLEXBenefits and resources for mental and financial health and personalized learning opportunities. At Palo Alto Networks, we value collaboration and in-person interactions, with a generally office-based setup and flexibility where needed. Our goal is to create an environment where we all win with precision. Job Description
Your Career We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer with deep expertise in designing, building, and scaling AI-powered platforms. In this role, you will help shape the future of our agentic platform by leveraging advanced machine learning (ML) techniques to tackle complex, large-scale challenges and deliver impactful customer experiences. Lead the design, prototyping, and productionization of AI agent systems that solve complex user and business problems in cybersecurity applications. You’ll own agent architectures end-to-end—from planning and orchestration to evaluation, deployment, and observability—while mentoring engineers and shaping our AI strategy. This role is located at our Santa Clara Headquarters Campus 3 days a week. Your Impact
Design & build agentic systems: Architect workflows and POCs using frameworks such as Google ADK and LlamaIndex; implement tool use, function calling, and multi-step planning. Retrieval & reasoning: Develop RAG pipelines (indexing, retrieval, reranking), code-interpreter/tool execution flows, and robust context management. Model evaluation: Define evaluation suites for performance, efficiency, safety, and business alignment; analyze latency, quality, and cost trade-offs. Scale & reliability: Deploy models and agents to production; build scalable ML pipelines for batch and real-time/streaming use cases; implement monitoring and guardrails. Platform & CI/CD: Drive end-to-end delivery with modern CI/CD; automate testing, rollout, and experiment tracking. Collaboration & leadership: Partner with ML engineers, data scientists, and product to deliver roadmaps; mentor teammates and lead technical design reviews. Documentation & communication: Maintain clear specs and decision records; communicate complex concepts to technical and non-technical audiences. Strategy & incubation: Contribute to AI product vision; incubate new AI initiatives and design microservices-based solutions on GCP. Qualifications
Your Experience Basic Qualifications 8+ years in ML, data/analytics, and software engineering with production experience. Strong coding skills in Python and proficiency with SQL, including performance/scalability optimization. Preferred Qualifications End-to-end experience designing and deploying RAG systems (indexing strategy, retrieval optimization, reranking). Expertise with LLMs and fine-tuning techniques (e.g., LoRA/QLoRA), prompt/agent design, and function-calling patterns. Familiarity with Google ADK (agents, long-term knowledge/memory) and LlamaIndex (graph construction, query engines). Strong background in NLP and/or recommender systems; experience with evaluation methods and dataset curation. Experience with microservices on GCP (e.g., GKE/Cloud Run, Pub/Sub, Vertex AI, CloudSQL/BigQuery) and real-time streaming. Ability to work independently and in cross-functional teams with excellent written and verbal communication. Hands-on experience with vector search and RAG frameworks. Proven track record deploying ML systems to production with CI/CD and observability. M.S. or Ph.D. in a technical field (or equivalent practical experience). Additional Information
The Team Our engineering team is at the core of our products – connected directly to the mission of preventing cyberattacks. We are constantly innovating and challenging the industry to rethink cybersecurity. Our engineers solve problems no one has pursued before and thrive in ambiguity and risk-taking to secure our digital environment. Compensation Disclosure The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and work location. The base salary range is intended to reflect the posted level. It may include additional components such as stock units and bonuses. A description of our employee benefits may be found here. Our Commitment We’re problem solvers who take risks and challenge cybersecurity’s status quo. 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. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical 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 information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines. Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?
No. Please note that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.
#J-18808-Ljbffr