Senior Legal Counsel, Privacy and Data Protection (JAPAC)

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

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.

Your Career

In this pivotal role, you will be an integral part of the Palo Alto Networks’ Global Legal Department’s Privacy team. 

As Senior Legal Counsel (JAPAC), you will be the lead data protection legal advisor for our Asia-Pacific, Japan, and Greater China operations. This is a practical, advisory role where you will help our teams navigate regional data protection laws to support our growth in the region. You will need to partner with cross functional teams across the region and focus on providing clear, actionable guidance that allows us to move fast while staying compliant..

We are looking for a pragmatic lawyer who can handle the complexities of a fragmented global regulatory environment. Reporting directly to the head of privacy, you will translate legal requirements into operational reality for our enterprise. You should be comfortable working independently, making tough calls in "gray areas," of emerging law, and ensuring that our privacy posture supports our risk appetite and commercial goals in the JAPAC market.

Responsibilities

• Regional Legal Strategy & Advisory: Serve as the subject matter expert on JAPAC privacy laws (including PIPL, APPI, PIPA, PDPA, and India’s DPDP). Monitor evolving public policy, economic, legislative and regulatory changes, assess the appropriate response, and lead the legal implementation of the changes. Provide actionable legal advice to the business on regional data residency, cross-border transfer requirements, Marketing rules, data subject rights, and emerging regulatory trends.

• Regulatory Engagement & Response: Act as legal point of contact for regional data protection authorities (DPAs). Lead the legal response to regulatory inquiries and oversee regional privacy-related litigation or disputes in coordination with outside counsel.

• Data Breach & Incident Response: Provide legal guidance on regional notification requirements in the event of a security incident. Work hand-in-hand with the Security Operations Center (SOC) and global incident response teams to manage legal risk under pressure.

• Cross-Functional Leadership: Support the Global Privacy function in implementing and maintaining our privacy certifications (e.g., ISO, APEC CBPR) and localized policies. Ensure that our global privacy program "speaks the language" of the JAPAC region effectively.

• Product Legal partnership: Partner with our Product Legal team to ensure "Privacy by Design" for our cybersecurity portfolio. You will guide the team to ensure our products meet the requirements of the JAPAC market.

• Commercial Negotiations: Support the negotiation of complex data protection agreements (DPAs) and privacy exhibits with regional enterprise customers and strategic partners. You’ll be focusing on scalability to ensure Sales Counsels and our deal acceleration team are equipped with the right tools to support our sales motion and ensure our privacy posture is a competitive advantage in the sales cycle.

Qualifications

Required Skills and Experience

• Legal Qualification: JD, LLM, or equivalent law degree with an active license to practice in at least one JAPAC jurisdiction (or equivalent US/UK qualification with significant regional experience).

• 6+ years of privacy experience: Ideally with at least 4 years focusing on the JAPAC region within a high-growth technology or cybersecurity company.

• Regional Expertise: Deep, practical knowledge of PIPL (China), PDPA (Singapore), the Privacy Act (Australia), and the evolving regulatory landscape in India, Korea and Japan.

• Strategic Problem Solving: The ability to move beyond "no" to find "how." You should be able to translate dense legal requirements into pragmatic business solutions.

• Exceptional ability to communicate complex legal risks to non-legal stakeholders in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner. Strong language fluency in English is required. Ability to speak regional languages (e.g., Japanese, Mandarin, Hindi) is an advantage, as the successful candidate will manage cross-border legal matters and cross-cultural regional stakeholders.

• Integrity & Discretion: Experience handling sensitive cybersecurity-related data and legal matters with the highest level of professional ethics.

• Contractual Mastery: Proven track record of negotiating high-stakes data protection terms with sophisticated global entities.

• Certifications: IAPP certifications (CIPP/A, CIPP/E, CIPT or CIPM) are highly desirable.

Our Commitment

We’re trailblazers that dream big, 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 accommodations@paloaltonetworks.com.

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.