Senior Director, NAM Support (Network Security)

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 Senior Director of Network Security Support Engineering will lead our Americas NGFW technical organization. This is not a traditional operations role; it is an engineering-intensive leadership position designed for an AI-ready, architect-level technical leader. You will sit at the intersection of Enterprise Support, Product Architecture, and Core Engineering, fielding tier-4/developer-level escalations for our Network Security portfolio and driving the architectural feedback loop to engineer friction out of the product.

Your Impact

• AI-Native Engineering: Create and execute the technical roadmap to transition NetSec support from reactive triage to predictive resolution. You will directly oversee the implementation of AI/LLM models specialized in automated log parsing (TSF files) and real-time telemetry analysis to radically lower MTTR.

• Tier-4 Architectural Escalations: Serve as the final technical escalation point for Fortune 500 CIOs/CISOs during critical, complex network outages or security incidents. You must be capable of conducting deep-dive root cause analysis (RCA) alongside Core Engineering and principal architects.

• Engineering Interlock & Product Influence: Build a programmatic, bi-directional feedback loop with Product Management and Development Engineering. Translate complex, systemic field issues into architectural requirements to ensure future software releases are inherently more supportable.

What You Bring 

• AI-Driven Support Transformation: Deep technical expertise in leveraging AI/LLM frameworks to radically automate customer engineering. You have a proven track record of moving organizations from reactive ticketing to predictive support (e.g., automated TSF log parsing, real-time telemetry analysis, and self-healing workflows).

• PANW NGFW Architectural Literacy: Strong technical fluency in Palo Alto Networks' core architecture. You can comfortably navigate conversations regarding PAN-OS internals, , control vs. data plane separation, and deployment across physical (PA-Series) and cloud (VM/CN-Series) form factors.

• Engineering-Level Escalation Management: Executive presence paired with deep technical authority. You can act as a "trusted advisor" to Fortune 500 CISOs during critical outages, while simultaneously holding your own in architectural deep-dives with Core Engineering and Principal Developers to drive root-cause resolutions.

• Strategic Architecture & Execution: Thought leadership with the ability to look at systemic field failures and translate them into a roadmap for product hardening. You focus on the long-term mission of engineering friction out of the platform rather than just managing queue metrics.

• High-Scale Technical Leadership: Ability to create a high-performance, customer-obsessed culture across a globally dispersed team of 100+ technical professionals. Proven track record of inspiring, attracting, and scaling elite technical talent (such as TAC escalation engineers and network security architects).

• Operational & Transformational Excellence: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a track record of driving major architectural and operational improvements that measurably lower MTTR and optimize team efficiency.

Qualifications

• 15+ years’ experience in a high growth SaaS/Cloud Enterprise Technical Support Organization, or similar experience. Including at least 3+ years in a Senior Director leadership capacity leading geographically dispersed teams.

• Strong technical background with expertise in cybersecurity domains such as network security and cloud security

  Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to build and maintain relationships with sales, product, and engineering teams

• Exceptional communication and leadership skills, with a proven ability to lead and inspire diverse, global teams

• Demonstrated experience leading global direct/indirect teams of +500 across multiple languages and cultures 

• Proven track record of managing global technical support teams and driving rapid and efficient resolution of complex technical issues.

• Demonstrated experience in process optimization, automation, and leveraging technology to enhance support delivery.

• Strong business acumen with experience in managing budgets, resources, and P&L responsibilities

• Prior experience managing networking or enterprise security product services

• Estimated travel 30% 

• STEM Bachelor’s Degree required or equivalent experience. Master’s degree or MBA preferred.

Compensation Disclosure

The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and work location. For candidates who receive an offer at the posted level, the starting base salary (for non-sales roles) or base salary + commission target (for sales/com-missioned roles) is expected to be the annual range listed below. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.

$244,800.00 - $336,000.00/yr

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.

Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?: Yes