Principal Escalation Engineer

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!

This role is remote, but distance is no barrier to impact. Our hybrid teams collaborate across geographies to solve big problems, stay close to our customers, and grow together. You will be part of a culture that values trust, accountability, and shared success where your work truly matters.

Job Summary

The Team

Engineering - Our engineering team is at the core of our products and connected directly to the mission of preventing cyberattacks. We are constantly innovating — challenging the way we, and the industry, think about cybersecurity. Our engineers don’t shy away from building products to solve problems no one has pursued before. We define the industry instead of waiting for directions. We need individuals who feel comfortable in ambiguity, excited by the prospect of a challenge, and empowered by the unknown risks facing our everyday lives that are only enabled by a secure digital environment.

Job Summary

As a Principal Escalation Engineer, you will hold a highly visible, senior-level position on a growing team. This role requires a blend of customer management and deep technical expertise in telecommunication equipment and internet traffic. You will leverage your background in troubleshooting modern networks and understanding of internet protocols to resolve the most critical technical escalations that reach the executive level.

Key Responsibilities

• Intercept, assist, and drive highly critical technical escalations that are raised to the executive engineering level.

• Serve as a primary technical point of contact for executive-level customers, effectively communicating situation status, root cause analysis, and resolution progress.

• Proactively collaborate with internal account teams to ensure alignment and provide status updates on critical customer issues.

• Address and clarify complex technical questions during high-stakes customer interactions, ensuring clarity and confidence.

• Analyze complex network issues, including dynamic routing and security protocols, to identify root causes and deliver robust solutions.

• Engage in open discussions regarding network design, security architecture, and other technical topics with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• BE/B.Tech degree, equivalent technical graduation, or equivalent military experience.

• Career-level experience in a technical support, service, or troubleshooting-related role within a network security or equipment vendor organization.

• Demonstrated experience as a technical lead in a relevant area of expertise.

• Proficiency in configuring and troubleshooting dynamic routing protocols, primarily BGP and OSPF.

• Strong skills in Layer 1-3 (OSI model) troubleshooting and packet capture analysis using tools like Wireshark.

• Experience troubleshooting VPNs (IPSec and SSL tunnels) and telecommunications hardware.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced industry certifications such as JNCIE, CCIE, CCNP, or similar.

• Experience with cloud deployments and solutions in AWS, GCP, Azure, or KVM environments.

• Programming or scripting knowledge in languages like C, C++, or Python.

• Proven ability to explain complex technical issues effectively to non-technical audiences.

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.

$147,000.00 - $237,500.00/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? No. Please note that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.