Principal Security Researcher (DNS 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

• Track and research emerging threats and innovate new ways to identify malicious indicators used by malware and attacks, including domains, URLs, IP addresses, sha256, email addresses, etc.;
• Design and build scalable and extensible prevention/detection systems;
• Leverage data-driven approaches, such as statistical analysis, machine learning, and other advanced techniques;
• Convert research results and discoveries into products, research papers, etc.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Cyber Security or Machine Learning or equivalent experience.
• 2+ years of Security research experience
• Creative thinker and team player. Have great passion and be highly self-motivated in data-driven security research;
• Expertise in DNS and IPv4/IPv6;
• Good knowledge of machine learning techniques and algorithms, such as k-NN, Naive Bayes, SVM, Decision Trees, Logistic Regression, Deep Learning, and Boosting;
• Familiar with large-language models (LLMs) and experience to leverage them to address cybersecurity threats;
• Excellent programming skills in Python, Shell script, Go, or SQL;
• Understanding of core network protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP/HTTPS, etc.);
• Knowledge and experience with modern databases and big data tools, such as MySQL, MongoDB, Elasticsearch, Redis, BigQuery;
• Be comfortable working independently, efficiently;
• Excellent communication (written and verbal) and presentation skills;
• Experience with malware traffic analysis is a plus;
• Experience with graph database (e.g. Neo4j, Amazon Neptune), graph-based analysis is a plus;
• Experience with Google Cloud Platform is a plus;
• Proven success (past publication record, open source project contributions) is a big plus.

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.

$162,700.00 - $263,175.00/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