Principal Software Automation/Test 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 Are We

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 Description

Your Career At Palo Alto Networks, we're not just building products — we're redefining what's possible in cybersecurity. As a Principal Software Automation/Test Engineer, you'll play a critical role in our mission to secure the world’s digital transformation. Your work will directly impact the quality and reliability of the solutions that protect global enterprises every day. If you're passionate about driving quality at scale and want to be part of a team that's leading the charge in cloud security innovation, we want to hear from you. Why Cortex Cloud? Market Leader – Be part of the fastest-growing cloud security platform, trusted by leading organizations around the globe — and help ensure its quality scales with its success. Innovative Culture – Collaborate with top minds in cybersecurity and automation, where your ideas for smarter, faster, and more secure testing will be valued and implemented. Massive Impact – Your work as an SDET will directly contribute to protecting the world’s most critical digital assets — by ensuring our solutions are secure, stable, and production-ready. Rapid Growth – Join a high-velocity team where career growth and impact go hand in hand. As we scale, you'll have opportunities to take ownership, lead initiatives, and grow your technical expertise. Your Impact You will be leading the test design and strategy for high-priority, high-impact product features. Design and develop comprehensive test plans and strategies for complex, large-scale features. Tackle the challenges of test strategy for enterprise-grade products and applications. Navigate the complexity of cloud platforms and drive improvements in overall product quality. Collaborate closely with cross-functional roles and peers to achieve shared product quality goals. You’ll need to design, implement, and continuously enhance test automation efficiency to boost the QA team’s productivity. Establish a standardized methodology for developing and maintaining test automation across the team. Design, develop, and maintain test automation tools and utilities for both backend and UI components. Define, develop, and manage complex testbed environments to support varied test scenarios. Enhance test automation frameworks to ensure they are developer-friendly, robust, highly maintainable, support detailed reporting, facilitate easy debugging, and seamlessly integrate with CI/CD and bug tracking systems for cloud-based applications. You will contribute to product decision-making by providing insights into product quality and influencing the development of cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions. Analyze complex issues and defects, guiding root cause analysis during and after releases. Take a leadership role in evolving software testing processes and best practices. Drive improvements in functionality, usability, testability, performance, and production stability, collaborating with architects and engineering teams. Work closely with engineering, product management, UX, documentation, DevOps, and customer engineering teams throughout the product lifecycle—from requirements to release. Define and implement processes for building bi-directional feedback loops with customers to improve quality and satisfaction. You are expected to set a strong example and lead Mentor and coach junior QA team members, fostering a culture of growth and excellence. Actively participate in the hiring process and technical interviews for new team members. Demonstrate clear and effective verbal communication skills in team and cross-functional interactions.

Qualifications (Additional Job Description) 

Your Experience 9+ years of experience in technical QA roles within large-scale enterprises or high-growth startups. Strong programming skills in Python; experience with additional languages is a plus. Deep understanding of public cloud platforms, including AWS, GCP, and Azure. Demonstrated experience in developing complex test frameworks from scratch, with a strong focus on scalability and efficiency Proven ability to quickly adapt to new technologies, tools, and automation frameworks (Pytest, Selenium etc) Extensive experience in leading QA efforts for distributed systems and SaaS-based products. Expertise in designing and implementing robust test strategies for complex, large-scale systems. Hands-on experience with backend and frontend testing frameworks; passionate about driving continuous improvement in test infrastructure and coverage. Strong troubleshooting skills and proficiency in building and maintaining test tools and automation pipelines. Proven ability to work efficiently with cross-functional teams to identify issues, drive resolutions, and deliver high-quality outcomes. Excellent collaboration skills; a team player with strong ownership and accountability. Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. Experience in Cloud security industry, or equivalent relevant experience, is advantageous

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.