Sr Software Engineer (Malware Research - Antivirus Systems)

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.

Who We Are

We take our mission of protecting the digital way of life seriously. We are relentless in protecting our customers and we believe that the unique ideas of every member of our team contributes to our collective success. Our values were crowdsourced by employees and are brought to life through each of us everyday - from disruptive innovation and collaboration, to execution. From showing up for each other with integrity to creating an environment where we all feel included.

As a member of our team, you will be shaping the future of cybersecurity. We work fast, value ongoing learning, and we respect each employee as a unique individual. Knowing we all have different needs, our development and personal wellbeing programs are designed to give you choice in how you are supported. This includes our FLEXBenefits wellbeing spending account with over 1,000 eligible items selected by employees, our mental and financial health resources, and our personalized learning opportunities - just to name a few!

At Palo Alto Networks, we believe in the power of collaboration and value in-person interactions. This is why our employees generally work full time from our office with flexibility offered where needed. This setup fosters casual conversations, problem-solving, and trusted relationships. Our goal is to create an environment where we all win with precision.

Your Career

As a Research Software Engineer (Antivirus Systems), we are looking for a motivated, intelligent, hardworking and creative individual to join our team that develops the content to power the Palo Alto Networks’ Next Generation Firewall. You will work with the best security team in the industry, who invented the well-known cloud-based security platform WildFire. You will be responsible for a highly automated, 24/7 anti-virus signature generation and delivery system. You will have a deep understanding of the signature generation logic as well as create new detection features.

Your Impact

• Develop new features for the automated anti-virus signature generation and delivery system

• Research and implement signature algorithms for new file formats

• Identify limitations/issues in existing signature algorithms and improve them

• Research on and publish about innovations & emerging security trends

Your Experience 

• BS/MS in Computer Science or Computer Engineering or equivalent military experience required

• 6-8+ years of relevant experience preferred

• Experience with Python/Golang programming language

• Strong core Computer Engineering skills such as databases, operating systems, algorithms

• Working knowledge and interest in learning common file formats (PE, Office, PDF etc)

• Experience with malware analysis

• Understanding of networking and core Internet protocols (TCP/IP, HTTP, FTP, SMTP)

• Experience with a data pipeline based system with several moving components in a distributed cloud environment

• Experience with developing in a public cloud environment such as GCP, AWS

• Troubleshooting and virtualization experience in Linux

• Strong problem solving abilities

• Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills

• Knowledge/experience with tools such as Docker, Elastic-Search, Kafka, RabbitMQ, MySQL, SQLite, Redis is a big plus

• Experience in implementing security solutions is highly desirable

The Team

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. 

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 [email protected].

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.

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/commissioned roles) is expected to be between $144,200/yr to $233,200/yr. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.  

Our Commitment

We’re problem solvers that 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  [email protected].

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.