Sr. Staff Software Engineer, Device Firmware & Platform (NGFW) - NetSec

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 Team

Engineering - Our engineering team is at the core of our products – 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

Join Palo Alto Networks' NGFW group to build enterprise-managed devices and next-generation platforms running our advanced security stack. As a Sr. Staff Software Engineer, you will serve as the primary technical interface between PANW and hardware teams, driving platform firmware development, cloud management agents, and new hardware board bring-up. This critical role operates at the intersection of embedded Linux, cloud-connected agent software, and platform hardware. You will integrate an advanced security stack onto chipsets just entering commercial sampling, bringing up boards that do not yet exist.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the device firmware platform, including kernel configuration, package management, and image build pipelines using partner SDKs.
• Maintain and extend TPM the cloud device agent for WebSocket/mTLS connections, ZTP onboarding, and telemetry reporting.
• Integrate the PANW SCM cloud agent into firmware for device registration, configuration sync, and Cortex telemetry export.
• Drive board bring-up for new device hardware generations, including bootloader, device tree, and peripheral initialization.
• Serve as the primary technical liaison to hardware teams for triaging issues and reviewing firmware drops.
• Own firmware signing and secure boot, establishing PANW co-signing on the partner secure boot chain.
• Maintain the device configuration schema and site template repository, synchronizing it with the controller API contract.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of embedded Linux firmware development, with at least 3 years on open source firmware.
• Strong technical knowledge in computer architecture and systems engineering.
• Hands-on board bring-up experience, including U-Boot, device tree authoring, and peripheral driver integration.
• Experience building and maintaining cross-compile toolchains for ARM64 targets.
• Familiarity with cloud-agent architectures on embedded Linux, including WebSocket, mTLS, and JSON config push models.
• Practical partner engagement experience, including reading schematics and working off Board Support Packages (BSPs).
• BS/MS degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related equivalent field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Open-source Linux kernel driver experience.
• Working knowledge of secure boot chains, firmware signing, and TPM integration.
• Strong experience in packet processing, parsing, and networking protocols across or networks.
• Experience in data plane forwarding and network processor programming.
• Experience in DPDK packet processing and performance tuning.

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.