Principal Architect at Palo Alto Networks in Reston

Principal Architect

Location: Santa Clara, United States of America · Yes

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

Principal Architect

As a Principal Architect you will serve as a trusted executive advisor responsible for influencing our clients’ cybersecurity transformation strategies and driving them to successful security outcomes. This role focuses on enhancing the productivity of field sales teams by delivering business-relevant consulting engagements to strategic prospects and customers. In this Director-level role you will lead, direct, and advise cross-functional teams to orchestrate strategic, advisory-style client engagements that keep sales campaigns aligned with customer executive priorities.

Your primary goal is to influence and empower customers to embrace the Palo Alto Networks platform by delivering authoritative architectural roadmaps that create a bridge between the full breadth of Palo Alto Networks’ security solutions and solutions that address the client's business needs.

Core Focus Areas

The Principal Architect is expected to be generally familiar with and conversant in all major security domains, including Secure Access Service Edge/Zero Trust (SASE/ZT), Cloud Security, Security Operations, and Identity Security. The ideal candidate for this role will have deep technical knowledge of and hands-on experience with security operations, threat detection/response, or incident response.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Advisory and Client Engagement:

• Establish and maintain executive-level relationships (Manager, Director, VP, and CxO contacts) in strategic accounts with high growth potential.
• Transform client security strategies by driving conversations that advocate for Palo Alto Networks’ view of transformative Solution Architectures.
• Provide valuable insights and education to clients on effective risk reduction, operational excellence, and cost management.
• Identify and document the client's strategic transformation goals and priority outcomes for value realization, collaborating with specialists to develop business cases around measurable benefits.
• Conduct high-impact consulting engagements, including architectural assessments, designs, and client workshops, setting and driving a strategic agenda with the customer and sales/engineering teams.

Sales Productivity and Thought Leadership:

• Demonstrate increased sales productivity through strategic architectural engagements.
• Engage directly with senior technical and business leaders as a security expert to expand reach within accounts and expand the scope of sales opportunities by identifying new areas of engagement and areas where our solutions can deliver on executive priorities.
• Collaborate with sales teams to develop and deliver differentiated proposals that clearly demonstrate business and technical value.

Internal Partnership and Development:

• Become a valued resource to Product Management by discovering and understanding current challenges, competitive insights, and opportunities to address emerging needs in strategic market segments.
• Maintain continuous self-improvement and learning to sustain technical leadership across relevant technologies (e.g., security technologies, cyber threat intelligence, risk and regulatory topics, emerging technologies)
• Work closely with Sales and Solution Consulting leadership, Unit42 consulting teams, Business Value Consultants, Professional Services, Customer Success, and theater CISO/CTO resources (where applicable) to ensure a coordinated market approach.

Requirements and Qualifications

• Experience: 10+ years of experience as an end customer, a cybersecurity vendor or consultant is required.
• Education: BSCS, equivalent degree or experience is required.
• Architectural Knowledge:
  • Extensive knowledge of core security architectures, history, and trends spanning network, endpoint, and hybrid environments.
  • Solid fundamental background in principles and practices of networking and/or cloud computing.
  • Deep technical understanding and experience designing, implementing, and/or operating security operations, threat detection/response, or incident response functions.
  • General knowledge of security areas such as security operations, SIEM, endpoint security, network security, SASE/Zero Trust, cloud security, secure software development, identity management, and emerging topics related to cybersecurity and AI.
• Executive Presence: Demonstrable experience in establishing credibility and strategic messaging with large enterprise executives (CISO and above).
• Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills, both internally and externally.
• Drive and Problem Solving:
  • A "Whatever it takes" attitude and motivation to overcome obstacles necessary to achieve desired outcomes and close deals.
  • Robust problem finding and solving skills, with the ability to analyze complex problems with systematic approaches to quick resolution, even under duress.
• Travel: Expect to travel a minimum of 50%+ of the weeks in the fiscal year. Travel will include customer and company location onsite meetings.
• Organizational Skills: Superb organizational skills are required.

Qualifications

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.

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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.