Palo Alto Principal Security Researcher Advanced Threat Prevention 

United States, California 

341716829

Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.

Your Impact

• Propose innovative detection ideas and lead the design and delivery of 2–3 major projects simultaneously.

• Mentor and guide 2–3 junior or mid-level researchers, providing both technical direction and career development support.

• Drive advanced research into vulnerabilities, Zero-Day exploits, and emerging attack vectors, and translate findings into effective IPS and ML-based detections.

• Ensure rapid response to Zero-Day vulnerabilities with IPS protections released to customers within 24 hours.

• Reverse engineering efforts to uncover new vulnerabilities and build proactive defenses.

• Define detection methodologies for complex or emerging attack vectors, ensuring scalability and robustness across products.

• Partner with product, QA, and cross-functional engineering teams to align detection strategy with product roadmap and customer needs.

• Represent the team in technical discussions internally and externally, helping shape industry direction in threat prevention.

Your Experience

• Strong leadership and communication skills with proven ability to mentor and guide other researchers.

• Deep technical expertise in exploit techniques such as buffer overflows, use-after-free, format string, XSS, SQL injection, CSRF, MITM, and DoS.

• Extensive knowledge of core network protocols including HTTP, UDP, FTP, SMTP, DNS, and SMB.

• Proficiency in analyzing network traffic using tcpdump, Wireshark, or equivalent tools.

• Experience applying AI/ML to security problems is highly desirable.

• Advanced proficiency in Windows and Linux development environments.

• Strong programming skills in scripting and system-level languages (Python, Bash, Perl, C/C++).

• Hands-on experience with penetration testing tools (Metasploit, Burp Suite, Nmap) and debugging tools (WinDbg, OllyDbg, GDB) is a strong plus.

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field, or equivalent professional/military experience.

• Demonstrated track record of successfully leading multiple projects end-to-end with measurable impact.

• Publications or presentations at top security conferences (e.g., Black Hat, DEF CON) are a strong plus.

• Ability to influence detection strategy within the team and across related groups.

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.

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/commissioned roles) is expected to be between $157000 - $255000//YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found .

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.