Distinguished Software Engineer (DLP Platform Architecture, Scale, and Advanced DLP Detection)

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 Job Summary We’re seeking a Distinguished Engineer to lead the architecture, scalability, reliability, and advanced detection algorithms of Palo Alto Networks’ Data Loss Prevention (DLP) platform. This role drives the technical vision for low-latency, multi-tenant, and cost-efficient systems that power data protection across all product lines. You’ll connect strategy across orgs, guide design and implementation standards, and mentor senior engineers to deliver world-class platform outcomes. Key Responsibilities ​​Architecture & Strategic Vision The Distinguished Engineer will define the long-term direction for the DLP platform architecture. Define Platform Foundatio n: Define and drive the DLP platform’s north star, including the scalable control/data planes, APIs, and data pipelines. System Design: Design and evolve distributed systems specifically optimized for high throughput, low latency, and fault tolerance. Cross-Functional Influence: Lead cross-org architectural alignment across product, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), privacy, and Machine Learning (ML) teams. Detection Algorithm Enablement: Architect the core data structures and serving layers that enable high-performance DLP classification, like Regex, Exact Data Matching (EDM), Document Fingerprinting, and advanced ML/AI classifiers. High-Scale Platform Engineering & Performance Ensure the platform meets the highest standards of performance and reliability through technical execution and optimization. Distributed Systems Mastery : Guide the design and implementation of highly resilient systems leveraging expertise in microservices and streaming systems (Kafka/Pulsar/Kinesis). Stateful Architecture Implementation: Ensure the platform utilizes stateful architectures necessary for high-performance DLP components, leveraging technologies like RocksDB, Redis, and Cassandra. Performance Optimization: Demonstrate proven experience with high-performance, multi-tenant systems and end-to-end performance optimization. Success is measured by achieving step-function improvements in latency, throughput, and reliability. Cloud Infrastructure: Ensure a strong grasp of cloud infrastructure (GCP/AWS/Azure), Kubernetes, observability, and SLO management is applied across the platform. Mentorship & Operational Excellence The role requires leadership in engineering standards and organizational consistency. Technical Mentorship: Mentor Staff and Principal engineers to influence technical direction and standards company-wide. Reusable Frameworks : Build paved roads and reusable frameworks for platform consistency and operational excellence. Platform Leverage: Ensure platform capabilities are reused across multiple products. Efficiency Gains: Elevate deve ... (truncated, view full listing at source)