Principal Variant Scientist Jobs (NOW HIRING)

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.

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.

As a Principal PSIRT Engineer, you will play a critical role in protecting Palo Alto Networks products and services by leading complex vulnerability investigations. You will serve as the definitive technical authority for vulnerability response across Palo Alto Networks. You will lead our most critical, high‑stakes security investigations, drive the vision for next‑gen PSIRT automation to scale our response capabilities, and systemically eliminate risks across our global product portfolio.

In this role, you will bridge the gap between advanced security research and product architecture; influencing long‑term engineering roadmaps, mentoring senior staff, and directing high‑sensitivity disclosures with customers and the global security community. This role demands a high level of technical acumen and cross‑functional collaboration to navigate sensitive situations with both internal teams and external stakeholders.

• Serve as the definitive technical authority on vulnerability investigations, conducting complex analysis and proactive variant hunting across the product portfolio.
• Drive systemic root‑cause analysis and partner with principal architects and engineering leaders to develop long‑term remediations that eliminate entire classes of flaws.
• Define rigorous technical validation methodologies to verify the completeness and efficacy of product fixes, ensuring remediations comprehensively eliminate the underlying vulnerability and are structurally resilient against bypass techniques.
• Proactively collaborate and align with leadership across product, engineering, legal, privacy, and threat intelligence teams on high‑stakes vulnerability response strategies.
• Apply CVSS scoring and vulnerability classification.
• Prepare security reports, CVE submissions and advisories.
• Architect the data models and risk‑scoring methodologies for PSIRT telemetry, defining the technical metrics that accurately quantify systemic product risk and response velocity.
• Architect the roadmap for next‑gen PSIRT automation and tooling to fundamentally scale vulnerability identification, triage, and response capabilities.
• Mentor senior and staff engineers in advanced vulnerability handling and response methodologies, elevating the technical capabilities of the entire team.

• BS or MS Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Cybersecurity, or equivalent practical experience.
• 10+ years of dedicated experience in product security, application security, vulnerability research, or offensive security (with a proven track record of escalating technical responsibility).
• Demonstrated ability to analyze, reproduce, and safely write proof‑of‑concept (PoC) exploits for complex vulnerabilities.
• Expert‑level mastery of CVSS, CWE, CVE, and modern risk prioritization frameworks (EPSS, SSVC).
• Experience leveraging AI, machine learning, or Generative AI/LLM frameworks to scale vulnerability triage, automate deep‑drive code analysis, and design next‑generation defensive workflows.
• Expert scripting skills (Python, Go, or PowerShell) to build custom tooling and automate security tasks.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Information Security - We’re not your ordinary Information Security team. We’re a diverse group of security professionals who challenge the status quo in order to protect Palo Alto Networks and our customers. Driving innovation on the Information Security team of the fastest‑growing high‑tech cybersecurity company is a once‑in‑a‑lifetime opportunity. You’ll be joined by the brightest minds in technology, and our global teams are on the front line of defense against cyberattacks.

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 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.

$167,600.00 - $271,150.00/yr

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.