Principal Security Researcher (Decoder)
Palo Alto Networks2 months ago
Base Salary
$172k - $278k/yr
Responsibilities
- Research networking protocols, application networking behavior, file types, and file properties.
- Research protocol and firewall evasion techniques and develop corresponding defense mechanisms.
- Develop protocol and file decoders and integrate detection solutions with Palo Alto Networks products.
- Build common services supporting network security services and develop internal tools to monitor and support cybersecurity products.
- Collaborate across teams to discover and integrate advanced cybersecurity features into inline product solutions.
Requirements
- Strong programming and debugging skills with required Go experience; C/C++ experience is preferred.
- Strong understanding of Go concurrency, memory optimization, and scalable system design.
- Excellent understanding of Layer 4–7 protocols including HTTP, TLS, SMTP, FTP, WebSocket, gRPC, and TCP/IP.
- Experience with packet processing, stream reassembly, protocol parsing, traffic analysis systems, and tools such as Wireshark, Fiddler, and tcpdump.
- Familiarity with Linux/Unix development environments and strong communication skills for cross-functional collaboration.
- BS/MS in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering, or equivalent military experience.
- At least 5 years of industry experience.
- Preferred: knowledge of next-generation firewalls and cybersecurity services; protocol evasion, fragmentation, and traffic obfuscation; Suricata, Zeek, eBPF, DPDK, or similar technologies; pattern matching and rule-based detection systems; DFA/NFA concepts; performance profiling tools; or AI techniques for traffic classification, protocol identification, or anomaly detection.
Benefits
- Most teams work from the office full time, with flexibility when needed.
- The position is eligible for immigration sponsorship.
- Benefits may include restricted stock units and a bonus.
About Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks builds cybersecurity products for enterprises and governments, including next-generation firewalls, cloud security (Prisma Cloud/Prisma Access), and SOC tools (Cortex). It sells subscriptions and appliances with cloud-delivered threat intelligence, securing networks, endpoints, and applications across data centers and public clouds. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company is publicly traded on the NYSE under the ticker PANW.