Principal Technical Program Manager (NetSec)
Palo Alto Networks· enterprise· Cybersecurity· Sep 15, 2026 · 1mo ago
Office - USA - CA - Headquarters
In office
Full-time
Principal
$175K–$284K
12+ years exp
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Job description
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
Position Overview
Palo Alto Networks is seeking a Principal Technical Program Manager to lead critical, strategic engineering initiatives within our Network Security (NetSec) organization. Operating as an Expert Individual Contributor and a true Systems Thinker , you will drive multi-program execution across complex architectural boundaries, resolve ambiguity involving multiple collaborating organizations, and elevate product delivery completeness and business efficiency across the entire engineering lifecycle.
Strategic Initiatives Under Portfolio
Next-Generation Runtime Security Agent Infrastructure: Drive cross-product program execution for agent software deployment across client and heterogeneous infrastructure, establishing seamless architectural alignment across platform, core firewall, and cloud security engineering divisions.
Enterprise AI Data Governance & Cataloguing Platform: Lead the strategic engineering roadmap for AI-driven data governance and cataloguing, navigating fluid compliance standards, unstructured data security, and complex intangible requirements with data-driven decision-making.
Public Cloud Web Firewall Integration Infrastructure: Drive joint multi-organization program execution integrating core NetSec security services into major public cloud platform infrastructure, managing external partner/ecosystem dependencies and cross-cloud integration.
NetSec TPM Organization-Wide AI Adoption Initiative: Serve as the AI Innovator and Catalyst for the NetSec TPM organization—introducing next-generation AI workflow tools (such as ADK, Anton, and Agent development platforms), coaching TPM teams, and establishing org-wide AI productivity KPIs.
Key Responsibilities
Multi-Program Leadership & Ownership: Own the execution of multiple highly complex engineering programs from inception through release. Identify dependencies, resolve inter-organizational ambiguities, and solve cross-product challenges creatively.
Systems Thinking & Process Optimization: Act as a Systems Thinker to drive process change across the NetSec organization. Define product development planning processes, select program management tools, and implement metrics dashboards/KPIs to measure program progress, product quality, and operational efficiency.
Technical & Architectural Influence: Influence technical design and decision-making for multiple programs by understanding underlying business use cases, system details, and cross-functional trade-offs.
Product Completeness & Quality: Ensure end-to-end completeness in product development and delivery across all collaborating functional areas (Engineering, QA, PLM, Operations, and Cloud Infrastructure).
AI Transformation & Mentorship: Lead the organization-wide shift toward advanced AI integration. Introduce novel AI tools/frameworks, mentor lower-level TPMs on AI workflows, and quantify organizational productivity gains and time savings.
Cross-Product Influence & Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for your product areas. Influence peers across teams and organizations to solve cross-functional and cross-product challenges, and present strategic process decisions to executive leadership.
Qualifications
Candidate Qualifications & Core Competencies
Experience: 12 years of technical program management experience leading large-scale software, cloud security, or enterprise networking programs.
Scope & Ownership: Demonstrated track record of owning multiple high-complexity programs simultaneously across collaborating product divisions.
Domain Expertise: Deep technical understanding of Network Security, Cloud Firewalls, Distributed Runtime Security Agents, or Enterprise AI Data Governance platforms.
Systems Leadership: Proven ability as a Systems Thinker —defining product development processes, managing Jira/Confluence dashboards, and running regular retrospectives for continuous team scaling.
AI Proficiency: Demonstrated leadership in AI adoption (AI Practitioner / Innovator Level), with hands-on experience applying tools like Gemini, NotebookLM, ADK, Anton, or custom AI Agent workflows to enhance engineering delivery.
Communication & Influence: Universally looked up to across functions as an SME; expert at negotiating architectural trade-offs and presenting to executive leadership.
Education: Bachelor s or Master s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent technical discipline.
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 .
$175,400.00 - $283,800.00/yr
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.
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