Principal Solutions Architect, Cortex

Our Mission At Palo Alto Networks® everything starts and ends with our mission: Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life. Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. We are a company built on the foundation of challenging and disrupting the way things are done, and we’re looking for innovators who are as committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity as we are. Who We Are 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. Your Career As a Principal Architect you will serve as a trusted executive advisor responsible for influencing our clients’ cybersecurity transformation strategies and driving them to successful security outcomes. This role focuses on enhancing the productivity of field sales teams by delivering business-relevant consulting engagements to strategic prospects and customers. In this Director-level role you will lead, direct, and advise cross-functional teams to orchestrate strategic, advisory-style client engagements that keep sales campaigns aligned with customer executive priorities. Your primary goal is to influence and empower customers to embrace the Palo Alto Networks platform by delivering authoritative architectural roadmaps that create a bridge between the full breadth of Palo Alto Networks’ security solutions and solutions that address the client’s business needs. Core Focus Areas The Principal Architect is expected to be generally familiar with and conversant in all major security domains, including Secure Access Service Edge/Zero Trust (SASE/ZT), Cloud Security, Security Operations, and Identity Security. The ideal candidate for this role will have deep technical knowledge of and hands‑on experience with security operations or incident response. Your Impact Strategic Advisory and Client Engagement Establish and maintain executive-level relationships (Manager, Director, VP, and CxO contacts) in strategic accounts with high growth potential. Transform client security strategies by driving conversations that advocate for Palo Alto Networks’ view of transformative Solution Architectures. Provide valuable insights and education to clients on effective risk reduction, operational excellence, and cost management. Identify and document the client’s strategic transformation goals and priority outcomes for value realization, collaborating with specialists to develop business cases around measurable benefits. Conduct high-impact consulting engagements, including architectural assessments, designs, and client workshops, setting and driving a strategic agenda with the customer and sales/engineering teams. Sales Productivity and Thought Leadership Demonstrate increased sales productivity through strategic architectural engagements. Engage directly with senior technical and business leaders as a security expert to expand reach within accounts and expand the scope of sales opportunities by identifying new areas of engagement and areas where our solutions can deliver on executive priorities. Collaborate with sales teams to develop and deliver differentiated proposals that clearly demonstrate business and technical value. Internal Partnership and Development Become a valued resource to Product Management by discovering and understanding current challenges, competitive insights, and opportunities to address emerging needs in strategic market segments. Maintain continuous self‑improvement and learning to sustain technical leadership across relevant technologies (e.g., security technologies, cyber threat intelligence, risk and regulatory topics, emerging technologies) Work closely with Sales and Solution Consulting leadership, Unit42 consulting teams, Business Value Consultants, Professional Services, Customer Success, and theater CISO/CTO resources (where applicable) to ensure a coordinated market approach. Your Experience Experience: 10+ years of experience as an end customer, a cybersecurity vendor or consultant is required. Education: BSCS, equivalent degree or experience is required. Architectural Knowledge: Must have deep knowledge of security operations, SIEM, endpoint security and incident response. Preferred experience in network security, SASE/Zero Trust, cloud security, identity management, and emerging topics related to cybersecurity and AI is a plus. Extensive knowledge of core security architectures, history, and trends spanning network, endpoint, and hybrid environments. Solid fundamental background in principles and practices of networking and/or cloud computing. Executive Presence: Demonstrable experience in establishing credibility and strategic messaging with large enterprise executives (CISO and above). Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills, both internally and externally. Drive and Problem Solving: A “Whatever it takes” attitude and motivation to overcome obstacles necessary to achieve desired outcomes and close deals. Robust problem finding and solving skills, with the ability to analyze complex problems with systematic approaches to quick resolution, even under duress. Travel: Expect to travel a minimum of 50%+ of the weeks in the fiscal year. Travel will include customer and company location onsite meetings. Organizational Skills: Superb organizational skills are required The Team Our GTM team members work hand in hand with large organizations around the world to keep their digital environments protected. We educate, inspire, and empower our potential clients in their journey to security. As part of our GTM team, you are empowered with unmatched systems and tools, constantly updated research and sales libraries, and a team built on joint success. You won’t find someone at Palo Alto Networks who isn’t committed to your success — everyone pitches in to assist when it comes to solutions selling, learning, and development. As a member of our Sales team, you are motivated by a solutions-focused sales environment and find fulfillment in working with clients to resolve incredibly complex cyber threats. Our Commitment We’re problem solvers that 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 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. #J-18808-Ljbffr