Senior Staff AI Engineer
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.
We take our mission of protecting the digital way of life seriously. We are relentless in protecting our customers and we believe that the unique ideas of every member of our team contributes to our collective success. Our values were crowdsourced by employees and are brought to life through each of us everyday - from disruptive innovation and collaboration, to execution. From showing up for each other with integrity to creating an environment where we all feel included.
As a member of our team, you will be shaping the future of cybersecurity. We work fast, value ongoing learning, and we respect each employee as a unique individual. Knowing we all have different needs, our development and personal wellbeing programs are designed to give you choice in how you are supported. This includes our FLEXBenefits wellbeing spending account with over 1,000 eligible items selected by employees, our mental and financial health resources, and our personalized learning opportunities - just to name a few!
At Palo Alto Networks, we believe in the power of collaboration and value in-person interactions. This is why our employees generally work full time from our office with flexibility offered where needed. This setup fosters casual conversations, problem-solving, and trusted relationships. Our goal is to create an environment where we all win with precision.
As a Senior Staff AI Engineer for Enterprise AI Solutions, you will be a critical technical leader responsible for the hands-on design, development, and implementation of AI-powered solutions that solve challenging business problems across IT and various enterprise functions (Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR, Legal, etc.). You will work closely with Principal and Distinguished Architects to translate high-level strategies into concrete AI solution designs and robust, scalable, and ethical implementations. This role demands deep technical expertise, a strong ability to solve complex problems, and a commitment to mentoring other engineers, leveraging our Enterprise AI Platform to deliver measurable business impact.
Your impact includes:
AI Solution Implementation: Lead the design and implementation of AI solutions, translating business problems into AI designs, and managing model selection, data requirements, and integration for AI applications
Platform Development: Develop and implement core components of the enterprise AI/ML platform, ensuring scalability and security. Contribute to the lifecycle of traditional and Generative AI model deployment and real-time inference systems
System Optimization: Design and optimize large-scale AI/ML systems for performance, reliability, and developer-friendliness, focusing on low latency and high throughput in real-time AI applications
Technology Adoption: Evaluate and integrate new AI tools, frameworks, and cloud solutions, aligning with architectural guidelines. Lead POCs for emerging AI innovations
Architectural Best Practices: Champion design standards and best practices for AI systems, guiding junior engineers
Technical Leadership: Mentor AI/ML engineers, lead design discussions, and perform code reviews, fostering engineering excellence
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Data Scientists, ML Engineers, Product Managers, and IT stakeholders to develop production-grade AI solutions
Responsible AI & Quality: Ensure AI systems comply with responsible AI principles and security policies. Implement automated testing and monitoring
Innovation & Research: Apply cutting-edge AI/ML techniques to solve problems and improve solutions, staying updated on advancements in Generative AI and LLMs
Your experience includes:
8+ years in software engineering, with 4+ years in AI/ML solutions or platform development
Hands-on expertise in building and deploying enterprise-grade AI/ML systems
Understanding of the AI lifecycle: data, training, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring
Experience with distributed systems, streaming data, data lakes, and real-time decision engines
Generative AI & LLMs: Experience with LLMs, multi-modal models, RAGs, and agentic AI systems
Proficiency in AI/ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch) and cloud platforms (AWS SageMaker, Google Cloud AI, Azure ML)
Strong programming skills (Python, Java, Go)
Excellent communication skills
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or related field
System-level thinking: Understanding and optimizing distributed AI architectures
Preferred qualifications include:
Master's degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related technical field or equivalent military experience required
Experience contributing to open-source AI projects
Prior experience in a technical lead role for AI/ML projects
Familiarity with cybersecurity principles as they apply to AI systems
The ideal candidate is a highly skilled and passionate AI engineer who thrives on solving challenging problems and building robust, impactful solutions. You are a natural technical leader and mentor, capable of driving significant technical initiatives from design to deployment and contributing to the overall excellence of the AI platform. You are eager to translate business needs into innovative AI solutions and contribute to the company's digital transformation.