Sr Staff Research Analyst (Cortex Vulnerability Management Scanning)

Company Description

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 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.

Job Description

Your Career

The Cortex Exposure Management Scanning team is expanding, and we’re looking for a Principal Cyber Research Engineer to join our team. At Cortex, we believe that making the internet a safer place for our customers matters. The Cortex Vulnerability Management Scanning team builds the software that provides our customers visibility into their behind-the-firewall attack surface, allowing them to prioritize and remediate critical vulnerabilities using the XSIAM platform.

Your Impact

• Conduct vulnerability assessment research and testing, enhance automation processes, and ensure a smooth workflow for identifying, validating and mitigating customer security risks.

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive, industry-leading repository of vulnerability content for network and endpoint based scanners to enhance detection and mitigation strategies.

• Analyze existing solutions, identify barriers to quality, recommend changes, then implement.

• Take part in architecture strategy sessions; design solutions that accommodate the requirements of the various groups across Cortex.

• Collaborate with teams to solve problems, reduce technical debt, and evolve development practices. Drive technical best practices and evangelize new technologies within the engineering organization.

• Mentor other researchers and ensure that your team delivers high-quality output.

• Take ownership of projects, drive them to completion, and support them in production.

Qualifications

Your Experience 

• 4+ years of experience in vulnerability management, security research, or penetration testing.

• Strong understanding of TCP/IP and common networking protocols (e.g., HTTP, FTP, SSH, SNMP), with practical experience applying this knowledge in the context of network-based vulnerability scanning and asset discovery.

• Familiarity with common open source security software such as Nuclei, OpenVAS, or Nmap.

• Experience authoring and conducting vulnerability assessments on one or more operating system platforms (Windows, Linux, macOS, or Unix-based) using agent-based and network-based scanning tools.

• Knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks and vulnerability methodologies.

• Familiarity with current penetration and security assessment tools such as Metasploit, Nmap, Burp Suite, Wireshark, etc. 

• Cybersecurity knowledge demonstrated with base level certifications (eg. OSCP, GPEN, or Pentest+) or willingness to obtain.

• Experience contributing to public vulnerability research, submitting CVEs or creating proof-of-concept exploits.

Nice To Haves

• Able to switch between research, design, prototype, and implementation.

• Proficient in Python. Familiar with, or eager to learn Java, Golang, C/C++ or RUST. 

• Hands-on experience configuring, tuning and troubleshooting enterprise vulnerability-management platforms (e.g. Nessus, Qualys, Tenable, Rapid7) and interpreting scan-data to validate and prioritize remediation.

• Experience deploying and managing vulnerability assessment solutions (agent-based and network-based) to support compliance initiatives such as SOC 2, or CIS Benchmarks, including policy configuration, scan scheduling, and evidence generation for audits.

• Experience using cloud managed services (ideally in GCP).

• Are familiar with distributed data stores, such as BigQuery and BigTable, as well as relational databases such as PostgreSQL and MySQL.

• Familiarity with patch management processes and tools (eg.WSUS or SCCM) knowing how vulnerabilities are remediated.

• Familiarity with embedded systems, mobile platforms (eg Android and iOS).

• Knowledge of network architectures; understands subnetting and routing and how VLANs work and affect network scanning.

Additional Information

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/commissioned roles) is expected to be between $151,000 - $200,000/YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.

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  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?: Yes