Principal AI Engineer, Enterprise AI Platform

Position Overview

At Palo Alto Networks®, our mission is to protect our digital way of life by blending cutting‐edge technology with bold innovation. As a Principal AI Engineer for the Enterprise AI Platform, you will be a pivotal technical leader driving the design and hands‐on implementation of AI-powered solutions. You will translate ambiguous business problems into concrete AI designs, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and ensure that our platform consistently delivers measurable impact.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the applied AI solution design and architecture, breaking down ambiguous business problems into concrete, actionable AI solution designs.
• Drive the hands-on development and implementation of key AI components, supporting both traditional and Generative AI model development and deployment.
• Contribute to the detailed design of large-scale, distributed AI/ML systems, ensuring performance, reliability, and security.
• Collaborate with executive leadership, data science, engineering, and product stakeholders to translate business use-cases into scalable AI solutions.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to AI/ML engineers, fostering a culture of excellence and hands-on experimentation.
• Lead the implementation and continuous improvement of MLOps pipelines including automated model training, versioning, deployment, and monitoring.
• Champion and enforce design standards, patterns, and best practices for scalable and secure development of AI applications.
• Actively research and evaluate cutting-edge AI/ML techniques, algorithms, and models to identify opportunities for platform enhancement.

Required Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent military experience required.
• Experience Required: 12+ years of related experience, or a Master's degree with 8 years of experience, or a PhD with 5 years of experience.
• Proven expertise in designing and building complex, enterprise-grade AI/ML platforms and applications.
• Direct hands-on experience with Generative AI technologies, including Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and agentic AI systems.
• Strong programming skills in Python, Java, or Go and proficiency in modern AI/ML frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch).
• Extensive hands-on experience with distributed systems, streaming data platforms, and cloud AI/ML platforms (e.g., GCP Vertex AI, AWS SageMaker).

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related technical field.
• Experience contributing to open-source AI projects or publications in top-tier AI conferences.
• Prior experience in a technical consulting or solutions architecture role, bridging technical teams and senior business stakeholders.
• Deep understanding of cybersecurity principles as they apply to AI systems.

Benefits & Perks

• Compensation: $167,000.00 - $270,500.00 per year
• Comprehensive benefits package available to employees, with further details provided on our employee benefits page.