Global Solutions Architect - Cloud

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!

Job Description

This position supports our customers globally.  Work from your home office and be near an airport for required travel.

Your Career
The Global Solutions Architect (GSA) for Software NGFW provides a mix of customer-facing architecture and design activities as well as internal solution development and knowledge management. 

The GSA is a Public Cloud expert with a strong understanding of network security. It has expert knowledge of cloud hosted technologies and the corresponding integration, implementation, and operation techniques that optimize PRISMA/STRATA Platforms. The GSA drives the design of new solutions and optimizes them by leading the initial execution of projects.

The GSA is responsible for managing our knowledge and Intellectual Property across the worldwide community of Software NGFW  consultants and partners. The GSA also leads efforts to educate the PRISMA/STRATA community in new Software NGFW technologies.

This is a highly technical role. The GSA will be required to develop and maintain expertise on PRISMA/STRATA Platforms and the relevant tools that can be used to optimize the deployment and operation of the Platforms.

The position requires strong leadership skills; the GSA will have to rally the STRATA community to agree on tools and techniques and develop Software NGFW assets. 

The position requires strong communication skills; the GSA will have to articulate a clear vision to customers, consultants, account managers, and partners.

Your impact:

• Identify target customers and market opportunities where automation can be used to optimize the deployment and operation of Palo Alto Networks PRISMA/STRATA products in on-premise, and public cloud models.

• Working with the product-line GSAs, develop automation services with clear and documented value propositions. Effectively communicate our value propositions to Services Sales, Account Management, and Customers.

• Provide technical support during pre-sales by demonstrating our ability to excel in the delivery of security automation projects.

• Engage with customers in the delivery of new services and strategic engagements with a focus on service validation and the development and capture of Intellectual Property.

• Refine our services for efficient consumption by the PS organization and partners. Ensure successful completion of projects and share lessons learned.

• Manage our Intellectual Property by educating stakeholders on the availability of assets and enlisting the support of contributors. Oversee the development of automation assets and lead the enablement of the PS organization and partners. Monitor utilization and effectiveness of our Intellectual Property.

• Collaborate on recommended architectures with Domain Consultants , Developer Relations, and other internal SMEs. 

• Collaborate with Product Management and Engineering teams on new products and features to ensure PS technical Readiness.

• Portion of your time will be spent delivering customer projects. You’ll do this in support of two goals. First, this will enable you to measure the fitness of our public cloud and container assets and solutions. Second, It will provide you with the opportunity to train our consultants.

• Share knowledge with Partners, and build mutually beneficial relationships

• Regular Presentation in Practice meeting

• Develop and coach appropriate practice specialists and practice team members.

• Lead Internal and Partner facing workshops.

Qualifications

Your Experience 

• BS in Computer Science or equivalent education/training/experience

• Minimum 3 years’ experience with Public Cloud Platforms Architecture and Deployment (Azure, AWS and GCP)

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in building/integrating security solutions in large environments

• Minimum 10 years of Networking experience

• Tunneling protocols such as SSL/TLS, IPSec, GRE

• Next-Generation Firewall capabilities, configuration, and deployment

• Experience deploying and configuring Next-Generation Firewall technologies.

• Ability to work within small creative teams as well as cross-functional teams

• Strong communication (written and verbal)

• Strong presentation skills both internally and externally

• Experience working with LLMs, NLP, or generative AI (e.g., OpenAI GPT, Hugging Face Transformers). is plus

• Experience in Private Cloud Platforms Architecture and Deployment (NSX-T, VMware ESXi, KVM and Cisco AC is a plus

• Ambitious attitude

• Leadership skills, being able to generate enthusiasm and commitment

• Ability to effectively multi-task on internal initiatives and customer projects

• Ability to lead a team on internal investment projects and customer projects

• Ability to deliver complex solutions in customer environments individually or as a team leader

• Solid development  skills in Helm, and Python are a plus

• Must have deep Experience/Knowledge with ublic Cloud providers like GCP/AWS/Azure

• Experince in Oracle Cloud, Ali Cloud etc is a plus

• Knowledge of Kubernetes is a plus

• Experience with CI/CD workflows and Cloud Native best practices

• Knowledge in Ansible / Terraform is a big plus

• Travel (30-40%) to Palo Alto Networks offices for workshops with the possibility of travel to customer sites to deploy Palo Alto Network solutions as outlined by the statement of work

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 starting salary of $145,000.  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.