Staff AI Software Engineer

About the role

We are seeking a dynamic Staff IT Software Engineer to lead the design and delivery of our next-generation scalable services. Leveraging Python, Django, FastAPI, React, and GraphQL within Google Cloud Platform, you will evolve our core architecture and drive our transition into AI-native engineering.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the strategic architectural vision and deployment of high-quality, scalable software assets using Python and React, ensuring long-term alignment with enterprise architecture.
• Architect and govern advanced agentic systems using the Vertex AI Agent SDK (or alternative frameworks such as LangChain / LangGraph) and A2A protocols to enable seamless interoperability among autonomous enterprise services.
• Establish enterprise-wide AI Evaluation (Evals) frameworks and automated benchmarking pipelines to rigorously measure, monitor, and optimize LLM/agent performance across metrics like accuracy, safety, latency, and cost.
• Define the organizational strategy and architecture for data retrieval pipelines, ensuring scalable and optimized utilization of vector embeddings, semantic search, and similarity-based retrieval patterns.
• Standardize and scale Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to effectively bridge core enterprise IT data with LLM-driven applications across business units.
• Partner closely with technical executives, product management, and cross-functional engineering teams to align AI initiatives with overarching business objectives and drive high-impact results.
• Mentor and cultivate technical leaders and engineers across the organization, fostering a culture of excellence, applied learning, and accountability in full-stack and AI domains.
• Take ultimate accountability for cross-team project outcomes, ensuring AI and software solutions meet rigorous enterprise-grade standards for security, quality, and performance.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 6 years of related professional software engineering experience with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent military experience.
• 6+ years of professional experience in backend development with Python, utilizing frameworks like Django or FastAPI to design and build fault-tolerant microservice architectures.
• Professional experience deploying, maintaining, and optimizing Generative AI or LLM-powered applications in a production environment.
• Hands-on experience with LLM orchestration and agentic frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LangGraph, or native cloud Agent SDKs).
• Strong technical understanding and hands-on experience with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures, including vector embeddings, semantic search, and working with vector databases.
• Demonstrated experience implementing LLM guardrails, prompt engineering best practices, and prompt injection defenses.
• Strong proficiency in containerization and orchestration using Docker and Kubernetes (GKE).
• Proven track record of delivering complex software solutions from concept to production.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven track record of architecting, deploying, and scaling production-grade Generative AI and LLM-powered applications.
• Experience implementing robust AI evaluation (Evals) workflows, metrics selection, and automated testing methodologies for generative AI applications.
• Deep, hands-on experience with Google Cloud Platform, particularly Google Vertex AI (including Vertex AI Evaluation services).
• Production-level knowledge of Agent SDK, LangChain, or LangGraph frameworks, as well as A2A protocols and the implementation of MCP servers.
• Experience using Agentic IDEs (e.g., Cursor, Windsurf) in a professional development environment.
• Master's degree in Computer Science or a related field.

Compensation

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 the annual range listed below. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here. $124,000.00 - $201,500.00/yr

Our Commitment

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.

Equal Opportunity Employer

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.

Is Role Eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?

No.