Staff Technical Support Engineer, Focused Services, NGFW

About the role

As a designated customer advocate under Focused Services, you will work firsthand with our valued customers to address their complex post-sales concerns where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of many factors. You’re a critical thinker in understanding the methods, techniques, and evaluation criteria for obtaining results. You’ll enjoy networking with key contacts outside your own area of expertise, with a strong capability of detailing difficult technical issues to both non-technical and technical professionals.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the ultimate internal escalation point for the most complex, multi-layered, and critical technical emergencies globally, taking definitive technical ownership to resolve structural network security crises.
• Partner directly with Development, QA, and Product Management to identify systemic software defects, steer product feature roadmaps based on support data, and design proactive architectural solutions that minimize support overhead.
• Pioneer advanced automated diagnostics, custom log parsing scripts, and predictive troubleshooting playbooks. Drive the strategic implementation and continuous improvement of generative AI diagnostic utilities to elevate overall organizational troubleshooting accuracy.
• Establish industry-leading documentation standards; author comprehensive, high-impact Technical Support Bulletins, advanced architecture whitepapers, and authoritative root-cause analysis documents for broad internal and external consumption.
• Design, build, and deliver technical onboarding curriculums and advanced training frameworks. Actively mentor Senior and Core Support Engineers, conduct technical candidate screenings, and calibrate technical standards across global support theaters.
• Act as a critical technical voice in Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) and high-stakes executive interactions, translating intricate, cross-vendor engineering issues into precise, business-impact terms for C-level stakeholders.
• Provide support that includes mandatory weekend, holiday shift work and on-call support. Support includes a blend of as-needed and rotational coverage, which is subject to change.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive, advanced experience in network operations, infrastructure engineering, or enterprise cybersecurity support.
• Education: Bachelor’s or Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Computer Architecture, or equivalent practical/military experience.
• Mastery-Level Network Analysis: Comprehensive, authoritative knowledge of multi-vendor networking fabrics, complex routing architectures (e.g., advanced BGP topologies, OSPF, EIGRP), packet-level micro-flows, and deep OSI-layer fault isolation.
• Enterprise Security Architecture: Expert-level mastery of Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW), Cloud Security Access Brokers (CASB), SASE architectures, Zero Trust network access (ZTNA), and advanced cryptographic tunneling protocols (IPsec, SSL/TLS).
• Identity & Modern Authentication Frameworks: In-depth technical proficiency with cloud-forward identity provider systems (IdP) and single sign-on (SSO) frameworks using advanced authentication protocols (e.g., SAML 2.0, OIDC, OAuth, along with standard RADIUS, TACACS+, and LDAP setups).
• Systemic Project & Time Optimization: Demonstrated success in leading cross-functional initiatives, balancing strategic architectural engineering projects alongside high-priority customer commitments.

Skills

• Tier-3/Expert-level industry certifications (e.g., CCIE Security, PCNSE, CISSP, or equivalent).
• Hands-on proficiency with scripting and automation architectures (Python, Shell, REST APIs) applied to massive network environments.
• Practical virtualization and cloud-native architecture engineering experience (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Kubernetes, or VMware ESXi).

Benefits

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 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.

$117,000.00 - $189,200.00/yr

Our Commitment

We’re trailblazers that dream big, 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