Sr. Principal Escalation Engineer

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks®, we’re united by a shared mission—to protect our digital way of life. We thrive at the intersection of innovation and impact, solving real‑world problems with cutting‑edge technology and bold thinking. Here, everyone has a voice, and every idea counts. If you’re ready to do the most meaningful work of your career alongside people who are just as passionate as you are, you’re in the right place.

In order to be the cybersecurity partner of choice, we must trailblaze the path and shape the future of our industry. This is something our employees work at each day and is defined by our values:
Disruption, Collaboration, Execution, Integrity, and Inclusion. We weave AI into the fabric of everything we do and use it to augment the impact every individual can have. If you are passionate about solving real‑world problems and ideating beside the best and the brightest, we invite you to join us!

We believe collaboration thrives in person. That’s why most of our teams work from the office full time, with flexibility when it’s needed. This model supports real‑time problem‑solving, stronger relationships, and the kind of precision that drives great outcomes.

Engineering – Our engineering team is at the core of our products and connected directly to the mission of preventing cyberattacks. We are constantly innovating — challenging the way we, and the industry, think about cybersecurity. Our engineers don’t shy away from building products to solve problems no one has pursued before. We define the industry instead of waiting for directions.

We need individuals who feel comfortable in ambiguity, excited by the prospect of a challenge, and empowered by the unknown risks facing our everyday lives that are only enabled by a secure digital environment.

As a Principal Escalation Engineer, you will hold a highly visible, senior‑level position on a growing team. This role requires a blend of customer management and deep technical expertise in telecommunication equipment and internet traffic. You will leverage your background in troubleshooting modern networks and understanding of internet protocols to resolve the most critical technical escalations that reach the executive level.

• Intercept, assist, and drive highly critical technical escalations that are raised to the executive engineering level.
• Serve as a primary technical point of contact for executive‑level customers, effectively communicating situation status, root cause analysis, and resolution progress.
• Proactively collaborate with internal account teams to ensure alignment and provide status updates on critical customer issues.
• Address and clarify complex technical questions during high‑stakes customer interactions, ensuring clarity and confidence.
• Analyze complex network issues, including dynamic routing and security protocols, to identify root causes and deliver robust solutions.
• Engage in open discussions regarding network design, security architecture, and other technical topics with both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

• BE/B.Tech degree, equivalent technical graduation, or equivalent military experience.
• Career‑level experience in a technical support, service, or troubleshooting‑related role within a network security or equipment vendor organization.
• Demonstrated experience as a technical lead in a relevant area of expertise.
• Proficiency in configuring and troubleshooting dynamic routing protocols, primarily BGP and OSPF.
• Strong skills in Layer 1‑3 (OSI model) troubleshooting and packet capture analysis using tools like Wireshark.
• Experience troubleshooting VPNs (IPSec and SSL tunnels) and telecommunications hardware.

• Advanced industry certifications such as JNCIE, CCIE, CCNP, or similar.
• Experience with cloud deployments and solutions in AWS, GCP, Azure, or KVM environments.
• Programming or scripting knowledge in languages like C, C++, or Python.
• Proven ability to explain complex technical issues effectively to non‑technical audiences.

The compensation offered for this position will depend on…