Hiring: Senior Principal Software Engineer – Backend (Machine Identity Security, SaaS Control Plane) Company: Palo Alto Networks Location: Santa Clara, CA Job Posted Time: 2026-09-03 07:40:30 Employment Type: Full-time Target Skills & Keywords : API Design, AWS, Ansible, Azure, CI/CD, Docker, GCP, Java, Kafka, Kubernetes, Microservices, OAuth, SAML, SaaS, Systems Design, Terraform About the job Experience: •8+ years of professional experience in software development, with demonstrated ownership of complex backend or control plane systems Required Skills: •Lead the design and development of backend services and APIs that power the Machine Identity Security control plane •Own and drive backend architecture and system design for control plane services, with a focus on scalability, reliability, and extensibility •Define and influence how control plane capabilities are exposed through APIs, SDKs, and integrations •Build and guide the development of integrations between the control plane and external systems/tools (e.g., Terraform, Ansible, enterprise platforms) •Design and operate high-throughput distributed systems supporting large-scale, multi-tenant SaaS control plane environments, with a focus on latency, reliability, and data consistency •Optimize backend services for performance at scale, including request throughput, concurrency, and system efficiency under load •Partner closely with product, platform, and security teams to define and evolve control plane capabilities and long-term system direction •Drive consistency and best practices across teams building control plane services, influencing design patterns, service communication, and data handling at a platform level Qualifications: •Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience •Strong experience building backend services and APIs using Java (primary); Go experience is a plus •Deep experience designing and scaling distributed systems and microservices architectures •Applied hands-on capability in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP), ideally in SaaS environments •Strong system design expertise, including API design, performance optimization, and scalability patterns •Operational familiarity with identity, authentication, or security systems (SAML, OAuth, certificate management) is a plus •Proven ability to lead large-scale system design efforts and influence technical direction across multiple teams or services •Demonstrated capacity to influence technical direction, mentor engineers, and drive alignment across teams •Strong problem-solving skills and ability to operate effectively in a collaborative, fast-paced environment Compensation: •Flexible work environment (work from home / hybrid options) •The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus Interested candidates, please apply directly through the job posting on company's career page or try via AI auto apply on this platform. Don't miss this opportunity to join a forward-thinking team!