Principal Consultant, Incident Recovery Operations (Unit 42)

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.

Who We Are 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!

This role is remote, but distance is no barrier to impact. Our hybrid teams collaborate across geographies to solve big problems, stay close to our customers, and grow together. You will be part of a culture that values trust, accountability, and shared success where your work truly matters.

Job Summary As a Principal Consultant in Unit 42, you will lead technical engagements to help clients recover from security incidents and build effective security operations programs. You will partner with Incident Response, Threat Intelligence, and other teams to minimize organizational risk and prepare clients for the evolving threat landscape, leveraging deep knowledge from our extensive client base. This senior role is pivotal in helping clients on their worst days and strategically improving their long-term security posture.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage complex Incident Response remediation engagements for global clients, with potential for up to 70% travel.
• Collaborate with Incident Response Leads to proactively address risks identified during active investigations.
• Develop detailed remediation workflows, strategic recommendations, and roadmaps aligned with cybersecurity frameworks (e.g., NIST CSF, CIS).
• Architect and execute the rebuilding of servers and workstations using infrastructure as code (IaC) tools such as Terraform, Ansible, and Packer.
• Design and implement secure network topologies, infrastructure hardening, and configuration modifications informed by modern attacker techniques.
• Create and deliver comprehensive reports and presentations for both technical and executive leadership stakeholders.
• Communicate complex remediation strategies and workflows effectively to clients, including IT staff, senior leadership, and counsel.
• Ensure the preservation of data integrity to support Unit 42’s forensic investigative workflows.

Qualifications Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 15 years of relevant experience, Master's degree with 12 years of experience, or PhD with 8 years of experience.
• 6+ years of management experience leading technical teams in network engineering, system administration, or virtualization at an enterprise scale.
• Deep expertise in identity management, single sign-on (SSO), and modern authentication protocols.
• Thorough understanding of enterprise security controls, risk reduction strategies, and scalable architectures in Microsoft Active Directory (AD) and Azure AD environments.
• Strong expertise with cloud computing concepts and securing hybrid-cloud infrastructure.

Preferred Qualifications

• Expertise using security frameworks (e.g., NIST CSF, CIS, HIPAA, PCI DSS) to harden Windows, Linux, and cloud-based environments.
• Hands-on experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tooling (e.g., Terraform, Jenkins, Packer, Ansible).
• Proven ability to manage client relationships, lead executive-level meetings, and manage multiple project teams concurrently.
• Experience securing OSX systems in an enterprise environment.

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/com-missioned 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.

$151,000.00 - $208,000.00/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? No. Please note that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.