Principal Solutions Architect, Cortex

At Palo AltoNetworks everything starts and ends with ourmission:

Being the cybersecurity partner ofchoice, protecting our digital way of life.

Ourvision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than theone before. We are a company built on the foundation of challengingand disrupting the way things are done, and we’re looking forinnovators who are as committed to shaping the future ofcybersecurity as we are.

As a Principal Solutions Architectat Palo Alto Networks, you are responsible for improving theproductivity of our sales teams through the creation and deliveryof business-relevant security conversations to our key prospectsand customers. As a thought leader, you will address CyberSecurityrelated issues by leveraging the full Palo Alto Networks portfolioin a way that creates differentiated businessvalue.

The Principal Solutions Architect’s valueis measured in their ability to increase sales productivityby:

• Compelling communication to gainthe trust and buy-in from Vice President and CXO contacts at ourlargest customers and prospects
• Setting anddriving an agenda with the customer or prospect, both directly andwith sales teams, and within the market through variousengagements, including client workshops and architecturalassessments and designs
• Developing andmaintaining a deep understanding of competing solutions andarchitectures and being able to position a Palo Alto Networksapproach successfully
• Uncovering new technologyapplications and use cases and aiding in creating presentations,documents, and deliverables that will illustrate value to prospectsand customers and the Palo Alto Networks salesteams
• Uncovering and documentingtechnological/business value gaps between the Palo Alto NetworksCortex platform and competitive offerings and communicating theseto the broader Palo Alto Networks Salesorganization
• Becoming a valued resource toProduct Management to discover and understand current shortcomingsand competitive insights in our product suite and requirements forfuture strategic market segments
• Playing a roleon the EBC team in creating customer messaging that ties the CortexPortfolio together with the entire Palo Alto NetworksPortfolio

The role will require closecoordination with the Senior Leadership, Sales, Palo Alto Networks’CISO and Theater CISO’s, Sales Engineering leadership, ProductManagement, Marketing, Channel Partners, and the ConsultingEngineering team. This is a senior technical customer-facing role,and the value produced must be evident and recurrent. Customers andSales Teams will ask for you by name.

• In this director-level role,you will lead and direct cross-functional teams within Palo AltoNetworks to ensure the highest quality of product and servicedelivery focused on customer businessoutcomes
• As a thought leader, you will addresscustomers and prospects security operations challenges and workwith them to develop a successful strategy for their organizationto implement Palo Alto Networks Cortex technologies in a way thatcreates differentiated business value
• Engageand establish an advisory relationship with key Manager, Director,VP, and CXO contacts at strategic customers to transform theirsecurity strategy
• Engage directly with seniortechnical and business leaders at key prospects and customers as asecurity expert to penetrate whitespace accounts and expand Cortexinstall base through the Identification, qualification, and closureof opportunities
• Work with the sales teams onstrategic opportunities for the development and delivery ofdifferentiated proposals which clearly demonstrate the business andtechnical value of Cortex
• Provide summarizedand business-relevant feedback into content, Product Management,Product Marketing, Competitive Marketing, and Field Marketing basedon customer engagements to improve Palo Alto Networks effectivenessin communicating its value proposition to prospects andclients
• Engage in continuous self-improvementand learning to maintain technical leadership of relevanttechnologies (security, data center, public cloud, networking,endpoint, etc.)
• As a trusted advisor, you willprovide valuable insights and education on effective riskreduction, compliance, governance, and cost reduction through aprevention-first security approach based on the Palo Alto Networkssecurity platform
• Develop and maintain ongoingexecutive-level relationships with our largest XSIAM Customers todrive continued platform satisfaction andadoption
• Delivery of targeted CXO-level Threatand Risk Management Briefings by leveraging U42 research and XpanseASM Mappings
• Developing and maintaining anexecutive-level point of view on Cybersecurity trends with a deepunderstanding of security operations and the ability tosuccessfully position a Palo Alto Networksapproach

YourExperience

• Extensiveknowledge of security operations, SIEM, attack surface management,network and endpoint security architectures, history, andtrends
• Experience with SIEM, Log Management,XDR/EDR, and security investigation tools commonly used by largecustomers to run their securityprograms
• Demonstrable senior level experiencein an IT vendor pre-sales or post-sales role. We will also considerapplicants that have SIEM deployment expertise in an end userenvironment.
• Demonstrable experience inestablishing credibility and strategic messaging with largeenterprise customers
• Knowledge of ancillarysecurity areas such as identity management, public and privatecloud architectures
• Self-motivated attitude todo whatever is necessary to close deals
• Expectto travel a minimum of 50%+ of the weeks in the fiscal year. Thisis a global role and will require travel both in theater andinternationally. Travel will include customer and Palo AltoNetworks location onsite meetings
• Strongcommunication (written and verbal) and presentation skills, bothinternally and externally
• Robust problemfinding and solving skills, ability to analyze complex multivariateproblems, and systematic approach to gain quick resolution, evenunder duress
• Super organizationalskills
• Fluent German and advanced Englishlanguageskills

Preferences

• Experienceworking with channel partners and understanding a channel-centricgo-to-market approach
• Experience working withcompanies in the enterprise security space
• Endcustomer background to validate your perspective withcustomers

TheTeam

Our GTM team members workhand in hand with large organizations around the world to keeptheir digital environments protected. We educate, inspire, andempower our potential clients in their journey tosecurity.

As part of our GTM team, you areempowered with unmatched systems and tools, constantly updatedresearch and sales libraries, and a team built on joint success.You won’t find someone at Palo Alto Networks who isn’t committed toyour success — everyone pitches in to assist when it comes tosolutions selling, learning, and development. As a member of ourSales team, you are motivated by a solutions-focused salesenvironment and find fulfillment in working with clients to resolveincredibly complex cyberthreats.

OurCommitment

We’re trailblazers thatdream big, take risks, and challenge cybersecurity’s status quo.It’s simple: we can’t accomplish our mission without diverse teamsinnovating, together.

We are committed toproviding reasonable accommodations for all qualified individualswith a disability. If you require assistance or accommodation dueto a disability or special need, please contact us ataccommodations@paloaltonetworks.com.

Palo AltoNetworks is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversityin our workplace, and all qualified applicants will receiveconsideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry,color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression,genetic information, marital status, medical condition, nationalorigin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation,protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (includingpregnancy), sexual orientation, or other legally protectedcharacteristics.

All your information will bekept confidential according to EEOguidelines.

Is role eligible forImmigration Sponsorship? No.Pleasenote that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for thisposition.