
Principal Software Automation – Test Engineer
Palo Alto Networks
full-time
Posted on:
Location Type: Hybrid
Location: Santa Clara • California • United States
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Salary
💰 $147,000 - $237,500 per year
Job Level
Tech Stack
About the role
- Design and implement autonomous QA workflows using AI agents and LLM-based frameworks to achieve continuous, intelligent test execution across multiple services.
- Develop AI-augmented test infrastructure enabling scalable, context-aware testing that reflects real-world deployment scenarios.
- Build AI-powered test generation systems that automatically create comprehensive test suites from requirements, specifications, and production telemetry.
- Participate in system design to ensure quality, observability, and testability are built-in throughout the feature development lifecycle.
- Provide technical leadership in browser security, cloud orchestration, distributed systems, and AI-assisted quality engineering across multi-team quality initiatives.
- Mentor junior and mid-level engineers on AI/ML testing techniques, prompt engineering, and modern quality practices; lead adoption of new testing methodologies and measure impact.
- Collaborate with Development, SRE, Product Management, and Technical Marketing to align quality strategy with business outcomes and establish quality standards.
- Enhance test strategies, automation, and build infrastructure with feedback and analysis from real-world customer deployments.
- Stay current with AI/ML advancements and translate them into practical testing innovations like agentic workflows, multimodal testing, and AI-powered observability.
Requirements
- M.S./B.S. degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent military experience required.
- 10+ years of experience in QA/Test Automation Engineering with demonstrated impact on product quality and team practices.
- 2+ years of hands-on experience with AI/ML technologies, including LLMs, prompt engineering, and AI-assisted development workflows.
- Proven track record of building autonomous testing systems or AI-powered quality engineering tools.
- Intermediate to Expert level experience with REST API driven automation using Python or Go.
- Deep expertise in cybersecurity, cloud networking, or distributed systems test, including expert knowledge of TCP/IP, DNS, and SSL/TLS.
- Experience with Identity Technologies such as Azure AD, Okta, or Ping Identity.
- Experience with cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP) and cloud networking architectures (VPCs, subnets, security groups, NAT).
- Experience with Windows/Linux/MAC Networking and Security Features.
- Expertise in REST API testing, web UI automation (Selenium, Playwright, Puppeteer), and cloud-native application testing.
Benefits
- Employee benefits may include restricted stock units and a bonus.
Applicant Tracking System Keywords
Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.
Hard Skills & Tools
QA/Test Automation EngineeringAI/ML technologiesLLMsprompt engineeringREST API automationPythonGocybersecuritycloud networkingdistributed systems testing
Soft Skills
technical leadershipmentoringcollaborationquality strategy alignmentfeedback analysis
Certifications
M.S. in Computer ScienceB.S. in Computer ScienceElectrical Engineering degreeequivalent military experience