Position: Principal Architect – responsible for technical strategy across strategic partnerships with large organizations.
Job Summary
As a Principal Architect, you will act as a technical advisor, advocate, thought leader, and executive partner to prospects, customers, and sales teams, aligning Palo Alto Networks solutions to customers’ environments, priorities, and challenges.
Key Responsibilities
- Play a key role on the EBC (Executive Briefing Centre) team in creating customer messaging that ties together the entire Palo Alto Networks portfolio.
- Uncover opportunities and convey the differentiation of Palo Alto Networks Zero Trust, Network Security, and SASE strategies.
- Compelling communication to gain the trust and buy‑in from Vice President and CXO contacts at our largest customers and prospects.
- Set and drive an agenda with the customer or prospect, directly and with sales teams, and within the market through various engagements, including client workshops and architectural assessments and designs.
- Develop and maintain a deep understanding of competing solutions and architectures and successfully position a Palo Alto Networks approach.
- Uncover new technology applications and use cases and aid in creating presentations, documents, and deliverables that illustrate value to prospects and customers and the Palo Alto Networks sales teams.
- Uncover and document technological/business value gaps between the Palo Alto Networks platform and competitive offerings and communicate these to the broader Palo Alto Networks Sales organization.
- Become a valued resource to Product Management to discover and understand current shortcomings and competitive insights in our product suite and requirements for future strategic market segments.
- Coordinate closely with the EBC Team, Senior Leadership, Sales, Palo Alto Networks CISO and Theater CISO’s, Sales Engineering leadership, Product Management, Marketing, Channel Partners, and the Consulting Engineering team.
- Deliver value in a senior technical customer‑facing role with recurrent impact.
- Customers and sales teams will ask for you by name.
Required Qualifications
- Proven experience in pre‑sales, and consulting experience considered.
- Extensive knowledge of network and endpoint security architectures, history, and trends.
- Solid fundamental networking background.
- Knowledge of ancillary security areas such as identity management, SIEM, public and private cloud architectures.
- Demonstrable experience establishing credibility and strategic messaging with large enterprise customers.
- “Whatever it takes” attitude and motivation to do whatever is necessary to close deals.
- Expected customer travel is 50% both in theatre and internationally, including customer and Palo Alto Networks location onsite meetings.
- Strong communication (written and verbal) and presentation skills.
- Robust problem‑finding and solving skills, ability to analyze complex multivariate problems, and systematic approach to gain quick resolution, even under duress.
- Fluent German and advanced English language skills.
Our Commitment
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.
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