Distinguished AI/ML Architect (Cortex)
About the role
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! We believe collaboration thrives in person. That’s why most of our teams work from the office full time, with flexibility when it’s needed. This model supports real-time problem-solving, stronger relationships, and the kind of precision that drives great outcomes. Job Summary Are you a master of the AI lifecycle who can thrive at the intersection of deep learning research, cybersecurity and large-scale production systems? Do you possess the rare ability to jump into a complex technical crisis, diagnose a bottleneck in a Small Language Model (SLM), and lead a team to a production-ready solution? As a Distinguished AI/ML Architect , you will be the premier technical authority across the Cortex AI/ML organization. You will serve as the "force multiplier" for multiple AI & ML teams, ensuring that our AI strategy - from endpoint-deployed DL/ML models to cloud-scale agentic products - is executed with world-class precision. You will operate as the primary technical architect and hands-on leader for our most ambitious and difficult initiatives. Key
Responsibilities Operate at the forefront of AI and cybersecurity, leveraging vast datasets to design and deploy innovative defense mechanisms. Provide horizontal technical leadership across endpoint, cloud, and agentic AI teams to ensure architectural excellence. Oversee the design and deployment of different model architectures to guarantee scalability and high-performance standards. Spearhead high-difficulty initiatives and new research frontiers, moving them from ambiguity to production. Resolve complex technical bottlenecks across the stack, optimizing model efficiency and runtime performance. Align research and engineering efforts to transform advanced models into robust, production-grade products.