Senior Director, NetSec Product Transformation

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 Own the engineering leadership operating rhythm: quarterly planning, OKR calibration, business reviews, and leadership offsites. Translate the engineering leader's vision into structured workstreams with clear owners, milestones, and accountability mechanisms. Drive cross-functional initiatives that span multiple VP-led pillars e.g., AI transformation, developer productivity, platform consolidation, or organizational redesign. Build and maintain the executive-level narrative: EVP/CPO/CEO updates and team-facing engineering content. Design and run operating cadences (staff meetings, skip-levels, functional reviews) that maximize signal and minimize ceremony. Identify organizational bottlenecks, misaligned incentives, and execution gaps; propose and drive structural remedies. Lead headcount planning, resource allocation, and capacity modeling across the engineering portfolio. Partner with HR/People on talent strategy, performance calibration, and leadership development programming. Perform rigorous analyses (build vs. buy, org benchmarking, investment prioritization, cost modeling) to inform executive decisions. Act as a trusted proxy to attend meetings, synthesize information, unblock decisions, and drive follow-through on behalf of the engineering leader. Lead high-priority special projects end-to-end: M&A integration workstreams, new-product-line stand-up, engineering culture initiatives, or AI/ML adoption programs. Serve as a connective layer between engineering and peer functions (Product, People, Finance, Legal, Infosec) to ensure alignment on shared goals. Draft, edit, and quality-control executive communications including internal memos, all-hands talking points, strategy documents, and change-management messaging. Manage the flow of information to and from the engineering leader, ensuring the right issues surface at the right altitude. Build trusted relationships across the VP and Director cohort; operate as a credible, apolitical partner to senior leaders.