Principal Product Manager (AI for Network Security) - Palo Alto Networks
Santa Clara, CA
About the Job
Our Mission
At Palo Alto Networks® everything starts and ends with our mission:
Being the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.
Our vision is a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. We are a company built on the foundation of challenging and disrupting the way things are done, and we’re looking for innovators who are as committed to shaping the future of cybersecurity as we are.
Who We Are
We take our mission of protecting the digital way of life seriously. We are relentless in protecting our customers and we believe that the unique ideas of every member of our team contributes to our collective success. Our values were crowdsourced by employees and are brought to life through each of us everyday - from disruptive innovation and collaboration, to execution. From showing up for each other with integrity to creating an environment where we all feel included.
As a member of our team, you will be shaping the future of cybersecurity. We work fast, value ongoing learning, and we respect each employee as a unique individual. Knowing we all have different needs, our development and personal wellbeing programs are designed to give you choice in how you are supported. This includes our FLEXBenefits wellbeing spending account with over 1,000 eligible items selected by employees, our mental and financial health resources, and our personalized learning opportunities - just to name a few!
At Palo Alto Networks, we believe in the power of collaboration and value in-person interactions. This is why our employees generally work full time from our office with flexibility offered where needed. This setup fosters casual conversations, problem-solving, and trusted relationships. Our goal is to create an environment where we all win with precision.
Job DescriptionYour Career
We are seeking a Product Manager to lead the development and lifecycle management of AI products that can independently operate within predefined domains. This role will involve close collaboration with engineering, research, design, and GTM teams to develop and implement AI systems that can perform decision-making, task management, and problem-solving across our Network Security Platform - Strata Cloud Manager.
As Network Security AI PM, You will be responsible for driving the vision, strategy, and execution for the next gen network security platform, defining product requirements, identifying opportunities, and ensuring responsible AI practices are followed. This role requires deep knowledge of Network Security, Automation, Machine learning, and product management, along with a passion for shaping the future of how NetSec admins do things.
Your Impact
Product Vision & Strategy
Define and articulate the product vision and roadmap for AI system applications in Network Security, aligning with company goals and customer needs.
Conduct market research to identify trends in AI and competitive landscape, ensuring the product remains innovative and competitive.
Collaborate with stakeholders to prioritize features, balancing user needs, technical feasibility, and business impact.
Requirements Gathering & Documentation
Translate business goals and customer problems into product requirements, focusing on autonomy, self-learning capabilities, and task delegation features.
Create detailed specifications and user stories that describe desired AI behaviors, decision-making protocols, and scope of independence.
Work with engineering and data science teams to refine requirements, ensuring technical feasibility and responsible AI practices.
Cross-functional Collaboration
Partner with AI research, engineering, and design teams to guide the development of product features that enable NetSec admins to operate efficiently.
Collaborate with legal, ethical, and compliance teams to establish safety, ethics, and transparency standards for AI behavior.
Coordinate with product marketing to position and launch AI products in a way that highlights their value and safe use.
Performance Monitoring & Optimization
Define and monitor KPIs for AI agent performance, including decision accuracy, task completion rates, and user engagement.
Analyze product data and feedback to iteratively improve behavior, automation, and alignment with user expectations.
Use A/B testing, analytics, and user feedback to continuously refine decision-making frameworks and responsiveness.
Ethics & Responsible AI Practices
Implement robust testing to ensure AI system operate responsibly and align with ethical standards, avoiding harmful or biased behaviors.
Develop contingency plans for AI failures or anomalies, ensuring appropriate human oversight and control.
Educate internal and external stakeholders on the capabilities, limitations, and safety measures surrounding AI.
User Experience & Feedback Loop
Advocate for intuitive and transparent user experiences with AI, ensuring users understand and trust its actions.
Gather and synthesize feedback from customers and stakeholders, shaping product behavior and functionality to better meet user needs.
Communicate product developments, updates, and limitations clearly to end-users, emphasizing transparency and user control.
Your Experience
5+ years of experience in product management with deep understanding of Network Security deployments, use cases and related technology products.
2+ years of experience in product management, ideally within AI, machine learning, or related technology products.
Master’s degree or equivalent experience in Computer Science, Engineering or AI.
Strong knowledge of Networking, Security, AI, ML, NLP, or agentic AI, and the ability to understand technical limitations and possibilities.
Proficiency in product management tools (e.g., Figma, JIRA, Asana) and data analytics platforms (e.g., Tableau, Looker).
Familiarity with regulatory and ethical standards for AI and autonomous system.
Strong data-driven decision-making skills, with the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights.
Ability to define, measure, and optimize KPIs for outcomes and value delivered.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate technical concepts for non-technical audiences.
Strong collaboration skills, with a proven ability to work cross-functionally across engineering, design, legal, and marketing.
Additional Information
The Team
To stay ahead of the curve, it’s critical to know where the curve is and how to anticipate the changes we’re facing. For the fastest-growing cybersecurity company, the curve is the evolution of cyberattacks and the products and services that proactively address them. Our Product Management team helps us do just that.
This team provides the behind-the-scenes support for our products by being a source of information for our Systems Engineers, staying on top of the environment we sell in and helping to implement technical solutions based on our clients' feedback and needs. As threats and technology evolve, we stay ahead to accomplish our mission.
You will be part of a growing, passionate, and dynamic team with an opportunity to work on challenging and exciting projects — centered on what we believe is one of the most significant mission statements in the world. We also strive to be the most people-centric company ever! That means we’re constantly working to make your experience amazing, and you are part of the team breaking boundaries of what the workplace can be!
We are committed to bringing our FLEXWORK philosophy. You will be part of a global team and for many roles, we offer employee choice on work location (office or mostly from home) for most of our roles.
Compensation Disclosure
The compensation offered for this position will depend on qualifications, experience, and work location. For candidates who receive an offer at the posted level, the starting base salary (for non-sales roles) or base salary + commission target (for sales/commissioned roles) is expected to be between $166000 - $268500/YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.
Our Commitment
We’re problem solvers that take risks and challenge cybersecurity’s status quo. It’s simple: we can’t accomplish our mission without diverse teams innovating, together.
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.