Director, Offensive Security

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. 

Your Career 

Palo Alto Networks Information Security team is looking for a Director to lead the Offensive Security teams. Offensive Security’s mission is to leverage adversarial knowledge and skills to improve security posture. A set of specialized teams pursue this mission across two scopes; the Palo Alto Networks enterprise and the Palo Alto Networks product ecosystem. Adversarial operations against the enterprise are conducted by members of the Red Team. On the other hand, the penetration testing team members focus on assessments against all products and services within the Palo Alto Networks portfolio.

As a Director, you’ll look for strategic opportunities to evolve the offensive security services as well as the teams. Interpersonal communication will be key to your success in aligning the teams’ work with the constituent/stakeholder needs. Securing our products and business against known and anticipated threats is a mission critical outcome for the company. Your intention must be to effectively persuade, convince or influence all relevant stakeholders to achieve this desired outcome. On the other hand, to technically accomplish the set strategy, you’ll need to empower and maintain a high morale across your teams. Preserving the inclusive culture must be the crux of your organizational development strategy. 

The Offensive Security ​function is critical to our organization's cybersecurity posture, encompassing both Red Team operations and product penetration testing across our extensive portfolio.

Your Impact 

• Strategic Importance
  • ​S​et​ the strategic vision ​and roadmap for scaling both function to meet the escalating threat landscape
  • Lead team expansion to meet the geographically distributed nature of the business
• Scope and Complexity
  • Red Team Operations - Requires sophisticated planning, execution, and analysis to simulate advanced adversaries
  • Product Penetration Testing - Covers a large product portfolio, demanding comprehensive security assessments and risk management
  • You’ll be required to translate the OffSec operational insights into risk reduction strategies by applying your extensive experience and holistic understanding of various domains of cybersecurity including Cloud Security, Enterprise Security, Detection and Alerting, etc.
  • You will develop and execute strategies for ongoing product security assurance through penetration testing
• Stakeholder Management
  • Interface with ​the CISO and company executives on critical security matters
  • Collaborate with other department heads to integrate offensive security insights into broader organizational strategies
  • Manage relationships with external partners, ​industry peers, and regulatory bodies
• Team Development and Retention
  • Develop and mentor managers to lead the specialized red team and product pen-testing functions
  • Mentor and develop team members to build a robust talent pipeline
  • Foster a culture of continuous innovation in offensive security practices​ to stay ahead of the similarly innovative threat actors

Your Experience 

• Minimum 5 years security leadership, with experience building long-term career development plans for team members at all levels
• Expert level experience in red team, network penetration testing or product security roles
• Demonstrated understanding of the principles of network and endpoint security, current threat and attack trends, and have a working knowledge of security principles such as defense in depth
• Strong executive communication skills, both spoken and written
• Strong familiarity with technologies commonly seen in Enterprises. (i.e. AD, Cloud, VMs etc)
• Previous people management and leadership experience required
• Ability to continuously innovate and thrive in a fast-paced environment
• Public speaking and demonstrated thought leadership in the security space
• Bachelor's degree from four-year college or university or equivalent training, education, and experience in offensive security, computer systems, IT, etc. or equivalent military experience 

The Team

Serious mission, fun culture; We’re not your ordinary Information Security team.  We’re a diverse group of security professionals that embraces challenging the status quo in order to protect Palo Alto Networks and our customers.  They say it’s the people you work with that make you want to go to work and it’s true here; we love our work. 

Think about it:  Driving innovation on the Information Security team of the fastest-growing high-tech cybersecurity company is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You’ll be joined by the brightest minds in technology, and our global teams are on the front line of defense against cyberattacks. 

We’re joined by one mission – but driven by the impact of that mission and what it means to protect our way of life in the digital age. Join a dynamic and fast-paced team that feels excitement at the prospect of a challenge and feels a thrill every time we beat the bad guys.

We hope to meet you soon

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/com-missioned roles) is expected to be between $189,000/yr to $305,800/yr. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here. 

Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?: Yes

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.