Principal Consultant, Offensive Security

Implement Zero Trust, Secure your Network, Cloud workloads, Hybrid Workforce, Leverage Threat Intelligence & Security Consulting. Cybersecurity Services & Education for CISO’s, Head of Infrastructure, Network Security Engineers, Cloud...

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

The Principal Consultant on the Offensive Security team is focused on assessing and challenging the security posture across a comprehensive portfolio of clients. The individual will utilize a variety of tools developed and act as a key team member and leader in client engagements. They will be the client’s advocate for cybersecurity best practices and will provide strong recommendations in this domain.

Your Impact

• Perform red and purple team assessments (with and without industry regulator oversight), assumed breach assessments (red team engagements with a pre-deployed implant), ransomware readiness reviews (assessing susceptibility to modern ransomware threats), threat analysis and social-engineering assessments.
• Develop scripts, tools, and methodologies to automate and streamline internal processes and engagements. Examples include Terraform and Ansible, custom payload generators/loaders.
• Conduct cloud penetration testing engagements to assess specific workloads (i.e., AWS, GCP, Azure, containers, or other PaaS and SaaS instances) for vulnerabilities and subsequently attempt to exploit identified weaknesses after receiving permission from client stakeholders.
• Lead scoping and services overview conversations with clients for prospective engagements in area of expertise, presenting with credibility and authority, clearly articulating various testing approaches and methodologies to audiences ranging from highly technical to executive personnel.
• Determine processes and procedures to be followed on assignments. On large and complex engagements, lead technical workstreams with guidance and oversight as required.
• Lead communications with clients on engagements, including highly technical matters, ensuring client inquiries are responded to promptly.
• Ability to lead engagement delivery through to completion, manage engagement economics to deliver projects on time and on budget and uphold high standards of quality.
• Mentor and coach new team members and lead by example, demonstrating technical skills and procedures during engagements. Delegate tasks and provide feedback to empower team members to produce high-quality results.
• Ability to perform travel requirements as needed to meet business demands.

Your Experience

• 8+ years of professional experience with cybersecurity tools, technologies, and methods focused on Red/Purple Teaming.
• Demonstrate a deep understanding of how malicious software works (i.e., malware, trojans, rootkits, etc.).
• Ability to modify known and/or craft custom exploits manually without dependence on consumer tools.
• Ability to create bypasses to security tools, and weaponize payloads for delivery on social-engineering engagements.
• Demonstrable experience of evasion techniques.
• Strong experience with Active Directory and attack killchain.
• Experience with penetration testing, administering, and troubleshooting major flavors of Linux, Windows, and major cloud IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS providers (i.e., AWS, GCP, and Azure).
• Experience with scripting and editing existing code and programming using one or more of the following - Perl, Python, Ruby, Bash, C/C++, C#, or Java.
• Ability to read and use the results of mobile code, malicious code, and anti-virus software.
• Demonstrable experience of threat-intelligence led red teaming frameworks such as CORIE, CBEST, TIBER-EU.
• Track record of championing innovation and improvement initiatives for your area of expertise, identifying emerging trends and technologies and developing leading solutions to address client needs.
• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Security, Computer Science, Digital Forensics, Cyber Security, or equivalent years of professional experience or equivalent military experience to meet job requirements and expectations.
• Professional industry certifications such as:
  • Offensive Security Certified Expert (OSCE),
  • Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP),
  • CREST Registered Tester (CREST CRT),
  • GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN),
  • CREST Certified Simulated Attack Specialist (CCSAS)

The Team

Unit 42 brings together our world-renowned threat researchers with an elite team of security consultants to create an intelligence-driven, response-ready organization. The Unit 42 Threat Intelligence team provides threat research that enables security teams to understand adversary intent and attribution, while enhancing protections offered by our products and services to stop advanced attacks. As threats escalate, Unit 42 is available to advise customers on the latest risks, assess their readiness, and help them recover when the worst occurs.

Our Commitment

We’re trailblazers that dream big, 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

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.