Principal AI Tool Engineer for Software Automation/Testing

Santa Clara, California, United States of America Product Engineering Ref ID: JR-019418

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

Key Responsibilities

Design and develop testing frameworks for AI/ML models and LLM applications

Build automated pipelines for model validation, regression testing, and benchmarking

Create evaluation datasets, synthetic data, and test scenarios for edge cases

Implement metrics to assess accuracy, robustness, latency, and safety

Develop tools for prompt testing, output validation, and hallucination detection

Collaborate with engineers, and product teams to define test strategies

Monitor model performance in production and build alerting systems

Ensure compliance with ethical AI standards, fairness, and bias testing

Debug model behavior and identify root causes of failures

Analytical thinking and problem-solving

Attention to detail and quality-focused mindset

Strong collaboration and communication skills

Ability to design scalable and reusable testing systems

Qualifications

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, AI, Machine Learning, or related field

8+ years of experience in software engineering, QA automation, or ML engineering

Strong programming skills in Python (preferred) or similar languages

Experience with testing frameworks (e.g., PyTest, unittest)

Familiarity with machine learning concepts and model evaluation techniques

Experience working with APIs, distributed systems, and CI/CD pipelines

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with LLMs and prompt engineering

Familiarity with evaluation tools like LangChain, OpenAI Evals, or similar frameworks

Knowledge of AI safety, bias detection, and adversarial testing

Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, and Azure)

Understanding of observability tools and monitoring systems

Exposure to synthetic data generation and simulation environments

#LI-BL1

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 the annual range listed below. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus.

$147,000.00 - $237,500.00/yr

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 accommodations@paloaltonetworks.com.

Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship? No. Please note that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.