Sr Principal DevOps/FinOps Engineer (Cortex)

Company Description

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 Description

Your Career

We are seeking a Senior Principal DevOps/FinOps Engineer to lead cloud cost efficiency, governance, and optimization initiatives across GCP, AWS, and Azure. This role requires a highly experienced, operations-focused engineer with a strong background in DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), and FinOps.

As a strategic leader, you will define and implement structured cloud cost governance processes, automate cost controls, and collaborate with Engineering, Finance, and Operations teams to optimize cloud spend. You will also be responsible for analyzing cloud financial data, providing cost modeling for budgeting and profitability analysis, and delivering insights to upper management.

Your Impact

• Cloud Cost Optimization: Continuously monitor cloud usage (GCP, AWS, Azure) to identify cost-saving opportunities, enforce governance policies, and drive financial accountability.

• Strategic Cost Management: Develop and implement automated cloud cost optimization strategies, including rightsizing recommendations, commitment-based purchasing (Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, CUDs), and waste elimination.

• Operational Excellence: Establish structured FinOps processes for cloud cost governance, budgeting, forecasting, and cost allocation, ensuring adherence to financial targets.

• Reporting & Insights for Upper Management: Provide data-driven insights and financial reports on cloud expenditures to support business decision-making. Develop dashboards, reports, and financial models to track cost trends and efficiency.

• Cost Modeling & Profitability Analysis: Build financial models to analyze cloud spend in relation to revenue and profit margins. Assist finance teams in developing budget forecasts and cost projections for cloud infrastructure.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Finance, Operations, and Engineering teams to define and implement cost control policies, pricing model adjustments, and accountability frameworks.

• Cloud Resource Governance: Enforce tagging policies, cost allocation models, and budget alerts to improve transparency and cost attribution.

• Automation & Reporting: Develop automation tools (Python, Go) for cost visibility, anomaly detection, and forecasting. Build real-time dashboards using AWS/GCP cost APIs, Tableau, and ElasticSearch.

• FinOps Compliance & Standardization: Ensure adherence to industry-leading FinOps frameworks, aligning cloud expenditures with business objectives.

Qualifications

Your Experience 

• 10+ years of hands-on experience in GCP & AWS as a DevOps Engineer, SRE, or Cloud Engineer, with a strong focus on FinOps and cloud cost management.

• 5+ years of specialization in Cloud Resource Optimization, FinOps automation, and cloud financial governance.

• Strong programming skills in Python or Go for automation, cost analysis, and custom FinOps tooling.

• Experience with GCP & AWS cost APIs, billing dashboards, and data aggregation using ElasticSearch.

• Deep expertise in Terraform (IaC), cloud tagging strategies, and cost allocation models.

• Proven experience in cost modeling for budgeting, financial forecasting, and profitability analysis.

• Strong background in building financial reports and dashboards using Tableau, AWS Cost Explorer, and GCP Cost Management tools.

• Demonstrated success in collaborating with finance teams and leadership to drive strategic cost-saving initiatives and ensure financial efficiency.

Additional Information

The Team

We define the industry, instead of waiting for directions. We need individuals who feel comfortable in ambiguity, excited by the prospect of a challenge, and empowered by the unknown risks facing our everyday lives that are only enabled by a secure digital environment. 

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 $173,000 - $260,000/YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here.

#LI-TD1

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.