Security Software Engineer Jobs in Santa Clara, CA
Security Software Engineer jobs in Santa Clara are in high demand, concentrated in the Central Expressway corridor, Mission College Boulevard district, and the Lawrence Expressway tech cluster, across cybersecurity, semiconductor, and cloud infrastructure sectors. Employers hiring right now include Palo Alto Networks, Everpure, and ServiceNow. See the openings below and apply to the ones that match your experience.
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Showing 5 of 130+ Security Software Engineer jobs
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
The Team
Engineering - Our engineering team is at the core of our products and connected directly to the mission of preventing cyberattacks. We are constantly innovating — challenging the way we, and the industry, think about cybersecurity. Our engineers don’t shy away from building products to solve problems no one has pursued before. 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.
Job Summary
We are seeking innovative engineers to design and develop security features for our next-generation firewalls. As a key member of the Layer-7 Security group, you will take ownership of your focus areas, applying your programming skills to solve real-world security problems. You will collaborate with multi-functional teams including product management, quality assurance, and field support throughout the entire software development cycle. This role requires a drive to build global products and a passion for bringing new ideas to the security discipline.
Responsibilities
- Architect & Implement: Design, build, and maintain real-time, high-throughput security services and networking infrastructure.
- Technical Leadership: Lead complex engineering projects end-to-end—from initial architecture and design reviews to deployment and production monitoring.
- Operational Excellence: Promote engineering best practices, including secure coding standards, comprehensive code reviews, performance tuning, and robust system architecture.
- Elevate Systems Ownership: Architect and own critical control-plane and data-plane components for the GlobalProtect server infrastructure, ensuring high availability, fault tolerance, and scalable performance
- Advanced Troubleshooting: Diagnose and resolve complex server-side and network-level issues independently, even when presented with minimal diagnostic information.
- Test Automation & Quality: Drive a culture of quality by advocating for aggressive automated testing, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), and high code coverage.
- AI-Driven Productivity: Leverage AI-assisted development techniques and tools to maximize coding efficiency, streamline debugging, and accelerate project delivery.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Experience & Industry Background: 10+ years of professional software development experience in the enterprise networking or cybersecurity industry.
- Core Engineering Skills: Proven proficiency in C,Go (Golang), Python programming within a Linux/Unix development environment.
- Distributed Systems Architecture: Extensive experience with multi-threaded programming, asynchronous I/O, and designing large-scale, high-performance, or distributed server architectures.
- Networking Expertise: Hands-on experience developing TCP/IP networking software and understanding lower-level network protocols.
- End-to-End Ownership: Demonstrated track record of leading and successfully executing complex technical projects from conception to release.
- Strategic / Cross-Functional Impact: Proven ability to mentor senior engineers, collaborate across product management and architecture teams, and influence long-term technical roadmaps.
- Education: B.S. degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline (or equivalent practical experience).
Preferred Qualifications
- API & Pipeline Integration: Experience with RESTful API design, implementation, and integration, alongside familiarity with modern CI/CD pipelines.
- AI & Automation Mindset: Active experience using AI-assisted tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, LLM coding assistants) to boost engineering velocity and operational efficiency.
- Automation First: A strong advocate for test-driven development (TDD), automated integration testing, and performance profiling.
- Agile & Collaborative Attitude: A team player with a strong "can-do" attitude who thrives in a fast-paced environment and rapidly adapts to new technologies and platforms.
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.
$183,600.00 - $297,000.00/yrOur 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.
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.
Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?: YesOur 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
The Team
Engineering - Our engineering team is at the core of our products and connected directly to the mission of preventing cyberattacks. We are constantly innovating — challenging the way we, and the industry, think about cybersecurity. Our engineers don’t shy away from building products to solve problems no one has pursued before. 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.
Job Summary
We are seeking innovative engineers to design and develop security features for our next-generation firewalls. As a key member of the Layer-7 Security group, you will take ownership of your focus areas, applying your programming skills to solve real-world security problems. You will collaborate with multi-functional teams including product management, quality assurance, and field support throughout the entire software development cycle. This role requires a drive to build global products and a passion for bringing new ideas to the security discipline.
Responsibilities
- Architect & Implement: Design, build, and maintain real-time, high-throughput security services and networking infrastructure.
- Technical Leadership: Lead complex engineering projects end-to-end—from initial architecture and design reviews to deployment and production monitoring.
- Operational Excellence: Promote engineering best practices, including secure coding standards, comprehensive code reviews, performance tuning, and robust system architecture.
- Elevate Systems Ownership: Architect and own critical control-plane and data-plane components for the GlobalProtect server infrastructure, ensuring high availability, fault tolerance, and scalable performance
- Advanced Troubleshooting: Diagnose and resolve complex server-side and network-level issues independently, even when presented with minimal diagnostic information.
- Test Automation & Quality: Drive a culture of quality by advocating for aggressive automated testing, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), and high code coverage.
- AI-Driven Productivity: Leverage AI-assisted development techniques and tools to maximize coding efficiency, streamline debugging, and accelerate project delivery.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications
- Experience & Industry Background: 10+ years of professional software development experience in the enterprise networking or cybersecurity industry.
- Core Engineering Skills: Proven proficiency in C,Go (Golang), Python programming within a Linux/Unix development environment.
- Distributed Systems Architecture: Extensive experience with multi-threaded programming, asynchronous I/O, and designing large-scale, high-performance, or distributed server architectures.
- Networking Expertise: Hands-on experience developing TCP/IP networking software and understanding lower-level network protocols.
- End-to-End Ownership: Demonstrated track record of leading and successfully executing complex technical projects from conception to release.
- Strategic / Cross-Functional Impact: Proven ability to mentor senior engineers, collaborate across product management and architecture teams, and influence long-term technical roadmaps.
- Education: B.S. degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline (or equivalent practical experience).
Preferred Qualifications
- API & Pipeline Integration: Experience with RESTful API design, implementation, and integration, alongside familiarity with modern CI/CD pipelines.
- AI & Automation Mindset: Active experience using AI-assisted tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, LLM coding assistants) to boost engineering velocity and operational efficiency.
- Automation First: A strong advocate for test-driven development (TDD), automated integration testing, and performance profiling.
- Agile & Collaborative Attitude: A team player with a strong "can-do" attitude who thrives in a fast-paced environment and rapidly adapts to new technologies and platforms.
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.
$183,600.00 - $297,000.00/yrOur 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.
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.
Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship?: YesSee All 130+ Security Software Engineer Jobs in Santa Clara
Find roles in Santa Clara that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find JobsSecurity Software Engineer Job Market in Santa Clara
Who's Hiring
- Palo Alto Networks91
- Everpure13
- ServiceNow13
- Amazon Web Services13
Security Software Engineer Jobs in Santa Clara: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a security software engineer job in Santa Clara?
Focus your search on Santa Clara's dense concentration of semiconductor companies, cloud infrastructure firms, and enterprise cybersecurity vendors clustered around the Central Expressway and Mission College Boulevard corridors. Hands-on experience with secure software development lifecycles, penetration testing, or cloud security architecture gives candidates a clear edge here. Targeting mid-size cybersecurity-focused companies alongside large established tech employers broadens your options significantly in this market.
Which companies hire security software engineers in Santa Clara?
Employers hiring security software engineers in Santa Clara right now include Palo Alto Networks, Everpure, and ServiceNow, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. Santa Clara's employer mix leans heavily toward semiconductor manufacturers, cloud platform providers, and dedicated cybersecurity product companies, many of which maintain large in-house security engineering teams.
Are there remote security software engineer jobs in Santa Clara?
Yes, though availability depends on the specific role, since positions requiring hardware integration or on-site lab access tend to be fully in-person. About 100% of security software engineer openings tied to Santa Clara are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, with the most flexibility found in application security and cloud security roles that do not require direct access to physical infrastructure.
How can I get a security software engineer job in Santa Clara with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path in Santa Clara is targeting associate security engineer or junior application security roles at mid-size cybersecurity product companies along the Central Expressway corridor, which tend to hire earlier-career candidates more actively than large semiconductor firms. Building demonstrable skills in vulnerability assessment or secure coding, contributing to open-source security tooling, and pursuing certifications recognized in the Santa Clara market strengthens your application at these employers.
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