Principal Consultant, IR

Job Summary

Your Career

As a Principal Consultant in Unit 42 the individual will be responsible for managing incident response engagements with our largest clients and in our most complex engagements. They will become the go-to expert for clients during high-priority incident response, remediation, and recovery phases, providing both strategic guidance and technical oversight, while also focusing on product integration. The role requires in-depth cybersecurity expertise to enable serving as an incident commander throughout the incident response lifecycle.

While actively involved in incident response service delivery, this person also works with peers and the executive team to enhance Unit 42’s incident response practice, including developing and improving the technical and operating methodologies employed during incident response engagements.

We are seeking an individual who is dedicated to delivering highly technical consulting services to an exceptional standard, thrives in a fast paced team environment, and advocates for innovative approaches to deliver the best outcomes for our cross-sector clients.

Your Impact

Lead the team delivering high-profile, high-stakes enterprise level incident response engagements

Provide hands-on, expert-level incident response services to clients and deliver findings to CxO and/or Board of Directors

Partner with the Unit 42 Directors, executive team and service line leaders to develop and execute strategy for the Unit 42 Digital Forensics & Incident Response (DFIR) practice, as well as continuously advance the maturity of our services

Drive innovation in Unit 42’s reactive offerings, by leading the consulting team and collaborating with cross-functional teams to bring new capabilities and services to market that leverage Palo Alto Networks products

Ensure the consistency and quality of our services and highest level of customer service

Integrate threat intelligence into our services by deepening the feedback loop with Unit 42 Threat Intelligence team and telemetry

Recruit and onboard world class Incident Response talent to support our growth goals

Support the professional growth and development of our consultants through training and technical enablement

Foster and maintain a culture that attracts and retains smart, kind team members dedicated to executing with excellence

Identify and execute strategies for service development, enablement, and process that result in the pull through of Palo Alto Networks products

Cultivate and maintain relationships with key clientele to increase awareness of Unit 42’s’ capabilities and provide on-demand expertise for client needs

Amplify Unit 42s’ presence and credibility in the marketplace through thought leadership, including via speaking engagements, articles, whitepapers, and media exposure

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!

This role is remote, but distance is no barrier to impact. Our hybrid teams collaborate across geographies to solve big problems, stay close to our customers, and grow together. You will be part of a culture that values trust, accountability, and shared success where your work truly matters.

Qualifications

Your Experience

6+ years of hands-on professional experience in incident response, with 3+ years experience in client-facing consulting roles

Demonstrated prior experience and success in leading multi-site, large scale incident response engagements, including scoping work, managing incident response engagements end-to-end and providing guidance on tactical and longer term remediation recommendations

Experience in managing, leading and motivating consultants at all levels

Experience as a team leader including overseeing other senior, and mid-level analyst/consultant teams

Ability to travel as needed to meet business demands

Able to split your time across commercial support, client delivery, team coaching, and technical expertise and skills maintenance activities

Strong presentation, communication, and presentation skills with verifiable industry experience communicating at CxO and/or Board of Directors level

Expert level of knowledge of applicable laws, compliance regulations, and industry standards as it relates to privacy, security, and compliance

Deep technical experience and operational understanding of major operating systems (Microsoft Windows, Linux, or Mac) and/or proficiency in host based forensics, network forensics and cloud incident response

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), threat hunting, log analysis,and triage forensics

Collection and analysis of host and cloud based forensic data at scale

Client services mindset and top-notch client management skills

Experienced-based understanding of clients’ needs and desired outcomes in incident response investigations

Demonstrated writing ability, including technical reports, business communication, and thought leadership pieces

Operates with a hands-on approach to service delivery with a bias towards collaboration and teamwork

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.

Be a valuable contributor to the practice and, specifically develop an external presence via public speaking, conferences, and/or publications.Have credibility, executive presence, and gravitas

Be able to have a meaningful and rapid delivery contribution

Have the potential and capacity to understand all aspects of the business and an excellent understanding of PANW products & be collaborative and able to build relationships internally, externally, and across all PANW functions, including the sales team

Bachelor’s Degree in Information Security, Computer Science, Digital Forensics, Cyber Security, or equivalent years of professional experience or equivalent relevant experience to meet job requirements and expectations

Professional industry certifications such as: GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst (GCFA), GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner (GCFE), GIAC Incident Handler (GCIH)

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.

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? No. Please note that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.