Group Manager – Directory Services (Identity)

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 We are looking for an experienced and strategic Group Manager to lead our Directory Services group within the Identity organization. In this key leadership position, you will manage and inspire engineering teams spread across multiple geographies, driving one of the foundational, mission-critical services of our Identity platform. Directory Services sits at the heart of our security and identity ecosystem, serving as the high-scale foundation for user authentication, enterprise directory integration, and data sync across enterprise environments. As a manager of managers, you will be responsible for defining the technical and operational vision, scaling high-availability distributed systems, nurturing talent across global offices, and ensuring our identity infrastructure meets the rigorous security and reliability demands of enterprise customers worldwide. Key Responsibilities Multi-Geo People & Organizational Leadership: Lead, mentor, and grow team managers and senior technical leaders across global geographies. Scale the group through strategic recruitment, team structuring, and proactive talent development. Service Vision & Strategy: Own the vision, engineering execution, and strategic roadmap for Directory Services—one of Identity’s key foundational pillars. Scale, Reliability & Security: Ensure ultra-high availability, low-latency performance, seamless scalability and robust security standards. Cross-Organizational Collaboration: Partner closely with Product Management, Security Architects and multiple R&D units. Rapid & Critical Incident Response: Lead cross-regional response to high-priority operational or security events related to directory environments, driving rapid resolution and long-term systemic mitigations. Thought Leadership in IAM: Stay at the forefront of modern Identity & Access Management (IAM) practices and enterprise directory protocols. Qualifications Required Qualifications At least 4+ years of experience as a Group Manager or Manager of Managers with a proven track record of leading engineering managers. At least 8+ years of overall software engineering management experience. At least 5+ years of experience in Identity & Access Management (IAM), enterprise security, or large-scale core platform engineering. Demonstrated background in building and operating high-scale, high-availability (HA) distributed systems. Strong technical foundation in backend engineering (e.g., Java, Go, C#, Python) with a strong architectural vision. Experience managing multi-tenant SaaS identity platform services at scale. Hands-on leadership approach—able to engage deeply in strategic architectural discussions while maintaining high-level oversight. Proven success driving cross-functional alignment, setting high quality standards, and consistently meeting critical deadlines. Strong passion for people leadership: coaching, mentoring managers, building high-performing team cultures, and retaining top talent. Excellent communication skills with the ability to present complex architectural strategies and plans clearly to executive leadership and global stakeholders. A resilient, 'play-to-win' mindset with the ability to prioritize and execute under pressure in high-growth environments. Preferred Qualifications Deep domain knowledge in Directory Services & Protocols (e.g., Active Directory, LDAP, SCIM, cloud directory synchronization, identity stores). Proven experience managing geographically distributed (multi-geo) engineering teams. Experience modernizing legacy directory architectures into scalable, cloud-native directory services (e.g., Microsoft Entra ID / AWS Directory Service / hybrid identity models). 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. Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship? No. Please note that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.