Sales Director - Software Firewall Technologies

Your Career

Palo Alto Networks is revolutionizing cybersecurity in the age of Artificial Intelligence. We are seeking a dynamic and customer-obsessed Sales Director to lead our Software Firewall Sales Specialist team in EMEA. You will drive business development, customer engagement, and execute the sales process for our growing portfolio of AI security solutions in the EMEA market. You will be a key player in identifying and converting high-potential opportunities, accelerating adoption, and positioning Palo Alto Networks as the go-to partner for securing Cloud and AI initiatives whilst ensuring close alignment with the sales team and other stakeholders in the region.

Your Impact

We are looking for a proven first-line sales leader with great energy, leadership, and initiative to drive team performance and revenue growth for our sales team. This role will entail:

• Develop and execute targeted sales and go-to-market (GTM) strategies focused on pipeline generation, technically winning, and closing new customers for Palo Alto Networks Next Generation Software Firewall solutions (VM Series, Cloud Firewall, and AIRS solutions)

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including your extended sales teams, GTM, product, marketing, and channel to align Sales Plays to targeted customers in your sales territory within the EMEA region.

• Execute Next Generation/Software Firewall sales plays to build software firewall pipeline in your region in collaboration with your extended sales teams.

• Collaborate with your extended Palo Alto Networks sales teams to identify, conduct discovery, and qualify new Software Firewall opportunities with customers.

• Work with the technical solutions team to technically validate and win Software Firewall opportunities with customers.

• Serve as a trusted advisor to strategic customers and partners, driving consultative sales cycles from initial engagement to close as needed

• Identify and understand customer requirements and articulate the value proposition of Palo Alto Networks’ AI security and Software and Cloud Firewall offerings and use cases to meet those requirements.

• Evangelize the importance and value of securing AI across industry events, executive briefings, and thought leadership opportunities

• Track and report performance metrics, pipeline health, and market insights to support forecasting and strategy refinement in your area.

• Build close partnerships with the sales team and cloud service providers in the Region to identify new opportunities and close business.

Your Experience

• 8+ years of experience in a sales or sales specialist role in the cybersecurity, cloud, or AI space and 2 years of sales management experience preferred

• Understanding of AI technologies, including generative AI tools, machine learning, and large language models (LLMs)

• Strong grasp of firewall fundamentals, including the ability to discuss how modern software firewalls help customers secure traffic in the cloud, prevent advanced threats from spreading across their network, gain visibility and control over applications, and enable a secure hybrid workforce.

• Deep understanding of cybersecurity fundamentals, including data security, network security, and cloud security

• Demonstrated ability to lead complex sales engagements

• Extensive experience cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP

• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders

• Self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced, collaborative environment with minimal direction

• Bachelor’s degree in business, computer science, engineering, or a related field; advanced degrees a plus

• Experience selling to CISOs, CIOs, and data science/security teams

• Experience working in a high-growth or scale-up environment

• Background in working with or through VARs, cloud marketplaces, or CSP partnerships

The Team

You’ll be part of a passionate, high-energy sales acceleration team focused on helping customers navigate one of the most transformative shifts in technology. We equip you with industry-leading tools, sales enablement, and support systems to succeed. At Palo Alto Networks, we thrive on collaboration, innovation, and making an impact – one secured AI project at a time.

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.

*This role can be based in London / Munich / Paris or Madrid

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.

We have the vision of a world where each day is safer and more secure than the one before. These aren’t easy goals to accomplish – but we’re not here for easy. We’re here for better. 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.

Disruption is at the core of our technology and on our way of work to meet the needs of our employees now and in the future through FLEXWORK, our approach to how we work. We’re changing the nature of work from benefits to learning, location to leadership, we’ve rethought and recreated every aspect of the employee experience at Palo Alto Networks. And because it FLEXes around each individual employee based on their individual choices, employees are empowered to push boundaries and help us all evolve, together.