Palo Alto Networks - AI Financial Analyst, application via RippleMatch

This role is with Palo Alto Networks. Palo Alto Networks uses RippleMatch to find top talent.

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

This is not a typical finance role. We are building a new team at the nexus of finance, data science, and artificial intelligence, and we are looking for the next generation of innovators to help architect our future. This role is designed for a rare talent who possesses both deep quantitative and computer science skills and a strong intuition for financial strategy.

You won't just be automating existing processes; you'll be a trailblazer on a team dedicated to pioneering how we leverage AI and predictive analytics to drive our most critical financial and strategic decisions. You will partner with senior leaders across Finance, IT, and the wider business to design and implement novel solutions from the ground up. If you are passionate about building sophisticated models, discovering insights in complex data, and seeing your work directly influence multi-billion dollar decisions, this is a unique opportunity to define your career at the forefront of the industry.

Your Impact

• Pioneer AI Solutions: Design, develop, and deploy machine learning models to solve complex financial challenges, including revenue forecasting, investment optimization, and operational efficiency.

• Architect Financial Systems: Build and scale robust data and automation pipelines using Python and SQL to serve as the foundation for advanced analytics and business intelligence.

• Develop Predictive Models: Integrate internal business data, historical trends, and external market signals to create sophisticated forecasting models that inform compensation strategy, resource allocation, and long-range planning.

• Drive Strategy with Data: Translate complex models and quantitative analysis into clear, actionable insights. Build and maintain interactive dashboards (Tableau/Power BI) to communicate findings and KPIs to executive leadership in real-time.

• Ensure Analytical Rigor: Conduct ROI and cost-benefit analysis for major company initiatives, ensuring our financial strategy is aligned with measurable, data-driven outcomes.

• Uphold Data Integrity: Champion best practices in data governance to ensure the accuracy, reliability, and security of our financial data throughout the entire analytics lifecycle.

Qualifications

Your Experience

• This is an entry-level position ideal for a recent graduate (Bachelor's or Master's) or an early-career professional with 1-3 years of relevant experience.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in a quantitative field such as Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Economics, Finance, or a related STEM discipline.

• High proficiency in Python for data science (e.g., pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn) and SQL for complex data querying and manipulation.

• Demonstrated experience in applying machine learning concepts (e.g., regression, classification, time-series forecasting) to real-world problems through academic or professional projects.

• Experience creating impactful data visualizations and interactive dashboards using tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Looker.

• A strong foundation in financial concepts, statistical analysis, and predictive modeling.

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Preferred Qualifications (Bonus Points):

• Creative application of modern AI tools (e.g., Gemini, NotebookLM, Glean) to accelerate the development of predictive financial models, automate variance analysis and reporting, and transform finance workflows from data ingestion to executive summary.

• Experience with cloud data platforms (e.g., GCP, AWS, Azure).

• Familiarity with financial planning & analysis (FP&A) processes or accounting principles.

• Knowledge of additional tools like R, Alteryx, or Excel (VBA, Power Query).

• Internship or project experience in a fast-paced, tech-driven 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 $87000 - 142000/YR. The offered compensation may also include restricted stock units and a bonus. A description of our employee benefits may be found here