Director / Senior Director - Strategic Sales Operations, NAM

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 Your Career Are you ready to redefine complex strategic sales operations at scale? We are seeking a transformative operations leader at the Director or Senior Director level for our strategic sales engine behind our North America (NAM) Go-To-Market organization. In this role, you will not just run the existing machine—you will modernize it. Partnering directly with senior sales executives, you will architect a dual-track strategy: safeguarding flawless execution against quarterly targets while fundamentally rethinking traditional processes through AI, advanced data automation, and cross-functional operational alignment. Your Impact - Regional Leadership & People Development: Lead and mentor Strategic Sales Operations Segment Leads across East, West, and Central Strategic Sales regions to standardize operating playbooks, manage team capacity, and ensure consistent execution. - Executive Partnership & Strategy: Serve as a strategic advisor to Area Presidents and Sales SVPs, aligning on 30/60/90-day game plans, Annual Planning milestones, and high-impact GTM priorities. - Forecasting & Deal Inspection: De-risk quarterly plan attainment by tracking pipeline hygiene, Net New Pipeline (NNP), and conducting rigorous deal inspection and QBRs. - Process Innovation & AI Automation: Champion AI, process re-engineering and data automation to radically modernize operational best practices, eliminate manual reporting cycles, and drive efficient and effective sales execution. - Frictionless Deal Execution: Eliminate bottlenecks across the quote-to-delivery lifecycle—partnering with IT, Compensation, and Central Ops—while providing hands-on operational leadership for complex deals during critical quarter-end closes. - IT & Automation Initiatives: Collaborate with IT and Business Ops to lead initiatives that automate manual efforts, increasing the "field time" for our sales teams. Qualifications Your Experience - Enterprise Operations Leadership & Scale: Bachelor's degree with 15+ years of experience supporting large-scale enterprise go-to-market (GTM) organizations and managing complex multi-regional operations, with deep domain expertise in high-visibility initiatives such as territory design, annual planning, compensation mechanics, and pipeline forecasting. - Executive Influence & Partnership: Proven track record of acting as a trusted advisor to senior sales executives (SVPs and Area Presidents), highlighting the ability to drive strategic alignment and challenge assumptions with data against aggressive commercial targets. - Hands-On Execution: Willingness to operate at both the 30,000-foot strategic level and down in the trenches—debugging complex deal bottlenecks, refining playbooks, and managing critical quarter-end close cadences. - Technical & AI Proficiency: Hands-on familiarity with modern sales tech stacks (CRM, connected planning tools like Pigment/Anaplan) and a strong appetite for leveraging AI tools, advanced analytics, and data automation to streamline operational workflows and minimize manual operational overhead. - People Leadership: Proven success coaching, developing, and scaling high-performing regional operations leads across distributed territories. 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. A description of our employee benefits may be found here. $248,700.00 - $341,250.00/yr 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.