Senior Program Specialist - Intern & Keep Warm Programs

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 The Senior Program Specialist - Intern & Keep Warm Programs, leads enterprise programs that attract, engage, develop, and retain early talent throughout the candidate and intern journey. This role owns the design, execution, governance, and continuous improvement of the intern experience in the US, as well as the Keep Warm Program, ensuring both programs deliver consistent, engaging, and high-quality experiences at scale. The role partners closely with Recruiting, People Business Partners (PBPs), executives, business leaders, and cross-functional stakeholders to create meaningful experiences for interns and prospective early-career talent. This includes leading enterprise activations and campaigns, facilitating executive engagement, supporting the resolution of intern employee experience issues, and using data and insights to continuously strengthen program effectiveness and participant experience. Key Responsibilities Apply creative program design to develop, execute, and continuously improve US intern enablement programs that provide interns with the knowledge, resources, connections, and experiences needed to successfully navigate their internship with AI. Establish and maintain program standards, processes, and governance to ensure a consistent, high-quality intern experience. Conduct regular audits of intern enablement programs, communications, resources, and experiences to identify gaps, ensure program consistency, and drive continuous improvement. Design, lead, and use data audits to continuously improve the Keep Warm Program, creating meaningful engagement strategies that maintain relationships with candidates and prospective early-career talent between recruiting milestones and future opportunities. Lead US activations, campaigns, events, and engagement initiatives that strengthen connection, belonging, development, and engagement among interns and prospective early talent. Partner with People Business Partners, business leaders, and executives to create and facilitate meaningful leadership engagement opportunities for interns and support a strong, connected intern experience. Partner with PBPs and appropriate stakeholders to identify, address, and resolve intern employee experience issues, ensuring concerns are handled thoughtfully and in alignment with organizational practices. Develop and maintain program communications, resources, toolkits, playbooks, and processes that enable a scalable and consistent experience across regions and business groups. Use participant feedback, program data, audit findings, and stakeholder insights to measure program effectiveness, identify trends, and drive program improvements. Partner closely with Recruiting and other Talent stakeholders to ensure intern and Keep Warm programs align with broader early talent and workforce strategies. Identify opportunities to leverage technology, AI, automation, and innovative engagement strategies to improve the scale, efficiency, and impact of intern and Keep Warm programs. Serve as a subject matter expert and trusted program partner on the intern experience, Keep Warm strategy, and early talent engagement. Qualifications Required Qualifications 3 years of experience or more of experience in a related field. Demonstrated ability to design, execute, evaluate, and continuously improve enterprise programs. Experience managing complex programs with multiple stakeholders, timelines, and competing priorities. Experience managing internship, university recruiting, early career, or emerging talent programs. Strong project management, organizational, communication, and relationship-building skills. Demonstrated ability to use AI, data, feedback, and insights to evaluate program effectiveness and drive improvements. Experience leveraging AI, automation, or innovative approaches to improve candidate and employee experiences. Preferred Qualifications Experience designing successful learning pathways or enablement experiences that specifically build AI fluency for early-career populations. Experience designing and managing candidate engagement, talent community, or Keep Warm programs. Experience partnering with People Business Partners, executives, business leaders, and Recruiting teams. Experience designing and executing enterprise-wide activations, campaigns, events, or engagement initiatives. Experience developing program audits, quality standards, governance processes, or operational frameworks. Experience with applicant tracking systems, HRIS, candidate engagement platforms, or other recruiting technologies. Strong data analysis skills and experience using metrics to measure program effectiveness and participant engagement. Experience working