Milen Atanasov’s Cybersecurity Journey

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Milen

Principal Software
Automation/Test Engineer
Bulgaria

Career Development | Culture | Early Talent

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

From QA Intern to Principal Engineer: Milen on Career Growth and Team Impact

Milen has been passionate about computers and technology for as long as he can remember. “During university, I was particularly interested in software development and quality assurance because I enjoyed understanding how systems work and finding ways to improve their quality and reliability,” shared Milen. That interest led to an internship with Venafi (now a part of Palo Alto Networks). Today, Milen supports our Bulgaria team as a Principal Software Automation/Test Engineer, and his story highlights what is possible when technical curiosity meets a supportive culture. Keep reading to learn more about Milen’s cybersecurity journey.

Your cybersecurity career began with an internship—how did this experience support your career path?

In 2019, during my second year of university, I was looking for an internship opportunity and came across a Quality Assurance internship. That experience introduced me to the cybersecurity industry and showed me how critical security is to the technologies we use every day. What started as an interest in quality assurance evolved into a broader passion for cybersecurity, where I could combine my technical curiosity with the opportunity to help protect organizations and users from increasingly sophisticated threats.

What accomplishments are you most proud of during your career?

What I’m most proud of is how my role has grown over time in terms of impact and ownership. I started mainly focusing on execution and learning the domain, and over time I moved toward owning larger areas, improving test strategy and automation, and helping drive quality improvements across teams. I’m proud that this growth wasn’t just about expanding my scope, but about consistently contributing to better quality and more efficient ways of working.

What is your favorite part of working at Palo Alto Networks?

My favorite part of working at Palo Alto Networks is the people. I have the opportunity to work with incredibly talented and supportive colleagues who are always willing to share knowledge, collaborate, and help each other succeed. Being surrounded by people who are passionate about what they do creates an environment where I'm constantly learning and growing.

You’re a member of our MIM (Major Incident Management) SaaS Test Enablement team. What do you enjoy most about working with this team?

We focus on quality initiatives, tools, and processes that help engineering teams deliver a reliable, high-quality product more efficiently, and I love that we can make a broad impact across multiple teams. What I enjoy most is that we're not just solving problems for a single feature or project - we're helping establish standards and improvements that benefit multiple teams. It's rewarding to see the impact of our work reflected in better quality, stronger engineering practices, and ultimately a better experience for our customers.

What are you most excited about for cybersecurity’s future?

What excites me most about the future is AI and the impact it will have across every area of technology. We're already seeing it transform how we work, build products, and approach cybersecurity. It's an exciting time to be in the industry because the pace of innovation is incredible, and I'm looking forward to learning and adapting.

What advice would you give to a young professional looking to enter the cybersecurity industry?

My advice would be to stay curious and keep learning consistently. Cybersecurity changes quickly. There’s always something new coming up, whether it’s a technology, a type of vulnerability, or just a different way of thinking about problems.

I also wouldn’t stress too much about finding the “perfect” starting point. People get into cybersecurity from all kinds of backgrounds - QA, development, IT, networking, and more. What matters more is building solid fundamentals and being open to whatever opportunities come your way. In my experience, if you stay consistent and keep learning, things tend to build on each other over time.

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