Principal, AI Research Engineering

Zscaler•San Jose, CA

19h•Hybrid

About The Position

Zscaler is looking for a Principal, AI Research Engineer to join their AI & Data Protection team. This role is hybrid based in San Jose, CA, and reports to the EVP, AI Security and Strategic Initiatives. Zscaler’s mission is to secure the world’s data in the age of AI. As the leader of the world’s largest security cloud, the Zero Trust Exchange, we are uniquely positioned to define how the global enterprise safely adopts, scales, and secures Artificial Intelligence. The individual will be the primary architect of Zscaler’s AI ecosystem, bridging the gap between their core Zero Trust platform and the rapidly evolving world of LLMs, GPU infrastructure, and AI application frameworks. This role is ideal for a technical leader who deeply understands the "AI Stack" and has a proven track record of building thriving developer and partner ecosystems at scale.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in technical leadership or engineering partnerships with a history of building impactful industry relationships
Deep technical fluency in the AI lifecycle including training vs. inference, GPU roles, context windows, and RAG architectures
Ability to apply first-principles thinking to fundamental security and networking challenges in enterprise LLM deployment
Strong bias for action with a "Ship Early, Iterate Fast" mentality and focus on delivering high-value MVPs
Foundational understanding of AI/ML technologies and experience leveraging, securing, or positioning AI-driven solutions to optimize outcomes within your functional domain

Nice To Haves

Proven track record of building thriving developer and partner ecosystems at scale
Deep understanding of the full "AI Stack" from inference and RAG to data governance
Experience in high-velocity environments where AI security and networking solutions are evolving daily

Responsibilities

Define the AI Ecosystem Strategy by leading the vision for integrations with frontier model providers, vector database companies, and AI infrastructure leaders
Lead the "Secure AI" roadmap by owning the lifecycle for features that enable safe use of 3rd-party LLMs and prevent data leakage
Build a developer ecosystem by defining and launching APIs, SDKs, and integration patterns for "Zero Trust-native" applications
Drive market leadership and cross-functional partnerships to turn complex technical integrations into high-growth go-to-market motions