Principal Software Development Engineer, Platform Engineering

Zscaler•San Jose, CA

18h•$185,500 - $265,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Zscaler is seeking a Principal Software Development Engineer to design and develop enterprise-grade identity management products. The role focuses on applying expertise in identity and access management (IAM) and public cloud environments to deliver hands-on development and technical leadership. Identity is described as a key security perimeter, with the work aimed at managing digital risk through identity integration and controls. This is a hybrid position on the ZIdentity team within the Identity and Access Management department. The position reports to the Director, Software Development Engineering. Responsibilities include leading the design, development, and optimization of the Identity platform; setting technical direction for a Kubernetes platform and centralized IAM solutions; collaborating with engineering teams to improve the Common Identity platform; and supporting team members’ professional growth.

Requirements

Minimum 8 years of hands-on experience in application architecture and development using Java, including development of enterprise-grade security or networking products.
Expert-level technical knowledge of Enterprise Java, object-oriented programming (OOP), object-oriented analysis (OOA), systems architecture, RESTful APIs, and related frameworks such as Hibernate and Spring.
Expert-level knowledge of container ecosystems including Docker and Kubernetes, and experience orchestrating massive-scale Kubernetes clusters in AWS and GCP.
Deep experience architecting highly automated, secure CI/CD pipelines, such as GitOps, ArgoCD, Jenkins, or GitLab CI, to enable zero-downtime deployments across global environments.
Expertise in designing and optimizing Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB), cloud load balancers, Kubernetes Ingress Controllers, and foundational protocols including PKI, SAML, OAuth, and OpenID Connect.
Foundational understanding of AI/ML technologies and experience leveraging, securing, or positioning AI-driven solutions to optimize outcomes within the functional domain.

Nice To Haves

Proven ability to leverage AI technologies and workflows to drive measurable operational efficiency.
Prior experience building identity platforms or hyper-scale Kubernetes platforms.

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership in the design, development, and optimization of the Identity platform, with a focus on cost-effective product growth and expansion.
Lead the technical roadmap for the Kubernetes platform and architect centralized IAM solutions that support enterprise-scale business goals.
Work with engineering teams to enhance support for the Common Identity platform.
Drive professional development and growth initiatives for team members.
Develop enterprise-grade identity management products using expertise in IAM and public cloud environments.