Sr. Staff Software Development Engineer

Zscaler•San Jose, CA

5h•Hybrid

About The Position

Zscaler accelerates digital transformation to ensure our customers can be more agile, efficient, resilient, and secure. As an AI-forward enterprise, we are constantly pushing the envelope, leveraging the world’s largest security data lake to power our cloud-native Zero Trust Exchange platform. This innovation protects our customers from cyberattacks and data loss by securely connecting users, devices, and applications in any location. Here, impact in your role matters more than title and trust is built on results. We say, impact over activity. We seek innovators who actively use AI to amplify their impact and who thrive in an environment where we leverage intelligent systems to stay ahead of evolving threats. We believe in transparency and value constructive, honest debate—we’re focused on getting to the best ideas, faster. We build high-performing teams that can make an impact quickly and with high quality. To do this, we are building a culture of execution centered on customer obsession, collaboration, ownership, and accountability. We value high-impact, high-accountability with a sense of urgency where you’re enabled to do your best work and embrace your potential. If you’re driven by purpose, thrive on solving complex challenges, and want to be part of the team that’s helping to secure the AI age, we invite you to bring your talents to Zscaler and help shape the future of cybersecurity. Role We are looking for a Senior Staff Development Engineer to join our Engineering team in a hybrid capacity based in San Jose, CA (three days a week), reporting to the Senior Director, Software Engineering. You will help build the world’s largest cloud security platform, leveraging a multitenant architecture and 100+ patents to support over 15 million users. Your vision and technical expertise will enable organizations worldwide to harness speed and agility through a cloud-first strategy.

Requirements

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or a related field
8+ years of experience in system engineering focused on designing and optimizing system infrastructure for high-performance networking and security applications
Expertise in Linux kernel-based networking (L2/L3), Stateful Firewall, Network drivers, and protocols like VLANs, DHCP, DNS, and Tunneling
Proficiency in C and Python programming languages with excellent problem-solving skills for debugging complex data path issues
Strong communication and collaboration skills with a solid understanding of scalable systems design

Nice To Haves

Experience in user space data path technologies such as VPP, DPDK, SR-IOV, NFV, and SDN, alongside certifications like FIPS or FedRAMP
Familiarity with cloud computing platforms like AWS or Azure and containerization technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes
Advanced expertise in virtualization and security solutions

Responsibilities

Design, develop, and optimize system infrastructure including networking and security features to support high-performance applications
Ensure federal certifications such as FIPS, FedRAMP, Common Criteria, and SOC2 compliance
Create design and functional specification documents while performing unit testing and automation to ensure quality
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to resolve system-related issues, optimize performance, and innovate features to expand system capabilities
Apply strong software design principles to deliver reliable, scalable, and impactful product improvements