Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) accelerates digital transformation so customers can be more agile, efficient, resilient, and secure. The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform protects thousands of customers from cyberattacks and data loss by securely connecting users, devices, and applications in any location. Distributed across 200+ public data centers globally and thousands of private sites at the edge, the SASE-based Zero Trust Exchange is the world’s largest in-line cloud security platform.

We believe the future of work is Human + AI and are building an AI-native enterprise where human potential is amplified by machine intelligence to solve the world’s hardest security challenges. Driven by deep customer obsession, we are committed to the mission, outcome, and to each other. We bring these commitments to life through three core behaviors: ownership and collaboration, trust through outcomes and impact, and a challenge culture with ongoing feedback. Ready to make an impact at the company pioneering security transformation in the AI era? Join us at Zscaler.

Role

We are looking for a Sr. Staff Software Development Engineer to join our team. This is a hybrid based role in our Santa Clara, CA headquarters, reporting to the Senior Manager, Software Development Engineering in the Zero Trust Exchange department. In this position, you will serve as a key technical leader, contributing to architectural direction, designing high-performance systems-level subsystems, and leading the engineering execution of our next-generation inspection capabilities. You will shape the future of our technology, driving visionary innovation and collaborating across teams to deliver cutting-edge services.

What you’ll do (Role Expectations)

Design and implement core components of our high-performance DLP engines, dictionary compilers, and distributed incident processing pipelines, writing clean, highly optimized systems-level C code
Lead the technical design and engineering execution for core Data Loss Prevention (DLP) libraries, inspection engines, and high-performance backend infrastructure
Maintain and champion high architectural standards for multi-threaded C daemons on FreeBSD/Linux, implementing robust shared memory structures, high-performance Inter-Process Communication (IPC), and lockless concurrency
Serve as a primary technical escalation point for complex production issues, utilizing post-mortem core dump analysis, deep system profiling, and memory leak detection to resolve system bottlenecks

Who You Are (Success Profile)

You act like an owner, demonstrating a strong bias for action and a deep care for outcomes while navigating seamlessly between high-level strategy and hands-on execution.
You are a learner who maintains a true growth mindset, actively seeking feedback to continuously develop yourself and work with a strong sense of purpose.
You are a positive force who approaches complex technical challenges with constructive, contagious energy that keeps your team inspired and focused on solutions.
You operate with urgency, maintaining a relentless focus on high-speed, high-quality execution to deliver impactful results quickly.
You are resilient and adaptable, viewing change as an opportunity and maintaining composure to guide yourself and your team through high-pressure situations.

What We’re Looking for (Minimum Qualifications)

Demonstrated curiosity and active exploration of AI tools, with a proven history of integrating new technologies to enhance daily workflows and augment problem-solving
Advanced hands-on proficiency in C programming on Linux or FreeBSD runtime environments, with deep architectural expertise in Inter-Process Communication (IPC) and shared memory architectures
8+ years of experience with systems software engineering, including a proven track record driving the design and delivery of high-performance backend platforms

What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications)

Proven ability to leverage AI technologies and workflows to drive measurable operational efficiency