Role

We are looking for a Sr. Principal Software Engineer to join our Zscaler Digital Experience (Core Intelligence and Data) team. This is a San Jose, CA based role, reporting to the Sr. Manager, Software Engineering. You will join the team responsible for building the world's largest cloud security platform, helping us enhance services and increase our global footprint. You will play a pivotal role in enabling organizations worldwide to harness speed and agility through a cloud-first strategy, leveraging our multitenant architecture that serves over 15 million users.

What you'll do (Role Expectations)

• Own data agentic analytical framework, framing high-impact use cases, designing workflows and playbooks, and building processes for all products
• Design and implement streaming data analytics pipelines to power near real-time insights and detections in the data lake
• Evaluate and integrate state-of-the-art GenAI advances to deliver reliable and cost-efficient production features, utilizing LLMs and inference optimization
• Design, implement, and operate scalable production systems, specifically focusing on microservices, data pipelines, orchestration, and caching
• Partner with Product, UX, Support, and customers to turn ambiguous problems into measurable outcomes with clear SLAs, telemetry, and feedback loops

Who You Are (Success Profile)

• You thrive in ambiguity. You're comfortable building the path as you walk it. You thrive in a dynamic environment, seeing ambiguity not as a hindrance, but as the raw material to build something meaningful.
• You act like an owner. Your passion for the mission fuels your bias for action. You operate with integrity because you genuinely care about the outcome. True ownership involves leveraging dynamic range: the ability to navigate seamlessly between high-level strategy and hands-on execution.
• You are a problem-solver. You love running towards the challenges because you are laser-focused on finding the solution, knowing that solving the hard problems delivers the biggest impact.
• You are a high-trust collaborator. You are ambitious for the team, not just yourself. You embrace our challenge culture by giving and receiving ongoing feedback-knowing that candor delivered with clarity and respect is the truest form of teamwork and the fastest way to earn trust.
• You are a learner. You have a true growth mindset and are obsessed with your own development, actively seeking feedback to become a better partner and a stronger teammate. You love what you do and you do it with purpose.

What We're Looking for (Minimum Qualifications)

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field with 12+ years of experience
• Experience solving real-world problems by leveraging the design in distributed systems at scale, such as data-intensive services or analytics platforms
• Proficiency in programming, data structures, and algorithms with expertise in writing production-grade code in Python, Go, or Java
• Expertise in designing and operating distributed microservices using tools like Kubernetes and Docker
• Hands-on experience with the full software engineering lifecycle, including building, deployment, monitoring, and optimization

What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications)

• Strong hands-on experience with GCP, specifically BigQuery and Dataflow/Apache Beam in production environments
• Experience building ML-powered products, including feature engineering pipelines, monitoring, and experimentation
• Strong track record of leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing architecture across multiple teams

#LI-Hybrid

#LI-CM3

Zscaler's salary ranges are benchmarked and are determined by role and level. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations and could be higher or lower based on a multitude of factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

The base salary range listed for this full-time position excludes commission/ bonus/ equity (if applicable) + benefits.

Base Pay Range

$206,500-$295,000 USD

Our Benefits program is one of the most important ways we support our employees. Zscaler proudly offers comprehensive and inclusive benefits to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families throughout their life stages, including:

• Various health plans
• Time off plans for vacation and sick time
• Parental leave options
• Retirement options
• Education reimbursement
• In-office perks, and more!

Learn more about Zscaler's Future of Work strategy, hybrid working model, and benefits here.