Sr. Staff Software Development Engineer

We are looking for a Sr. Staff Software Development Engineer to join our team at Zscaler. This is a hybrid role based in our Santa Clara, CA headquarters, reporting to the Senior Manager, Software Development Engineering in the Zero Trust Exchange department. 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.

Role Expectations

• Design and implement core components of 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.

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.

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.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven ability to leverage AI technologies and workflows to drive measurable operational efficiency.
• Familiarity with Data Loss Prevention (DLP) technologies, including regex evaluation engines, custom dictionary compilers, and EDM (Exact Data Match) / IDM (Indexed Document Matching).

Salary Range: The base salary range listed for this full-time position excludes commission/bonus/equity (if applicable) + benefits. Base Pay Range $180,000-$225,000 USD

Benefits:

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