Sr. Software Development Engineer

About Zscaler 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 building security products that enable organizations to adopt AI applications and agents safely and at scale. This is a hybrid capacity based in Bangalore role, reporting to the Director of Software Engineering. You will act as a hands-on Senior Software Engineer leading key product capabilities, taking full ownership of complex technical initiatives, shaping architectural direction, and guiding other engineers.

What You’ll Do (Role Expectations)

• Lead the design and delivery of major product capabilities, owning projects from problem definition through implementation, rollout, and production operation.
• Design secure, reliable, and scalable systems with clearly defined trust boundaries, making technical decisions that balance security, privacy, performance, reliability, and usability.
• Lead complex investigations while improving engineering practices, testing, and operational readiness.
• Mentor engineers and provide direction through design and code reviews.
• Partner with product and research teams while contributing to technical strategy and longer-term architecture.

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)

• Foundational understanding of AI/ML technologies and experience leveraging, securing, or positioning AI-driven solutions to optimize outcomes within your functional domain.
• 3-4 years of software-engineering experience, including ownership of complex production systems and a demonstrated ability to lead technically ambiguous, cross-functional projects.
• Deep expertise in systems engineering, distributed systems, security engineering, backend platforms, or endpoint software, combined with strong proficiency in Go, Rust, and Python.
• Experience designing systems with clear security, privacy, and reliability req…