Staff Software Development Engineer

<div class="content-intro"><p data-pm-slice="1 1 []">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.</p> <p>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.</p></div><p><strong>Role</strong></p> <p>We are looking for a Staff Software Development Engineer to join our team. This is a hybrid (Santa Clara, CA) role, reporting to the Sr. Director, Software Development Engineering in the Zero Trust Exchange (ZPA Logging Analytics AI-ML) department. Zscaler is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to research, design, develop, and enhance computer and network software for ZPA Logging and Analytics. This role focuses on building robust, scalable data infrastructure and software platforms that support both internal and external users. The engineer will work on large-scale systems that collect and process billions of log events from globally distributed cloud infrastructure and transform that data into actionable insights for customers and researchers.</p> <p><strong>What you’ll do (Role Expectations)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Research, design, develop, and implement computer and network software, including specialized utility programs, for Zscaler products based on business and user requirements</li> <li>Analyze user needs and apply principles of computer science, engineering, and mathematical analysis to create scalable, reliable, and effective software solutions</li> <li>Build, maintain, and optimize robust data infrastructure to support large-scale batch processing and real-time data workloads across distributed cloud environments</li> <li>Design and implement secure, high-performance database schemas, data models, APIs, and data platforms that ingest billions of log events and deliver actionable analytics and visibility</li> <li>Participate in agile development processes to enhance existing software and platforms, with strong focus on code quality, supportability, scalability, performance, and continuous improvement</li> </ul> <p><strong>Who You Are (Success Profile)</strong></p> <ul> <li>You thrive in ambiguity and are comfortable building the path as you walk it, viewing dynamic environments as an opportunity to design and deliver meaningful solutions.</li> <li>You act like an owner with a strong bias for action, operating with high integrity and seamlessly transitioning between high-level architectural strategy and hands-on code execution.</li> <li>You are a high-trust collaborator who is ambitious for the team's success, actively embracing a healthy challenge culture by giving and receiving respectful, candid feedback.</li> <li>You are a pragmatic builder obsessed with creating, iterating, and shipping software, willing to roll up your sleeves to build prototypes while balancing technical excellence with rapid user value.</li> <li>You are data-driven, leveraging analytics and concrete evidence over assumptions to find the truth, measure impact, and guide critical engineering decisions.</li> </ul> <p><strong>What We’re Looking for (Minimum Qualifications)</strong></p> <ul> <li>Foundational