Staff 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.

We are looking for a Staff Software Development Engineer to join our ZPA datapath team. This is a hybrid role based in Bangalore, reporting to the Senior Manager, Engineering in our ZTNA department. You will be a key part of the team that built the world’s largest cloud security platform from the ground up. We are seeking a visionary to help enhance our services and global footprint, enabling organizations worldwide to harness speed and agility through a cloud-first strategy.

What you’ll do (Role Expectations)

Developing and optimizing network applications and protocols using C/C++

Designing efficient data structures for network data processing and handle system-level programming in Linux environments

Analyzing network performance to identify issues and implement optimization solutions

Collaborating with teams to define requirements, design architectures, and integrate network solutions

Conducting code reviews, testing, and debugging to ensure robust and reliable software

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 operate with urgency. You understand that in a high-growth environment, speed and quality are not mutually exclusive. You have a relentless focus on execution and a bias for action, delivering high-impact results quickly to win for the customer and the team.

You are a problem-solver. You seek out challenges because you are energ