Staff Software Development Engineer (Backend - Python/Go/Rust)

About the job

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.

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.

Role

We are looking for a Staff Software Development Engineer (Backend) to join our team. This is a Hybrid (Bangalore) role, reporting to the Director, Threat Researcher in the Engineering department.

In this role, you will architect, scale, and operate complex distributed systems and cloud-native platforms running on Kubernetes and cloud infrastructure. You will own end-to-end technical initiatives, set high standards for reliability and performance, and multiply the overall impact of the engineering team.

What you’ll do (Role Expectations)

- Lead the design, development, testing, and evolution of backend services and APIs, making sound architectural trade-offs with a focus on scalability, reliability, performance, and maintainability

- Drive services end to end — development, deployment, scaling, monitoring, and ongoing production support — and set the standard for operational ownership across the team

- Design and manage services in containerized environments, leading deployment strategy, scaling, and troubleshooting on Kubernetes

- Lead incident response and root-cause analysis across distributed systems, monitor service health, debug complex failures, and drive systemic fixes that improve long-term production reliability

- Work across cloud infrastructure and compute environments to support workload deployment, service configuration, and operational troubleshooting, including multi-environment and capacity considerations

Who You Are (Success Profile)

- You act like an owner with a strong bias for action, operating with integrity, caring genuinely about outcomes, and navigating seamlessly between high-level strategy and hands-on execution

- You are a high-trust collaborator who is ambitious for the team, embracing a challenge culture through ongoing feedback delivered with candor, clarity, and respect

- You are customer-obsessed, building deep empathy for internal and external customers to anchor decisions in solving real-world problems and championing their success

- You are driven by innovation and energized by solving complex technical challenges, bringing deep curiosity and a constant search for better, more secure, and scalable solutions

- You lead with integrity, holding yourself and others to high standards of accountability while matching your words with consistent, transparent action

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

- 5+ years owning backend or distributed production services, with strong expertise in Python, Go, or Rust and working proficiency in a second language

- Proven experience building, scaling, and troubleshooting high-volume production APIs and backend services using containers and Kubernetes

- Experience with cloud platforms, with Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud Platform (GCP) experience preferred

- Strong system design, performance, and reliability fundamentals with proven ability to lead distributed root-cause analysis and make independent architectural decisions

- Experience working with AI-assisted development and engineering workflows, applying AI tools for code generation, code review, testing, debugging, and operational automation to improve engineering velocity and quality

What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications)

- Proven ability to leverage AI technologies and workflows to drive measurable operational efficiency

- Hands-on expertise deploying, operating, and troubleshooting production Kubernetes workloads across large-scale multi-cloud environments

- Strong, production-level proficiency in two or more of Python, Go, and Rust, or familiarity with C/C++ for systems-level or performance-sensitive components

- Deep understanding of authentication (SSO, OAuth, OIDC) and observability (metrics, logs, traces) to resolve production issues across app and infra layers, with proven ability to leverage AI workflows for operational efficiency

#LI-SK3

#LI-HYBRID At Zscaler, we are committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve and the customers we work with. We foster an inclusive environment that values all backgrounds and perspectives, emphasizing collaboration and belonging. Join us in our mission to make doing business seamless and secure.

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 hybrid working model and benefits here .

By applying for this role, you adhere to applicable laws, regulations, and Zscaler policies, including those related to security and privacy standards and guidelines.

Zscaler is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals. We strive to create a workplace where employees are treated with respect and have the chance to succeed. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy or related medical conditions), age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. See more information by clicking on the Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal link.

Pay Transparency

Zscaler complies with all applicable federal, state, and local pay transparency rules.

Zscaler is committed to providing reasonable support (called accommodations or adjustments) in our recruiting processes for candidates who are differently abled, have long term conditions, mental health conditions or sincerely held religious beliefs, or who are neurodivergent or require pregnancy-related support.