Sr. 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.

Role 

We are looking for a Sr. Staff Software Development Engineer to join our team. This is a fully remote role based in the Netherlands, reporting to the Senior Manager, Software Development Engineering within the Zero Trust Exchange department. In this pivotal role, you will work on the design and building of shared platform services aimed at making Zscaler’s global infrastructure cloud-agnostic. You will work at the heart of our distributed systems, building robust microservices that empower product teams to deploy seamlessly without direct dependencies on public cloud providers.

What you’ll do (Role Expectations)

• Build cloud-agnostic shared services to decouple product deployments from public cloud provider dependencies
• Engineer high-scale distributed systems and microservices that serve as shared infrastructure for global engineering teams
• Produce high-quality technical artifacts, including detailed architectural diagrams, system designs, and developer documentation
• Implement robust data and messaging solutions leveraging hands-on experience with PostgreSQL, Kafka, Redis, and Druid
• Drive operational excellence by collaborating with architects on service design and participating in full-lifecycle on-call rotations

Who You Are (Success Profile)

• 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. You adapt to what’s needed, navigating seamlessly between high-level strategy and hands-on execution.
• You are a learner. You have a true growth mindset and never stop developing yourself, actively seeking feedback to become a better partner and a stronger teammate. You love what you do and you do it with purpose.
• You are driven by innovation. You have a deep curiosity for how things work and are energized by solving complex technical challenges. You believe in the power of technology to accelerate transformation and are always looking for a better, more secure, and scalable way.
• You are a pragmatic builder. You are obsessed with creating, iterating, and shipping. You aren't afraid to roll up your sleeves and build the first version yourself, balancing the drive for technical excellence with the need to deliver value to users quickly.
• You think at scale. You connect your day-to-day work to the larger company mission and think globally. You build solutions, processes, and teams that are not just effective today but are built to last and support a high-growth, global organization.

What We’re Looking for (Minimum Qualifications)

• 10+ years in software engineering with 3+ years in a Staff or Lead role on large-scale distributed systems
• Proficiency in Java and Go for building production-grade microservices in a Linux environment
• Hands-on experience with Kubernetes and the operational management of containerized services
• Deep expertise in datastores and messaging, including PostgreSQL, MySQL, Kafka, and Redis
• Strong technical documentation skills, with a focus on architecture, system design, and diagrams

What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications)

• Database-savvy engineer with a deep interest in both application-level integration and the internal mechanics of database engines
• Experience in cloud-abstraction projects to decouple application logic from proprietary cloud provider APIs
• Advanced debugging skills for root cause analysis of bottlenecks in distributed systems

#LI-REMOTE
#LI-MM8

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:

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.