About Us

Proofpoint is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity. We protect how people, data, and AI agents connect across email, cloud, and collaboration tools. Over 80 of the Fortune 100, 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations trust Proofpoint to stop threats, prevent data loss, and build resilience across their people and AI workflows. Our mission is simple: safeguard the digital world and empower people to work securely and confidently. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.

How We Work

At Proofpoint you'll be part of a global team that breaks barriers to redefine cybersecurity guided by our BRAVE core values:

• Bold in how we dream and innovate
• Responsive to feedback, challenges and opportunities
• Accountable for results and best in class outcomes
• Visionary in future focused problem-solving
• Exceptional in execution and impact

About the Team

AI Forge is an internal machine learning group that consults across Proofpoint's entire product portfolio. We are a group of data scientists and engineers who love keeping up with the latest ML research, fostering a collaborative and creative workplace, and solving challenging problems. Over the past several years, we have developed data-driven product features, leveraging a range of model architectures from tree-based models to state-of-the-art transformers. The projects have spanned the full range of modern ML techniques (deep and classical learning), approaches (supervised and unsupervised learning) and data types (textual, image, and structured data). Each new project surfaces novel puzzles to be solved, while production deployments to our cloud AI/ML Platform expose new MLOps challenges. Recently, our organization has been spearheading company-wide initiatives around large language models and their application to the business. This work includes creating shared resources, building LLM-powered applications and agentic systems, accelerating internal teams through reusable services and tooling, and organizing hack days.

The Role

We are seeking an Associate DevOps Engineer (AI/ML) to join the AI Forge Team. Your day to day will include:

• Writing and maintaining production-quality Python code for AI/ML tooling, automation, and platform services
• Own and evolve CI/CD pipelines for ML and infrastructure workloads, emphasizing reliability, security, and developer productivity
• Design, build, and maintain cloud infrastructure supporting the full ML lifecycle using Terraform, cloud-native services, and open-source software
• Implement and enforce monitoring, logging, and alerting to ensure system reliability, scalability, and uptime
• Support and productionize LLM-based applications, including secure integration with proprietary data sources
• Collaborate closely with data scientists to deploy, operate, and iterate on ML models in production
• Work cross-functionally with product, security, and platform teams to support product integration
• Clearly communicate plans, tradeoffs, and outcomes to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Contribute to technical design discussions, proposing improvements to architecture, reliability, and security
• Own and maintain documentation for systems you support, and contribute to evolving team best practices

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or closely related field, or equivalent practical experience
• 2-4 years of professional experience in DevOps, Platform Engineering, or Infrastructure Engineering roles
• Practical experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes preferred)
• Proficiency with Python, Linux/Unix environments, and Git-based workflows
• Hands-on experience with Infrastructure as Code (Terraform preferred) in a major cloud provider
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Passion for learning new skills and technologies
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across teams

What Will Help

• Experience in a SaaS or large-scale distributed systems environment
• Experience supporting ML or data-intensive platforms in production, or strong interest in learning AI/ML systems at scale
• Experience building or operating LLM-powered systems
• Interest in improving developer experience, platform reliability, and operational excellence
• Exposure to security best practices in cloud, network, or data protection domains

Why Proofpoint?

At Proofpoint, we believe that an exceptional career experience includes a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Here are just a few reasons you'll love working with us:

• Competitive compensation
• Comprehensive benefits
• Career success on your terms
• Flexible work environment
• Annual wellness and community outreach days
• Always on recognition for your contributions
• Global collaboration and networking opportunities

Our Culture

Our culture is rooted in values that inspire belonging, empower purpose and drive success—every day, for everyone. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to accessibility@proofpoint.com.

Proofpoint has been honored with six Best Places to Work Awards in 2024 by workplace culture leader Comparably, including Best Company Career Growth, Best Company Outlook, Best Global Culture, Best Engineering Teams, Best Sales Teams, and Best HR Teams. We are the leader in human-centric cybersecurity. Half a million customers, including 87 of the Fortune 100, rely on Proofpoint to protect their organizations. We're driven by a mission to stay ahead of bad actors and safeguard the digital world. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.

Our BRAVE Values

At Proofpoint, we are BRAVE in everything we do, and our values aren't just words—they shape how we work, collaborate, and grow. We seek people who are bold enough to challenge the status quo, responsive in the face of ever-evolving threats, and accountable for delivering real impact. We value those with a visionary mindset who anticipate what's next and push cybersecurity forward, and we celebrate exceptional execution that ensures we continue to defend data and protect people. Proofpoint is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability. Find your network, your allies, and your biggest fans. We know that work is simply better when you're surrounded by people who inspire you—who share ideas, cheer you on, and genuinely want to see you succeed. That's why we offer social circles, sponsored networks, and connection points across teams and time zones—to help you find your people, build your community, and thrive together.

This isn't just a job—it's a mission to protect people and defend data in a world that never slows down. We're building the future of human-centric cybersecurity, and that future belongs to all of us. We take ownership, move fast, and hold ourselves accountable—because that's what it takes to stay ahead. And we do it together, winning as one. Be empowered to reach your full potential through meaningful challenges and personalized support—designed around you and your goals. Whether you're growing as a leader or leveling up from great to exceptional as an individual contributor, we're here to help you get there.