About Zscaler

Zscaler is a pioneer and global leader in zero trust security. The world’s largest businesses, critical infrastructure organizations, and government agencies rely on Zscaler to secure users, branches, applications, data & devices, and to accelerate digital transformation initiatives. Distributed across more than 160 data centers globally, the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform combined with advanced AI combats billions of cyber threats and policy violations every day and unlocks productivity gains for modern enterprises by reducing costs and complexity.

Here, impact in your role matters more than title and trust is built on results. 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 champion an “AI Forward, People First” philosophy to help us accelerate and innovate, empowering our people to embrace their potential. If you’re driven by purpose, thrive on solving complex challenges and want to make a positive difference on a global scale, we invite you to bring your talents to Zscaler to help shape the future of cybersecurity.

Role

We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our team in San Jose, reporting to the Sr Manager, Software Engineering, QA within the ZIA System Test and Automation team. In this role, you will architect, design, develop, and maintain a highly scalable system test automation infrastructure for a cloud product processing over 500 billion transactions per day. You will serve as an advocate for testing at scale, pushing the limits of our software while mentoring junior engineers and ensuring the delivery of robust cloud security solutions.

What you’ll do (Role Expectations)

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design, develop, and maintain cloud-based software solutions while optimizing the regression cycle

• Architect, design, develop, and maintain a resilient system test automation infrastructure for a massive-scale cloud product

• Build repeatable system-level automation suites to validate L4-L7 technologies, utilizing your expertise in cloud firewalls and tunneling methods

• Take ownership of issue resolution by diagnosing complex customer challenges, recreating production issues, and providing actionable workarounds

• Mentor and guide more junior engineers, taking full ownership of feature testing and championing a culture of testing at scale

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 problem-solver. You seek out challenges because you are energized by finding solutions, knowing that solving the hard problems delivers the biggest impact.

• You are customer-obsessed. You build deep empathy for the customer—both internal and external—and anchor your decisions in solving their real-world problems. You champion their needs from start to finish, knowing their success is our success.

• 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.

• You are resilient and adaptable. You view change as an opportunity and setbacks as temporary. You maintain composure and focus in high-pressure situations, guiding yourself and your team through complexity with a steady, positive hand.

What We’re Looking for (Minimum Qualifications)

• 12+ years of overall software development experience with strong programming skills building scalable frameworks in Python

• Deep understanding of automated, functional, integration, and performance testing processes for cloud security products

• Proven ability to develop robust test automation frameworks and internal tools that cover various layers of the software stack

• Solid understanding of the TCP/IP protocol stack, HTTP(S), TLS, PKI, and network infrastructure including DNS, DHCP, VPN, HA, routing, and switching

• Strong exposure to L3, L4, and L7 filtering policies, tunneling methods like IPSEC/GRE, and experience with load balancers, IPS/IDS, and routers

What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications)

• Experience with test data management, synthetic data generation, and large-scale dataset curation for performance validation

• Familiarity with chaos engineering tools and fault-injection frameworks to validate system resiliency

• Expertise in benchmarking and profiling, including CPU, memory, and network tuning for high-throughput workloads

Zscaler’s salary ranges are benchmarked and are determined by role and level. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations and could be higher or lower based on a multitude of factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

The base salary range listed for this full-time position excludes commission/ bonus/ equity (if applicable) + benefits.

Base Pay Range**$182,000—$260,000 USD**
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 Future of Work strategy, 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 Illegallink.

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.