Senior Principal Software Engineer

Zscaler is an AI-forward cybersecurity company providing a cloud-native Zero Trust Exchange platform that protects users, devices, and applications. The Senior Principal Software Engineer will define technical vision, architect major subsystems, and lead complex initiatives for reliable, scalable, globally distributed cloud infrastructure. The role also promotes engineering excellence, mentors technical leaders, and leads incident management and post-incident analysis.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the design and development of highly scalable, performant, and reliable distributed systems in cloud and hybrid environments
• Architect major software components and review and approve critical design proposals, with deep consideration for performance, operability, and long-term maintainability
• Champion engineering excellence through strong software design practices, code quality, observability, performance optimization, and operational readiness
• Mentor senior engineers and technical leaders, raise the overall engineering bar, and help attract top technical talent to Zscaler
• Act as a lead Incident Commander (TDO on-call), develop response playbooks, and conduct deep-dive post-incident analyses

Requirements:

• 12+ years of experience in software engineering, with a significant portion focused on architecting and delivering large-scale distributed systems
• Strong experience designing scalable, high-performance, resilient software systems in cloud-native and distributed environments
• Deep expertise in one or more systems programming or backend languages such as Java, Go, C++, or Python
• Foundational understanding of AI/ML technologies and experience leveraging, securing, or positioning AI-driven solutions to optimize outcomes within your functional domain
• Leveraged ITIL frameworks and incident data during high-stakes incident management and 24/7 on-call rotations to drive service maturity through systematic problem management and technical operability reviews
• Strong background in performance engineering, benchmarking, and optimization of large-scale distributed systems
• Track record of initiating new strategic projects or helping expand Zscaler into new technical or business opportunities
• Background in security, networking, or large-scale internet systems is a plus