Staff Software Engineer

Role We are looking for a Sr. Staff Software Engineer (Full-Stack) to join our team. This is a Hybrid (San Jose, CA) role, reporting to the Director, Software Engineering, AI Security in the AI Guard department. We are seeking a talented, high-energy team player to help develop cutting-edge AI security products. This is a greenfield opportunity to define and build a new class of market-defining products. As a member of this growing team, you will share responsibility for ensuring the Zscaler service remains reliable, scales efficiently, and offers a delightful experience to our customers. What you’ll do (Role Expectations) Lead the design and delivery of full-stack features spanning React-based UI, Spring Boot microservices, REST APIs, event-driven Kafka services, and cloud-native infrastructure on AWS and Kubernetes Architect flexible, reusable UI components and establish patterns that scale across the platform Set technical direction in collaboration with backend engineers, UX designers, and product managers to ensure end-to-end solution quality and user experience Own logging, observability, and infrastructure concerns at a platform level, not just feature level Mentor engineers, conduct code reviews, and drive engineering standards across the team Who You Are (Success Profile) You thrive in ambiguity and are comfortable building the path as you walk it, viewing dynamic environments as raw material to construct something meaningful. You act like an owner with a strong bias for action, navigating seamlessly between high-level strategy and hands-on execution. You are an energized problem-solver who seeks out complex technical challenges to deliver high-impact solutions. You operate with urgency and a relentless focus on execution, delivering high-quality, impactful results quickly for the team and customer. You are driven by innovation, deeply curious about how technology works, and constantly seeking scalable, secure ways to accelerate transformation. What We’re Looking for (Minimum Qualifications) Demonstrated curiosity and active exploration of AI tools, with a proven history of integrating new technologies to enhance daily workflows and augment problem-solving 6+ years building enterprise-grade solutions, with a strong emphasis on spec-driven development workflows using AI coding assistants like Claude or Gemini Proficiency in Java with hands-on experience in Spring Boot, as well as strong JavaScript/TypeScript skills building single-page applications with ReactJS and state management libraries like Recoil Experience designing and consuming REST APIs in a microservices architecture, alongside experience with event-streaming platforms like Kafka Experience with HTML5, CSS3, and modern CSS frameworks like Tailwind CSS Familiarity with containerized deployments on Kubernetes and core AWS services What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications) Experience with PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, security or networking products, or visualization tools like D3.js or Next.js Unit testing experience with React Testing Library, Jest, Mocha, or Chai Familiarity with JavaScript build tooling such as Webpack or Vite #LI-YC2 #LI-Hybrid 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 $157,500 - $225,000 USD