Staff Software Engineer (Service Platform & Orchestration)

Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) accelerates digital transformation so customers can be more agile, efficient, resilient, and secure. The Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™️ platform protects thousands of customers from cyberattacks and data loss by securely connecting users, devices, and applications in any location. Distributed acr...

We believe the future of work is Human + AI and are building an AI-native enterprise where human potential is amplified by machine intelligence to solve the world’s hardest security challenges. Driven by deep customer obsession, we are committed to the mission, outcome, and to each other. We bring these commitments ...

We are looking for a Staff Software Engineer (Service Platform & Orchestration) to join our team. This is a Hybrid (3 days in office) role, reporting to the VP, Engineering in the Zero Trust Exchange department. In this high-ownership position, you will engineer the management plane and reliability systems that gove...

Lead the hands-on development and migration to a workflow-as-code platform (Temporal), building replay-safe, idempotent workflows that ensure deterministic operations across a global scale
Move the organization beyond "scripted automation" toward a robust management plane that treats the entire global fleet as a single, eventually-consistent distributed system
Design and implement services that leverage LLMs and ML for intelligent signal correlation, automated triage, and "self-correcting" fleet operations
Develop framework-level services and internal APIs that ensure all new products are delivered "orchestration-ready" with reliability hooks built directly into the code
Build deep telemetry (metrics, traces, and events) into the management plane so that every fleet-wide action is fully explainable, auditable, and replayable

You thrive in ambiguity. You're comfortable building the path as you walk it. You thrive in a dynamic environment, seeing ambiguity not as a hindrance, but as the raw material to build something meaningful.
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 operate with urgency. You understand that in a high-growth environment, speed and quality are not mutually exclusive. You have a relentless focus on execution and a bias for action, delivering high-impact results quickly to win for the customer and the team.
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.
Foundational understanding of AI/ML technologies and experience leveraging, securing, or positioning AI-driven solutions to optimize outcomes within your functional domain
BS/MS in Computer Science or a related technical field with 5+ years of experience in hyperscale systems, with a deep understanding of the unique failure modes and technical hurdles that only emerge at massive scale
Mastery of backend systems languages (Go, Java, Python, or others) with a proven ability to set the bar for code quality, maintainability, and distributed system correctness
Strong experience designing and operating complex distributed systems, with a focus on solving systemic challenges in concurrency, failure handling, and performance optimization
Proven track record of developing Platform APIs (REST/gRPC) with strong guarantees for idempotency, verification, and safe rollout patterns
U.S. citizenship due to the nature of the customers assigned to this role
Proficiency with AI code-assistance tools (e.g., Cursor, Windsurf) to accelerate legacy refactoring and system development
Proficiency in PostgreSQL, or other relational stores used for high-scale, stateful management-plane services
Direct experience building or operating systems with Temporal.io, Cadence, or similar workflow engines

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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.