Sr. Staff Software Development Engineer- C/C++

Zscaler•San Jose, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Zscaler accelerates digital transformation to ensure our customers can be more agile, efficient, resilient, and secure. As an AI-forward enterprise, we are constantly pushing the envelope, leveraging the world’s largest security data lake to power our cloud-native Zero Trust Exchange platform. This innovation protects our customers from cyberattacks and data loss by securely connecting users, devices, and applications in any location. Here, impact in your role matters more than title and trust is built on results. We say, impact over activity. We seek innovators who actively use AI to amplify their impact and who thrive in an environment where we leverage intelligent systems to stay ahead of evolving threats. 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 value high-impact, high-accountability with a sense of urgency where you’re enabled to do your best work and embrace your potential. If you’re driven by purpose, thrive on solving complex challenges, and want to be part of the team that’s helping to secure the AI age, we invite you to bring your talents to Zscaler and help shape the future of cybersecurity. Role We are looking for a Sr Staff Software Development Engineer to join our ZPA datapath team. This is a hybrid role based in San Jose (3 days in office), reporting to the Senior Manager, Engineering. As a core technical expert, you will drive the design, development, and optimization of critical network applications and protocols. You will leverage your deep expertise in C/C++ and Linux to build scalable, high-performance network solutions that secure and streamline enterprise data across cloud environments.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in a distributed and enterprise-scale environment
Strong knowledge of C programming specifically for network-related data handling and processing
Expertise in Linux environments, including system-level programming, scripting, and troubleshooting
Experience with networking protocols and traffic management technologies (e.g. TCP/IP, HTTP/HTTPS, SSL/TLS, QUIC)
Strong knowledge in one of the cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP

Nice To Haves

Experience in L3 protocols, routing, BGP
Experience in Cloud-based Networking
Ability to stay current with industry trends and propose enhancements to improve system reliability, scalability, and network efficiency

Responsibilities

Develop and optimize network applications and protocols using C/C++
Design efficient data structures for network data processing and handle system-level programming in Linux environments
Analyze network performance to identify issues and implement optimization solutions
Collaborate with teams to define requirements, design architectures, and integrate network solutions
Conduct code reviews, testing, and debugging to ensure robust and reliable software