Senior Staff Software Development Engineer

Zscaler, Inc.; Bengaluru; Hybrid; INR 3,500,000 - 5,500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Time off plans for vacation and sick

Parental leave options

Retirement options

In-office perks

Job summary

Zscaler, Inc. is seeking a Senior Staff Software Development Engineer to join the Client Connector team.

You will own critical service-layer components, including RPC, session handling, and data pipelines, to make the CCA more stable and scalable. The role emphasizes Windows systems programming, debugging multithreaded code, and mentoring engineers, with a hybrid work model and a focus on enterprise desktop endpoints.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of production software engineering experience
• Strong C++ (C++14/17) proficiency
• Solid grasp of Windows internals (services, sessions, IPC)
• Experience debugging multithreaded C++ programs (races, deadlocks)
• Track record shipping and maintaining enterprise desktop/endpoint products

Responsibilities

• Design and implement features across CCA service, user-mode UI, and subsystems (RPC server, session handler, data handler, telemetry)
• Diagnose and fix complex production issues (crashes, race conditions, lifetime bugs)
• Improve reliability of long-running Windows service code and inter-process communication
• Work on VDI-specific flows and lifecycle management
• Review peers' code, raise quality, and mentor engineers on Windows systems programming

Skills

C++ (C++14/17)

Windows internals

Multithreaded debugging

Enterprise desktop product

AI/ML concepts familiarity

Tools

WinDbg

ETW

Process Monitor

Crash dump analysis

Job description

Senior Staff Software Development Engineer

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 across 160+ public exchanges globally and thousands of private exchanges at the edge, the SASE-based Zero Trust Exchange is the world’s largest in‑line cloud security platform.

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 to life through three core behaviors: ownership and collaboration, trust through outcomes and impact, and a challenge culture with ongoing feedback. Ready to make an impact at the company pioneering security transformation in the AI era? Join us at Zscaler.

Role

We are looking for a Senior Staff Software Development Engineer reporting to the Director, Software Engineering to join our Client Connector Team. As a Senior Staff Engineer, you'll own critical service‑layer components such as RPC, user session handling, data pipelines and help make CCA(Client Connector Agent) more stable, performant and maintainable.

What you'll do (Role Expectations)

• Design and implement features across the CCA service, user‑mode UI, and supporting subsystems (RPC server, session handler, data handler, tunnel telemetry).
• Diagnose and fix complex production issues: service crashes, race conditions, lifetime bugs, and cross‑process synchronization problems.
• Improve reliability of long‑running Windows service code, including cleanup/shutdown paths and inter‑process communication.
• Work on VDI‑specific flows (e.g., ZCC VDI SMB tunnel traffic accounting, session lifecycle).
• Review peers' code, raise the quality bar, and mentor other engineers on Windows systems programming.

Who You Are (Success Profile)

• 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. True ownership involves leveraging dynamic range: the ability to navigate seamlessly between high‑level strategy and hands‑on execution.
• You are a problem‑solver. You love running towards the challenges because you are laser‑focused on finding the solution, knowing that solving the hard problems delivers the biggest impact.
• You are a high‑trust collaborator. You are ambitious for the team, not just yourself. You embrace our challenge culture by giving and receiving ongoing feedback—knowing that candor delivered with clarity and respect is the truest form of teamwork and the fastest way to earn trust.
• You are a learner. You have a true growth mindset and are obsessed with your own development, actively seeking feedback to become a better partner and a stronger teammate. You love what you do and you do it with purpose.

What We’re Looking for (Minimum Qualifications)

• Foundational understanding of AI/ML technologies and experience leveraging, securing, or positioning AI‑driven solutions to optimize outcomes within your functional domain
• 8+ years of production software engineering, with strong C++ (C++14/17) experience
• Solid grasp of Windows internals: services, user sessions, security tokens, IPC, and process/thread lifetime
• Experience debugging multithreaded C++: races, deadlocks, iterator invalidation, use‑after‑free
• Track record of shipping and maintaining an enterprise desktop or endpoint product

What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications)

• Experience implementing AIOps, AI‑driven predictive scaling, or automated anomaly detection to optimize cloud infrastructure performance and reliability
• Comfort with tools like WinDbg, ETW, Process Monitor, and crash dump analysis
• Networking / VPN / ZTNA / secure tunneling background

#LI-GL2 #LI-Hybrid

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:

• Time off plans for vacation and sick time
• Parental leave options
• Retirement options
• In‑office perks, and more!

Learn more about Zscaler's 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