Principal Rust Developer

Zscaler; California (MO); Hybrid; USD 182,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Zscaler is seeking a Principal Rust Developer to join the Platform Convergence Team in a hybrid role based in San Jose, CA. You will design and implement distributed systems and core infrastructure components for a cloud-native platform handling hundreds of millions of users with high reliability and low latency.

You will work on asynchronous Rust systems, gRPC-based APIs, and high-performance data forwarding.

Qualifications

• Extensive experience coding with Rust, particularly in systems programming and async frameworks like Tokio or async-std.
• Proven expertise in building resilient, observable, and horizontally scalable distributed systems.
• Strong understanding of Linux fundamentals, including networking, namespaces, sockets, and kernel-user space interaction.
• Proficiency in container-based environments, Git, CI/CD workflows, and performance instrumentation.

Responsibilities

• Design and build a low-latency, high-throughput data forwarding plane using Rust.
• Develop distributed, scalable systems with a focus on concurrency, fault tolerance, and messaging.
• Implement and maintain gRPC-based APIs and services to integrate forwarding plane capabilities with control and orchestration layers.
• Optimize system performance through profiling tools across kernel-space and user-space.
• Engage in code reviews, system design discussions, technical documentation, and mentoring junior engineers.

Skills

Rust

Distributed systems

Linux basics

Async I/O

gRPC

Protobufs

Container CI/CD

Tools

Git

CI/CD

Docker

Kubernetes

eBPF

DPDK

Job description

About Zscaler

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 Principal Rust Developer to join our Platform Convergence Team. This is a hybrid role based in San Jose, CA reporting to the Sr. Director, Software Engineering. Join us to build a new platform from the ground up that can scale hundreds of millions of users with high reliability and low latency. You will design and implement distributed system and core infrastructure components while collaborating closely with various stakeholders.

What you'll do (Role Expectations)

• Design and build a low-latency, high-throughput data forwarding plane using Rust, leveraging its async/await model for efficient I/O and service-oriented infrastructure
• Develop distributed, scalable systems with a focus on concurrency, fault tolerance, and messaging
• Implement and maintain gRPC-based APIs and services to integrate forwarding plane capabilities with control and orchestration layers
• Optimize system performance through profiling tools across kernel-space and user-space
• Engage in code reviews, system design discussions, technical documentation, and mentoring junior engineers

Who You Are (Success Profile)

• You act like an owner, fueling your bias for action with a passion for the mission and navigating seamlessly between high-level strategy and hands-on execution.
• You are a problem-solver who seeks out challenges and is energized by finding solutions to hard problems that deliver the biggest impact.
• You are customer-obsessed, building deep empathy for internal and external customers and anchoring every decision in solving their real-world problems.
• You are driven by innovation and technical curiosity, constantly looking for better, more secure, and scalable ways to accelerate transformation.
• You think at scale, connecting your work to the larger company mission and building solutions that support a high-growth, global organization.

What We're Looking for (Minimum Qualifications)

• Extensive experience coding with Rust, particularly in systems programming and async frameworks like Tokio or async-std
• Proven expertise in building resilient, observable, and horizontally scalable distributed systems
• Strong understanding of Linux fundamentals, including networking, namespaces, sockets, and kernel-user space interaction
• Proficiency in container-based environments, Git, CI/CD workflows, and performance instrumentation

What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications)

• Experience with systems languages like C/C++ or Go, particularly in performance-critical environments
• Familiarity with Linux networking stacks, kernel-space technologies such as eBPF or DPDK, and Kubernetes networking or service meshes
• Hands-on experience with gRPC, Protobufs, and L2-L4 networking protocols including TCP/IP, QUIC, or routing encapsulations

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

$182,000-$260,000 USD

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