Senior Software Engineer – Zero Trust for Agentic AI

xage, inc; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision coverage

Visa transfer and immigration support

Opportunity to work closely with executive leadership

Job summary

xage, inc., based in Palo Alto, CA, is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to develop their Zero Trust for Agentic AI platform. This vital role demands expertise in backend systems, machine learning security, and AI integration. You'll design the security framework that protects autonomous AI technologies.

We offer a competitive salary range of $140K to $200K, health benefits, and a dynamic high-growth environment. Join us as we lead the change in securing AI against cyber threats.

Qualifications

• 3-5+ years of experience building high-performance enterprise software.
• Strong hands-on experience deploying ML models in production environments.
• Familiarity with NLP and implementing low-latency inference.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop AI Gateways to encapsulate AI agents.
• Implement identity-based permissioning models across APIs.
• Build monitoring systems to flag agent behavior deviations.

Skills

Backend & Systems Engineering

Machine Learning & AI Security

AI/LLM Integration & Protocols

Security & Zero Trust Architecture

Infrastructure & Edge

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Go

Python

C/C++

Job description

Senior Software Engineer – Zero Trust for Agentic AI

Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, government, and private enterprises are at an all time high – and only growing more urgent with AI. Xage is a global leader in zero trust access and protection at the forefront of solving this pressing issue. We are pioneering a secure tomorrow by empowering organizations worldwide to connect anyone to anything, while delivering unparalleled defense against every cyber threat.

We have built tremendous momentum across governments and commercial enterprises around the world, and it’s just the beginning. Recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Startup Employers, Xage prioritizes creativity, collaboration, and innovation in pursuit of our mission. We are headquartered in Palo Alto, CA and have global teams across North America, EMEA, and APJ .

We’re passionate about solving problems that have positive, real‑world consequences for the lives of everyday people. We hope you’ll join us in the fight against cyberattacks and safeguarding critical systems.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and visionary Senior Software Engineer to design and build our next‑generation Zero Trust for Agentic AI platform. As AI agents evolve from sandboxed pilots into autonomous systems capable of executing real‑world actions, invoking APIs, and accessing sensitive databases across hybrid cloud and operational technology (OT) environments, security must evolve with them.

In this role, you will build the critical security fabric that moves past simple prompt/output monitoring and into deterministic runtime visibility and control . You will engineer the gateways, proxies, and identity management systems that protect autonomous AI agents, Large Language Models (LLMs), and enterprise resources from prompt injection, rogue behavior, data leakage, and privilege escalation.

Location: Palo Alto, CA
Salary Range: $140K to $200K

Key Responsibilities

• Architect AI Gateways & Sentries: Design and develop the runtime components (like Xage Agent Sentry and Resource Gateway) to encapsulate AI agents, intercepting and inspecting inputs, outputs, tool calls, and API interactions.
• Implement Deterministic Access Controls: Build jailbreak‑proof, identity‑based permissioning models and agent entitlements to enforce strict least‑privilege access across APIs, SaaS applications, Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, and databases.
• Analyze Behavioral Anomalies: Build intelligent monitoring systems that establish a baseline for normal agent behavior and leverage ML to flag deviations, catching rogue agent actions or privilege escalation attempts before they hit critical infrastructure.
• Develop Agent Identity Management: Create robust, centralized frameworks for agent registration, lifecycle management, and automated credential rotation to eliminate hardcoded secrets and shared service account vulnerabilities.
• Build End-to-End Visibility Pipelines: Engineer high‑throughput, tamperproof logging mechanisms to capture and audit every prompt, action, tool call, and resource access for comprehensive governance.
• Scale a Distributed Security Fabric: Ensure security controls deploy seamlessly across multi‑cloud, on‑premises, and edge/OT environments via a unified, resilient platform.

Required Skills and Qualifications

Technical Requirements

• Backend & Systems Engineering: 3‑5+ years of experience building high‑performance, distributed, and scalable enterprise software (preferred languages: Go, Python, C or C++).
• Machine Learning & AI Security: Strong hands‑on experience deploying ML models in production environments. Familiarity with NLP, LLM alignment/guardrails (e.g., Llama Guard, NeMo Guardrails), and implementing low‑latency inference at the proxy/gateway level.
• AI/LLM Integration & Protocols: Deep understanding of the Agentic AI lifecycle, tool‑calling mechanisms, and emerging integration protocols like MCP (Model Context Protocol) and REST APIs.
• Security & Zero Trust Architecture: Solid foundation in application security, API gateway design, proxy architectures (e.g., Envoy), identity access management (IAM), and credential management/rotation.
• Infrastructure & Edge: Experience with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and deploying applications across hybrid environments (Cloud, SaaS, and Edge/OT).

Soft Skills & Experience

• Experience in cybersecurity product development, specifically in AI Security (Securing LLMs/Agents, prompt injection mitigation) is highly preferred.
• Strong systems‑level thinking with the ability to build predictive boundaries around dynamic, runtime AI behaviors.
• Strong communication skills to collaborate with AI researchers, security analysts, and enterprise architecture teams.

Key Business Impacts You Will Deliver

• Enable High‑Stakes AI Deployment: Turn risky, sandboxed AI experiments into secure, production‑ready enterprise tools.
• Mitigate Modern Threats: Directly block harmful agent behaviors and data exfiltration before they impact the business.
• Simplify AI Complexity: Provide enterprises with a "single pane of glass" view to trust, govern, and audit their autonomous AI workforces.
• Competitive salary and equity
• Health, dental, and vision coverage
• Visa transfer and immigration support
• Opportunity to work closely with founders and executive leadership
• High‑growth environment with significant market opportunity

Awards and Recognition

Xage Security has experienced explosive growth and received numerous awards and recognition, including:

• Named one of Forbes’ America’s Best Startup Employers (2024, 2025, 2026)
• Awarded $17M contract with U.S. Space Force
• Recognized by Gartner and Forrester in multiple cybersecurity categories
• Multiple industry awards including CRN, IoT Breakthrough, and American Business Awards