Sr Director, AI Engineering

Zscaler; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 264,000 - 330,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health plans

Time off plans for vacation and sick

Parental leave options

Retirement options

Education reimbursement

Job summary

Zscaler is seeking a Sr Director, AI Engineering to lead the enterprise AI strategy and shape the engineering of our core harness ecosystem, including Agent Harness, AI Gateway, and Registry infrastructure. You will oversee four disciplines—Forward Deployed Engineering, ML, Platform Engineering, and AI Architecture—driving reliability, scalability, and performance.

The role is Remote within the United States with a hybrid preference for San Jose, CA and reports to the VP, Data & AI.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in engineering leadership managing managers across multiple technical disciplines including platform, ML, and architecture.
• Proven experience owning a technical strategy or roadmap for an AI or platform engineering organization.
• Deep technical background in distributed systems, platform engineering, applied ML, or enterprise architecture.
• Proven track record setting engineering standards and architecture review processes that scale across teams.
• Experience partnering with non-engineering executive leadership to align technical delivery to a broader operating model.

Responsibilities

• Own enterprise AI technical strategy and multi-quarter roadmap for the harness ecosystem (Agent Harness, AI Gateway, Registry).
• Lead Forward Deployed Engineering, Machine Learning, AI Platform Engineering, and AI Architecture into a cohesive org with shared standards.
• Ensure end-to-end reliability, uptime, and performance SLAs for the harness ecosystem.
• Establish enterprise architecture standards, non-human identity frameworks, and agent design patterns for governance and reviews.
• Direct ML model strategy, evaluation harnesses, and Gateway routing logic to optimize cost and performance at scale.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Technical strategy

Distributed systems

Platform engineering

Machine learning

Security/governance collaboration

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 Sr Director, AI Engineering to join our team. This is a Remote within the United States (with a hybrid preference for San Jose, CA) role, reporting to the VP, Data & AI in the AI Engineering department. As the Sr Director of AI Engineering, you will set enterprise AI technical strategy and own the engineering of our core harness ecosystem, including the Agent Harness, AI Gateway, and Registry infrastructure. Leading four distinct disciplines—Forward Deployed Engineering, Machine Learning, AI Platform Engineering, and AI Architecture—you will run a unified organization powering all high-impact AI capabilities across the enterprise. You will bridge technical vision with execution to ensure our agentic ecosystem operates with high reliability, scalability, and performance.

What you’ll do (Role Expectations)

• Own enterprise AI technical strategy and drive the multi-quarter roadmap for the harness ecosystem, including Agent Harness, AI Gateway / MCP routing, and Registry infrastructure
• Lead and unify Forward Deployed Engineering, Machine Learning, AI Platform Engineering, and AI Architecture into a single cohesive engineering organization with shared standards
• Ensure end-to-end reliability, uptime, and performance SLAs for the harness ecosystem to seamlessly support all enterprise-wide AI agents
• Establish enterprise architecture standards, non-human identity frameworks, and agent design patterns to serve as the single technical voice for Gate 2 and committee reviews
• Direct machine learning model strategy, evaluation harnesses, and Gateway routing logic to optimize cost and performance trade-offs at scale

Who You Are (Success Profile)

• You think at scale. You connect your day-to-day work to the larger company mission and think globally, building solutions, processes, and teams that are built to last and support a high-growth organization.
• You act like an owner. You navigate seamlessly between high-level architectural strategy and hands‑on technical execution, taking accountability for platform reliability and delivery.
• You champion simplicity. You are skilled at distilling complex machine learning concepts, agentic design patterns, and platform infrastructure into clear, simple, and actionable standards.
• You are a high‑trust collaborator. You partner effectively across strategy, governance, and security teams to align technical delivery with organizational AI maturity goals.
• You are driven by innovation. You have a deep curiosity for emerging AI technologies and are energized by solving complex technical challenges to scale agent frameworks and model‑routing infrastructure.

What We’re Looking for (Minimum Qualifications)

• Demonstrated curiosity and active exploration of AI tools, with a proven history of integrating new technologies to enhance daily workflows and augment problem‑solving
• 10+ years in engineering leadership managing managers across multiple technical disciplines including platform, ML, and architecture
• Demonstrated experience owning a technical strategy or roadmap for an AI or platform engineering organization
• Deep technical background in distributed systems, platform engineering, applied ML, or enterprise architecture
• Proven track record setting engineering standards and architecture review processes that scale across teams
• Experience partnering with non‑engineering executive leadership to align technical delivery to a broader operating model

What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications)

• Experience building or operating an internal agent platform, MCP tool‑calling infrastructure, or an AI gateway layer
• Background in forward‑deployed engineering or embedded engineering operating models
• Familiarity with enterprise AI governance frameworks, including stage gates, autonomy levels, and non‑human identity standards

#LI-YC2

#LI-Remote

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 $264,000 — $330,000 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 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:

• Various health plans
• Time off plans for vacation and sick time
• Parental leave options
• Retirement options
• Education reimbursement
• 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 and guidelines.

Zscaler is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals. We strive to create a workplace where employees are treated with respect and have the chance to succeed. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy or related medical conditions), age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. See more information by clicking on the Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal link.

Pay Transparency

Zscaler complies with all applicable federal, state, and local pay transparency rules.

Zscaler is committed to providing reasonable support (called accommodations or adjustments) in our recruiting processes for candidates who are differently abled, have long term conditions, mental health conditions or sincerely held religious beliefs, or who are neurodivergent or require pregnancy‑related support.