{"id":183164,"url":"https://alion.io/job/zscaler-senior-staff-software-development-engineer-zia-core-datapath","title":"Senior Staff Software Development Engineer, ZIA Core Datapath","company":{"id":1208,"name":"Zscaler","domain":"zscaler.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/zscaler","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":85,"open_postings":53,"ghost_share":0.019,"stale_share":0.528,"repost_share":0.038,"time_to_fill_p50_days":47,"computed_at":"2026-10-20T05:45:00Z"}},"role":"Backend","role_family":"Backend","seniority":"staff","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Santa Clara, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":185000,"max_usd":343000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":1432},"experience_years_min":12,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Agile","optional":false},{"name":"DHCP","optional":false},{"name":"DNS","optional":false},{"name":"PKI","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"TCP/IP","optional":false},{"name":"VPN","optional":false},{"name":"Zero Trust","optional":false},{"name":"Zscaler","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-01T05:13:39Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-08","last_verified_at":"2026-10-20T15:58:21Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":49,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":49},"description":"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 200+ public data centers globally and thousands of private sites at the edge, the SASE-based Zero Trust Exchange is the world’s largest in-line cloud security platform.\nWe 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.\n\nRole\nWe are looking for a Senior Staff Software Development Engineer, ZIA Core Datapath to join our team. This is a hybrid (3 days per week in San Jose, CA office) role, reporting to the Sr Manager, Software Engineering, QA in the ZIA Engineering team. In this role you will own the architecture, development, and maintenance of a high-scale system test automation infrastructure for ZIA Core Datapath, a cloud security platform processing 400B+ transactions daily. You will build repeatable automation suites for L4-L7 technologies, validate cloud firewall and tunneling stacks, diagnose customer issues, and mentor engineers while driving continuous regression optimization.\nWhat you’ll do (Role Expectations)\nCollaborate with cross-functional teams during design, development, and maintenance of cloud-based software solutions\nArchitect, design, develop, and maintain a scalable system test automation infrastructure for a cloud product processing 400B+ transactions per day\nBuild repeatable automation suites to validate L4-L7 technologies, including cloud firewall, IPsec/GRE tunneling, load balancers, IPS/IDS, and routing/switching\nAct as an owner and advocate for testing at scale, pushing the limits of the software under test through proficient coding methodologies and strong debugging/troubleshooting\nMentor and guide junior engineers, take full ownership of features, and continuously optimize the regression cycle\nWho You Are (Success Profile)\nYou are a pragmatic builder obsessed with creating, iterating, and shipping, balancing technical excellence with the need to deliver value to users quickly.\nYou act like an owner with a deep passion for the mission, operating with integrity and seamlessly navigating between high-level strategy and hands-on execution.\nYou are driven by innovation and technical curiosity, continuously energized by solving complex challenges and finding scalable, secure solutions.\nYou operate with urgency and a bias for action, understanding that speed and quality go hand in hand to deliver high-impact results.\nYou are a high-trust collaborator who thrives on open feedback and clarity, driving collective success and building strong team alignment.\nWhat We’re Looking for (Minimum Qualifications)\nFoundational understanding of AI/ML technologies and experience leveraging, securing, or positioning AI-driven solutions to optimize outcomes within your functional domain\n12+ years of overall experience with strong programming skills in building test automation frameworks in Python\nSolid understanding of the TCP/IP protocol stack, HTTP(S), TLS, PKI, DNS, DHCP, VPN, HA, routing and switching, and tunneling methods such as IPsec/GRE\nStrong background in L3, L4, and L7 filtering policies, with hands-on exposure to load balancers, IPS/IDS, and routers\nProven experience in manual and automated functional, integration, performance, and scale testing for cloud security/SaaS products, including test plan and test case creation\nExcellent debugging/troubleshooting skills to diagnose and resolve complex network infrastructure, HTTP/SSL, and firewall issues in customer environments\nWhat Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications)\nExperience leveraging AI-assisted coding, static/dynamic analysis, or intelligent automation tools to improve test coverage and engineering productivity\nHands-on experience with traffic generators, performance/load testing tools, and fuzzing techniques\nTrack record of mentoring junior engineers and leading large-scale test automation or quality initiatives for distributed cloud systems\n#LI-KM9 #LI-Hybrid\nZscaler’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.\nThe base salary range listed for this full-time position excludes commission/ bonus/ equity (if applicable) + benefits.\nBase Pay Range\n$157,500—$225,000 USD\nAt 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.\nOur 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:\nVarious health plans\nTime off plans for vacation and sick time\nParental leave options\nRetirement options\nEducation reimbursement\nIn-office perks, and more!\nLearn more about Zscaler's hybrid working model and benefits here.\nBy applying for this role, you adhere to applicable laws, regulations, and Zscaler policies, including those related to security and privacy standards and guidelines.\nZscaler 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.\nPay Transparency\nZscaler complies with all applicable federal, state, and local pay transparency rules.\nZscaler 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.","description_format":"text","description_chars":7192,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":12,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Hybrid work","Parental leave"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Network Security","Cloud Security"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-01T06:30:48Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 154 · green card filings: 48","filings_12m":154,"filings_prev_12m":180,"green_card_filings_12m":48,"median_offered_wage_usd":192500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-15T11:24:14+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)","US Department of Labor: PERM disclosure data (green cards)"],"filings_for_role_12m":111}],"liveness":{"score":24,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.553,"p_room":0.44,"age_days":49,"expected_fill_days":47,"reasons":["conf:0","stale_co","velocity","win:tail","crowd:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-20T05:45:00Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/zscaler-senior-staff-software-development-engineer-zia-core-datapath","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/zscaler-senior-staff-software-development-engineer-zia-core-datapath.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-20T18:03:54Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":20645,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-21T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":1208},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=1208"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fzscaler-senior-staff-software-development-engineer-zia-core-datapath"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fzscaler-senior-staff-software-development-engineer-zia-core-datapath"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fzscaler-senior-staff-software-development-engineer-zia-core-datapath"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/zscaler-senior-staff-software-development-engineer-zia-core-datapath\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fzscaler-senior-staff-software-development-engineer-zia-core-datapath"}]}