Posted 29 May, 2026
Principal Software Development Engineer
Zscaler
Bangalore, IND
Full Time
Reference: 102_705768_5043560007
Role
We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join our team. This is a hybrid role based in Bangalore, reporting to the Sr. Director of Software Engineering within the Platform Convergence department. You will 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. You will develop distributed, scalable systems with a focus on concurrency and fault tolerance to bridge the gap between control and orchestration layers.
What you'll do (Role Expectations)
- Design and build a low-latency, high-throughput data forwarding plane using Rust and async/await models for efficient service-oriented infrastructure
- Develop distributed, scalable systems with a heavy 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 deep profiling across kernel-space and user-space
- Drive technical excellence through code reviews, architectural discussions, documentation, and mentoring junior engineers
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)
- 10+ years of software development experience with specific expertise in systems programming and Rust
- Extensive experience with async frameworks such as Tokio or async-std
- Proven track record of building resilient, observable, and horizontally scalable distributed systems
- Deep 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)
- Professional experience with systems languages like C/C++ or Go in performance-critical environments
- Familiarity with Linux networking stacks and kernel-space technologies like eBPF, XDP, or DPDK
- Hands-on experience with gRPC, Protobufs, and L2-L4 networking protocols including TCP/IP, UDP, and QUIC
#LI-Hybrid #LI-SU1