Senior Manager - Software Development Engineering - Firewall/Proxy
Role
We are looking for a Senior Manager, Software Development Engineering to join our team. This is a hybrid India role, reporting to the Engineering Director in the ZIA Platform Engineering department. You will lead a high-performing engineering team for our flagship Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) platform. Your focus will be on delivering key components, driving execution excellence, and building a strong engineering culture centered on quality, scalability, and customer impact.
What you'll do (Role Expectations)
Lead and develop a team of Engineers, fostering a culture of accountability, empathy, and technical excellence
Drive end-to-end delivery of features and services for the ZIA platform, ensuring scalability, reliability, and performance
Collaborate with Product Management and Architecture to translate roadmap priorities into execution plans
Partner with global engineering teams to ensure seamless integration and alignment across distributed systems
Champion engineering best practices and drive operational excellence through metrics, SLAs, and continuous improvement
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)
Foundational understanding of AI/ML technologies and experience leveraging, securing, or positioning AI-driven solutions to optimize outcomes within your functional domain
9+ years of software engineering experience, including 3+ years in people management delivering production-grade software
Strong experience building and operating high-performance datapath, networking, or large-scale distributed systems
Deep understanding of network security fundamentals, including SWG, L4-L7 proxies, firewalls, and packet processing
Proven ability to deliver complex projects on time with high quality across geographically distributed teams
What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications)
Experience implementing AI-assisted engineering workflows, predictive performance modeling, or utilizing intelligent automation to optimize high-throughput distributed systems
Prior experience with cloud-native architectures, high-throughput, low-latency systems, and exposure to Zero Trust security models or large-scale network security platforms
Proven track record of leading India-U.S. collaboration in a global delivery model
#LI-Hybrid #LI-PM5
