Staff Production Engineer (SRE) (Federal)

We are looking for a Staff Site Reliability Engineer (Production Engineer) to join our team. This is a hybrid role (onsite three days a week in San Jose, CA or another Zscaler office; remote can be considered for exceptional candidates) reporting to the Senior Manager, Site Reliability Engineering in the Zero Trust Exchange department.

As a key member of the Zero Trust Exchange team, you will own the systems-level reliability and performance of Zscaler's high-throughput bare-metal and cloud infrastructure processing tens of billions of daily transactions. You will debug live production issues at the OS and network level, write production-grade automation, and drive platform resilience.

- Partner with Engineering and Networking teams to maintain high availability across large-scale bare-metal Linux/BSD fleets, Kubernetes clusters, and custom routing stacks.

- Lead full-cycle incident response by conducting cross-stack troubleshooting using low-level OS and network tools (strace, lsof, tcpdump, iostat, vmstat, gdb).

- Automate infrastructure lifecycle management, service provisioning, configuration workflows, and release deployments using Ansible, Python, and Bash.

- Operate end-to-end telemetry (metrics, logs, traces) using Prometheus and OpenTelemetry ecosystems; define and enforce SLOs/error budgets to reduce alert noise.

- Perform architectural reviews, OS/kernel upgrades, capacity and performance tuning, and strict CI/CD validation prior to production rollouts.

- 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.

- US Citizenship is required (due to the nature of assigned customers)

- 5+ years of experience in Site Reliability Engineering, Production Engineering, or Systems Engineering operating high-scale, low-latency production platforms.

- Proven ability to write and debug executable code live (Python, Go, or Bash) covering core logic/data structures, along with hands-on experience writing Ansible playbooks/tasks for infrastructure automation.

- Deep knowledge of Linux OS internals and kernel troubleshooting (e.g., inodes, open file descriptors, process states, and analyzing df vs du storage discrepancies). Comprehensive understanding of networking protocols and packet-level analysis, including DNS resolution workflows, TLS handshakes, TCP/IP mechanics, and packet captures via tcpdumpFoundational understanding of AI/ML technologies and experience leveraging, securing, or positioning AI-driven solutions to optimize outcomes within your functional domain

- Hands-on experience operating and managing FreeBSD / BSD operating systems in production.

- Proven expertise running, scaling, and troubleshooting Kubernetes clusters in high-traffic environments.

- Deep experience with Prometheus / OpenTelemetry ecosystems, or leveraging AI/ML frameworks/AIOps tools for automated root-cause analysis.

#LI-KM9 #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.

$119,000 - $170,000 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.

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.