Staff Site Reliability Engineer

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 Staff Site Reliability Engineer to join our team. This is a hybrid role going into the San Jose, CA office 3 days a week, reporting to the Chief Architect, REIS in the Cloud Infrastructure & Operations department. You are an SRE with proven experience in Linux/UNIX System Administration and hands-on expertise in building infrastructure and managing platforms like Kubernetes using automation tools and high security standards. In this role, you will troubleshoot complex Linux networking and security issues, apply a strong understanding of firewall technologies, and manage access across various systems, platforms, and applications. What you’ll do (Role Expectations) - Create and maintain highly scalable solutions based on KVM Linux, Kubernetes, and Public Cloud Providers - Analyze and troubleshoot systems performance and complex issues across operating systems and applications - Maintain platform security and observability through nftables and comprehensive monitoring - Manage and deploy systems and software in diverse environments, including Kubernetes and Openstack - Write and maintain custom tools using Python, Golang, and BASH 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 - 5+ years of experience in a Linux/UNIX System Administration or SysAdmin role with a strong understanding of web security, protocols, and SSH - Technical security aptitude including PGP, SSH, PKI, and Multi-factor authentication - Mastery of network fundamentals including DHCP, ARP, subnetting, routing, NAT, firewalls, and IPv4/IPv6 - Experience in container orchestration services including Docker and Kubernetes, alongside automation tools like Ansible What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications) - Experience implementing AI-driven anomaly detection, intelligent log parsing, or AIOps tools to automate root-cause analysis and predictive auto-scaling across Linux and Kubernetes infrastructure - Strong Openstack and CEPH experience paired with advanced Kubernetes expertise - Extensive professional history in dedicated Linux System Administration roles along with direct experien