> Markdown version of [/jobs/ext/2683714-sr-staff-software-development-engineer](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/jobs/ext/2683714-sr-staff-software-development-engineer). Every page supports `.md` or `Accept: text/markdown`. Links point to the HTML versions so they work for humans too. Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Sr. Staff Software Development Engineer - **Company:** Zscaler, Inc. - **Location:** San Jose, CA, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Salary:** $180,000.0 - $225,000.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Microsoft Windows, Artificial Intelligence, Audio Video Distribution, C++ (Programming Language), Software Debugging, Inter-Process Communication, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), Machine Learning, Citrix Systems, Zero Trust Network Access, Session Management, Software Engineering, Subsystems, VMware Horizon View, WinDBg, Diagnostic Tools, Multithreading, Process Monitor, Data Pipelines, Windows Client - **Published:** September 2, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.juju.com/job/00000000gq8rkp ## About the Role + You thrive in ambiguity and see dynamic, complex environments as an opportunity to build meaningful solutions. + You act like an owner, driving initiatives forward with passion, integrity, and a strong bias for action. + You are a high-trust collaborator who embraces a challenge culture with clear, respectful, and constructive feedback. + You are customer-obsessed, grounding engineering decisions in deep empathy to solve real-world problems. + You champion simplicity by distilling complex technical concepts into clear, actionable plans., + Foundational understanding of AI/ML technologies and experience leveraging, securing, or positioning AI-driven solutions to optimize outcomes within your functional domain + 8+ years of production software engineering experience with strong C++ (C++14/17) expertise + Solid grasp of Windows internals including services, user sessions, security tokens, IPC, and process/thread lifetime + Experience debugging multithreaded C++ including races, deadlocks, iterator invalidation, and use-after-free + Proficiency with diagnostic tools like WinDbg, ETW, Process Monitor, and crash dump analysis + Track record of shipping and maintaining an enterprise desktop or endpoint product What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications) + Deep background in networking, VPN, ZTNA, or secure tunneling architectures + Experience with RPC (MS-RPC or custom), named pipes, or COM + Familiarity with VDI platforms (Citrix, VMware Horizon, AVD), installer/updater flows, or kernel-mode components ## Description We are looking for a Senior Staff Software Development Engineer to join our team. This is a San Jose, CA role, reporting to the Director, Software Development Engineering in the Zero Trust Exchange department. We are hiring a Senior Staff Software Development Engineer to drive the evolution of our Client Connector Agent (CCA), a critical Windows client that provides secure connectivity, tunneling, and session management across enterprise and VDI environments. In this role, you will own core service-layer components including RPC, user session handling, and data pipelines to ensure CCA remains performant, scalable, resilient, and maintainable. What you'll do (Role Expectations) + Design and implement features across the CCA service, user-mode UI, and supporting subsystems including the RPC server, session handler, data handler, and tunnel telemetry + Diagnose and fix complex production issues such as service crashes, race conditions, lifetime bugs, and cross-process synchronization problems + Improve reliability of long-running Windows service code including cleanup/shutdown paths and inter-process communication + Work on VDI-specific flows including ZCC VDI SMB tunnel traffic accounting and session lifecycle management + Review peers' code, raise the quality bar, and mentor other engineers on Windows systems programming ## Related Videos - [10M Data Records Lost, Underwater Computing, and Psychedelic Fish - Matthias Geniar](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1908-10m-data-records-lost-underwater-computing-and-psychedelic-fish-matthias-geniar) - [The Developer Workstation Blind Spot: Why Your Security Stack Can't See What Matters Most](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100254-the-developer-workstation-blind-spot-why-your-security-stack-can-t-see-what-matters-most) - [Challenges of building React and React Native apps](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/448-challenges-of-building-react-and-react-native-apps) - [Checkmate: 5 Real Incidents That Can End a Software Company](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100126-checkmate-5-real-incidents-that-can-end-a-software-company) - [Develop on Windows, Deploy on Red Hat Enterprise Linux](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1600-develop-on-windows-deploy-on-red-hat-enterprise-linux) - [Are Your APIs Ready for AI Agents](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/2004-are-your-apis-ready-for-ai-agents) ## Related Articles - [Dev Digest 166: Sycophancy, Zip bombs and AI Native Development](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/585-dev-digest-166-sycophancy-zip-bombs-and-ai-native-development) - [How We Built a Worry-Free System That Runs for 10+ Years – And What We’d Do Again](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/751-how-we-built-a-worry-free-system-that-runs-for-10-years-and-what-we-d-do-again) - [Events like RSAC Get You CISOs. Developers Decide What Actually Gets Deployed.](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/693-events-like-rsac-get-you-cisos-developers-decide-what-actually-gets-deployed) - [Why Upskilling And Reskilling is Important For Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/428-why-upskilling-and-reskilling-is-important-for-developers) - [Is Software Engineering Over-Saturated?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/418-is-software-engineering-over-saturated) - [What’s the Difference between a Junior, Mid, and Senior Developer?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/238-what-s-the-difference-between-a-junior-mid-and-senior-developer)