Principal Sales Engineer - Fed/FSI

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.

Job Description

We are looking for a Principal Sales Engineer to join our team. This is a remote role, reporting to the Director of Sales Engineering for Federal in the Public Sector Sales department. The Zscaler Sales and Go-to-Market team is a global group of professionals who are passionate about delighting our customers, nurturing trusted partnerships, and sharing their expertise to drive a secure, cloud-enabled digital future and further cement our position as the world leader in cloud security. Sales, Customer Success, Sales Enablement, Solution Architects, Business Development, Transformation, and Technology Partnerships all work together to demonstrate the power and agility of Zscaler cloud transformation to the world. We're looking for an experienced Senior Sales Engineer to join our Federal Systems Engineering team.

What You’ll Do (Role Expectations)

• Architect and execute end-to-end technical strategies for high-stakes public sector accounts, ensuring alignment with agency missions.
• Serve as the technical lead for Proof of Value engagements, demonstrating Zscaler’s platform superiority and securing technical wins.
• Collaborate across the Sales ecosystem to advocate for federal requirements and needs to implement the solutions appropriately.
• Deliver high-level technical narratives and whiteboarding sessions that simplify complex architectures for executive stakeholders.
• Leverage deep industry insight to differentiate Zscaler’s value and position our solutions as the federal gold standard.

Who You Are (Success Profile)

• 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. You adapt to what’s needed, navigating seamlessly between high-level strategy and hands-on execution.
• You are a problem-solver. You seek out challenges because you are energized by finding solutions, knowing that solving the hard problems delivers the biggest impact.
• You are customer-obsessed. You build deep empathy for the customer—both internal and external—and anchor your decisions in solving their real-world problems. You champion their needs from start to finish, knowing their success is our success.
• You operate with urgency. You understand that in a high-growth environment, speed and quality are not mutually exclusive. You have a relentless focus on execution and a bias for action, delivering high-impact results quickly to win for the customer and the team.
• You are resilient and adaptable. You view change as an opportunity and setbacks as temporary. You maintain composure and focus in high-pressure situations, guiding yourself and your team through complexity with a steady, positive hand.

What We’re Looking For (Minimum Qualifications)

• 7+ years of enterprise cybersecurity selling experience in sales engineering, solutions engineering, or solutions architecture.
• 3+ years experience working within the partner ecosystem and channel.
• This position supports federal government accounts that require all assigned personnel to be U.S. citizens.

What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications)

• Experience working with Federal Agencies and Federal Systems Integrators.
• Experience with Proxy Architectures (F5, Netscalers, etc).
• Industry standard certifications such as CISSP, CISM, ISACA, or CRISC.

Compensation and Benefits

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.

Base Pay Range: $195,000—$243,750 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.

Benefits

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.

Pay Transparency

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.

Key skills/competency

• Cybersecurity Sales Engineering
• Federal Government Accounts
• Technical Strategy Architecture
• Proof of Value (PoV) Leadership
• Cloud Security Solutions
• Enterprise Cybersecurity
• Partner Ecosystem Management
• Technical Sales Narratives
• Proxy Architectures
• CISSP/CISM Certifications