Principal Engineer, Secure Web Gateway

Join the Future of Security at Netskope

Netskope (NASDAQ: NTSK) is a leader in modern security and networking for the cloud and AI era. We secure and accelerate cloud, data, and AI in real time, everywhere. Thousands of customers, including more than 30 of the Fortune 100, trust the Netskope One platform, its Zero Trust Engine, and the powerful NewEdge network to gain full visibility and control without performance trade-offs.

At Netskope, our technology is driven by our greatest strength: our people. We believe that belonging powers innovation, and success is both personal and organizational. We embrace differences in gender, ethnicity, beliefs, ability, and identity, creating an environment where every voice is heard and respected. We empower our employees to bring their authentic selves to work, grow their careers through continuous education and mentorship, and lead with transparency and curiosity. Join a team where you belong, where you are encouraged to be an entrepreneur, and where together, we continue to redefine the landscape of security.

Visit Careers at Netskope to learn more. Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

About the role

Please note, this team is hiring across all levels and candidates are individually assessed and appropriately leveled based upon their skills and experience.

Netskope Cloud Data Plane engineers architect and design one of the most scalable, high-performance cloud data planes in the world, processing 10+ Gbps of traffic, performing deep inspection using state-of-the-art techniques like AI/ML to detect activities and apply advanced policies like DLP, Threat and UEBA protection, all at line rate.

What’s in it for you

In this role you will be a key member of the NG-SWG team supporting our in-line Secure Web Gateway (SWG) products, which have been recognized by Gartner as market leaders in their Magic Quadrant reports:

Gartner 2026 SSE Magic Quadrant

Gartner 2026 SASE Magic Quadrant

What you will be doing

• Setting and driving the overall architectural design and strategic technical directions for the SWG team
• Understanding requirement specs and designing and implementing high-quality features that ensure reliability, sustainability, scalability and observability for data plane
• Working with Product Management to understand customer requirements and provide architectural guidance.
• Providing technical leadership by sharing and adapting industry leading practices for the benefit of the company.
• Build scalable and performant services that inspect various network protocols, such as HTTP/HTTPS, at line rate using advanced data structures and algorithms in C, C++, Python. For example, analyze content in real-time to provide security and perform deep inspection of traffic in near real time
• Integrating with other features like DLP and Threat protection
• Building sophisticated key management algorithms
• Redefining the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) across multiple domains using advanced AI tooling
• Leading and transforming the entire engineering organization into an AI-native, agent-first development culture, fundamentally changing how software is built.

Required skills and experience

• 18+ years of overall experience, including 10+ years of experience building high-performance networking software and cloud services.
• Expertise in building high throughput and low latency data systems, such as networking from Layer 3 to Layer 7, web proxy, security, monitoring and observability, web and mobile applications, data processing, etc.
• Expertise in dealing with complex architectural problems across multiple products and at the same time handling design issues at module level.
• Programming mastery in key programming languages (C/C++ or python), and ability to review code in these and other popular programming languages.
• Strong understanding of computer architecture - multi-threading, CPU scheduling, memory management with practical knowledge of Linux at system/kernel level
• A strong understanding of available AI tools / models and the ability to effectively apply them to your projects and workflows.
• Hands-on experience handling complex and ambiguous customer issues. Persistence in accomplishing objectives despite uncertain situations, obstacles, and setbacks.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to position views and arguments appropriately to win support. The ability to negotiate skillfully in tough situations in order to win concessions without damaging relationships, and to respond effectively to the reactions and positions of others.
• Confidence under pressure, a mature EQ, and the ability to show a high degree of self control while maintaining a positive attitude despite adversity.
• Willingness to work with a globally distributed team in different time zones.
• The ability to represent the company in appropriate external forums and industry events promoting thought technical leadership.

Additional Skill and Knowledge

• Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills using debuggers like gdb and tools like Valgrind
• Proponent of TDD a big plus, knowledge of various unit testing frameworks

Education

• BSCS or equivalent required, MSCS or equivalent strongly preferred

#LI-SD1

Compensation:

At Netskope, salary is one component of our competitive total rewards package. The salary range for this position is as listed below. This is a national range. For purposes of complying with applicable laws, the range applies to candidates in California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Washington, and other states.

The successful candidate’s starting pay will also be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, location, and market conditions.

For all sales roles, the posted salary range is the On Target Earnings (OTE) range for the role, which is the sum of base salary and target commission amount at 100% goal achievement.

In addition to salary, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus plan (for non-sales roles) and a stock award program. Candidates may also be eligible for a comprehensive health plan and other benefits that can be reviewed at Netskope Benefits site.

Salary Range$133,500-$272,000 USD

Netskope is committed to implementing equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment. Netskope does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices based on religion, race, color, sex, marital or veteran statues, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, genetic information, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), or any other characteristic protected by the laws or regulations of any jurisdiction in which we operate.

Netskope respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you share with us, please refer to Netskope's Privacy Policy for more details.

The application window for this position is expected to close within 50 days. You may apply by filling out the below information, or visiting our Netskope Careers site.