Principal / Distinguished Engineer, AI & Advanced Security Analytics

About NetskopeToday, there's more data and users outside the enterprise than inside, causing the network perimeter as we know it to dissolve. We realized a new perimeter was needed, one that is built in the cloud and follows and protects data wherever it goes, so we started Netskope to redefine Cloud, Network and Data Security. Since 2012, we have built the market-leading cloud security company and an award-winning culture powered by hundreds of employees spread across offices in Santa Clara, St. Louis, Bangalore, London, Paris, Melbourne, Taipei, and Tokyo.Our core values are openness, honesty, and transparency, and we purposely developed our open desk layouts and large meeting spaces to support and promote partnerships, collaboration, and teamwork. From catered lunches and office celebrations to employee recognition events and social professional groups such as the Awesome Women of Netskope (AWON), we strive to keep work fun, supportive and interactive. Visit us at NetskopeCareers. Please follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter@Netskope. About the RoleWe are seeking an exceptional Distinguished Engineer to drive the technical vision and architecture for next-generation security analytics and AI-powered capabilities within Netskope's platform.This is a high-impact individual contributor role for a technologist who thrives at the intersection of artificial intelligence, large-scale data systems, and cybersecurity. As a Distinguished Engineer, you will be responsible for architecting and prototyping transformative solutions that leverage cutting-edge AI/ML techniques, graph-based analytics, and real-time data processing to solve complex security challenges at massive scale. You will work on problems that span threat detection, risk assessment, behavioral analytics, and intelligent automation—directly influencing the product roadmap and technical strategy for Netskope's security platform.This role requires both exceptional technical depth and the ability to influence across the organization. You will collaborate with engineering teams, product management, security research, and executive leadership to define technical strategy, make critical architectural decisions, and ensure our solutions meet the demands of the world's most security-conscious organizations. What You Will Be DoingTechnical Architecture & Innovation• Design breakthrough architectures for AI-powered security analytics systems that process petabytes of security telemetry in real-time• Define technical strategy for integrating advanced AI/ML capabilities, including large language models, graph neural networks, and behavioral analytics into security workflows• Architect scalable graph-based systems for modeling complex relationships between security entities (users, devices, applications, data, threats) and enabling advanced threat detection• Pioneer innovative approaches to security data modeling, storage, and retrieval that balance performance, bolthires, and analytical capability• Drive adoption of vector databases and semantic search for intelligent threat intelligence, security knowledge management, and contextual analysis• Create reference architectures and technical standards for AI/ML systems, data pipelines, and security analytics platformsAdvanced Technical Execution• Build proof-of-concepts and prototypes that demonstrate technical feasibility and business value of novel approaches• Solve extraordinarily complex technical challenges that span distributed systems, machine learning, graph algorithms, and security domain expertise• Design and optimize algorithms for real-time anomaly detection, attack path analysis, risk scoring, and behavioral profiling at scale• Implement sophisticated data processing pipelines using streaming technologies for near-real-time security analytics• Contribute high-impact code to critical components when needed, setting standards for engineering excellence• Evaluate and integrate emerging technologies (LLMs, graph databases, vector stores, streaming platforms) into production systemsTechnical Leadership & Influence• Provide technical mentorship to senior engineers and architects across multiple teams, elevating technical capabilities organization-wide• Lead architectural reviews and make critical go/no-go decisions on major technical initiatives• Drive technical consensus across engineering, product, and security teams on complex architectural decisions• Influence product strategy by identifying technical opportunities and constraints that shape product direction• Represent Netskope at industry conferences, technical forums, and with customers on advanced security topics• Establish engineering culture around innovation, technical excellence, and data-driven decision making• Partner with Engineering Leadership to define technical roadmaps, resource allocation, and organizational capabilitiesCross-Functional Collaboration• Collaborate with Product Management to translate customer needs into technically sound solutions with clear trade-offs• Work with Security Research teams to operationalize threat research into production detection and analytics systems• Partner with Data Science teams on ML model development, evaluation, and deployment strategies• Engage with customers (CISOs, security architects) to understand requirements and validate technical approaches• Coordinate with Cloud Architecture teams on infrastructure, scalability, and operational excellenceRequired Skills and ExperienceDistinguished Technical Expertise• 15+ years of software engineering experience with demonstrated progression to distinguished technical roles• Deep expertise in distributed systems architecture at massive scale (billions of events/day, petabyte-scale data)• Proven track record architecting AI/ML systems in production environments, including experience with:• Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative AI applications• Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architectures and vector search systems• Machine learning model deployment, monitoring, and MLOps practices• Real-time inference systems and online learning• Expert knowledge of graph databases and graph algorithms (Neo4j, TigerGraph, or similar) including:• Graph data modeling and schema design• Complex graph queries and traversals (Cypher, Gremlin, or similar)• Graph algorithms for community detection, centrality, path finding• Large-scale graph processing and analytics• Master-level proficiency in Python and modern ML/AI frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch, LangChain, LangGraph)• Deep understanding of data engineering including:• Streaming data architectures (Kafka, Flink, Pulsar)• Large-scale data storage (ClickHouse, Snowflake, BigQuery, data lakes)• ETL/ELT pipeline design and optimization• Real-time and batch processing paradigmsCybersecurity Domain Mastery• 10+ years of cybersecurity experience with deep understanding of:• Security operations center (SOC) workflows and analyst needs• SIEM platforms and security analytics methodologies• Threat detection, incident response, and threat hunting practices• Attack frameworks (MITRE ATT&CK, Cyber Kill Chain)• Security data sources (logs, network telemetry, endpoint data, cloud APIs)• Expert knowledge of modern security architectures including:• Cloud security (CASB, CSPM, CWPP, SASE/SSE)• Zero Trust architecture and identity-centric security• Data loss prevention (DLP) and data security• Threat intelligence platforms and enrichment• Experience with security automation and orchestration (SOAR concepts and implementations)• Understanding of compliance frameworks (SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001) and their technical implicationsAI/ML for Security Specialization• Hands-on experience building AI-powered security solutions such as:• Behavioral analytics and user/entity behavior analytics (UEBA)• Anomaly detection using unsupervised and semi-supervised learning• Threat classification and automated triage systems• LLM-based security assistants and conversational interfaces• Graph neural networks for security relationship modeling• Expertise in vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, Chroma, Milvus, pgvector) and their application to:• Semantic search over security data• Threat intelligence matching and similarity analysis• Security knowledge base construction• Deep understanding of embedding models and semantic representation of security concepts• Experience with prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and LLMOps best practicesTechnical Leadership Capabilities• Proven ability to influence without authority across large, matrixed organizations• Track record of driving adoption of new technologies and architectural patterns• Experience setting technical direction for products serving Fortune 500 enterprises• Strong communication skills for presenting complex technical concepts to diverse audiences (engineers, executives, customers)• Published thought leadership through conference talks, blog posts, patents, or research papers• Mentorship experience developing senior engineers and architects• Strategic thinking ability to connect technical decisions with business outcomesSystem Design & Architecture• Expert in designing for non-functional requirements: scalability, reliability, security, performance, bolthires optimization• Deep knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and cloud-native architectures• Experience with microservices, APIs, and event-driven architectures• Understanding of infrastructure as code and modern DevOps/SRE practices• Expertise in performance optimization and capacity planning for large-scale systemsPreferred Qualifications• PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related field (or equivalent research experience)• Contributions to major open-source security or AI/ML projects• Experience in cybersecurity product companies or security research organizations• Patents or publications in AI/ML, security, or distributed systems domains• Speaking experience at top-tier conferences (RSA, Black Hat, DEF CON, NeurIPS, ICML, etc.)• Experience with advanced graph algorithms: community detection, link prediction, influence propagation• Background in network security, intrusion detection, or malware analysis• Familiarity with agent-based AI systems and multi-agent architectures• Experience with federated learning or privacy-preserving ML techniques• Knowledge of adversarial ML and robustness in security contexts• Understanding of explainable AI (XAI) for security decision supportEducation• Master's degree in Computer Science, AI/ML, Cybersecurity, or related field required• PhD strongly preferred for candidates without equivalent industry research experienceTechnical EnvironmentYou will work with cutting-edge technologies including:• Languages: Python, Go• AI/ML Stack: TensorFlow, PyTorch, LangChain, LangGraph, OpenAI API, Anthropic Claude• Graph Technologies: Neo4j, TigerGraph, Apache AGE, graph algorithms libraries• Vector Databases: Pinecone, Weaviate, Chroma, pgvector• Data Processing: Apache Kafka, Apache Flink, Apache Spark, ClickHouse• Cloud Platforms: AWS, Azure, GCP (multi-cloud architecture)• Container Orchestration: Kubernetes, Docker• Observability: Prometheus, Grafana, distributed tracingImpact & ScopeAs a Distinguished Engineer, your work will:• Influence product direction for security solutions used by thousands of enterprises• Impact billions of security events processed daily across the Netskope platform• Enable security teams at Fortune 500 companies to detect and respond to threats faster• Set technical standards that shape how Netskope builds products for years to come• Advance the state of the art in AI-powered security analytics• Contribute to the broader security community through thought leadership and innovationWhat We Offer• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge problems at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity• Technical autonomy and influence over critical architectural decisions• Collaboration with world-class engineers, researchers, and security experts• Competitive compensation including base salary, equity, and comprehensive benefits• Flexible work arrangements (remote or hybrid options available)• Professional development budget for conferences, training, and research• Access to latest technologies and compute resources for innovation• Patent and publication support for research contributions• Work-life balance with flexible schedules and unlimited PTO• Impact at scale solving real-world security challenges for global enterprisesAbout Working at NetskopeJoin a company that's redefining cloud security through innovation and technical excellence.Our distinguished engineers shape the future of security technology while working in a culture that values:• Technical depth over hierarchy - the best ideas win• Innovation and experimentation - failure is part of learning• Open collaboration - working across teams and disciplines• Customer obsession - building solutions that matter• Continuous learning - staying at the forefront of technologyWe're a Certified Great Place to Work with a transparent culture where technical leaders from diverse backgrounds collaborate to solve hard problems.Our team of ~3,000 employees serves the world's largest enterprises with solutions that protect their most critical assets. #LI-JB1Netskope 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. Apply tot his job