Staff Engineer

About the role

Illumio seeks a Staff Engineer who thrives on shaping the future of cybersecurity through ownership and deep technical contribution. You will architect and deliver critical features for a distributed multi-tenant platform that processes real-time events and network telemetry across hybrid multi-cloud environments. This role demands visionary leadership as you design, defend, and implement resilient services that stop the spread of attacks before they become disasters. You will operate at the forefront of Zero Trust, leveraging a cutting-edge technology stack that spans operating systems, distributed applications, and immersive UI/visualization tools. As part of the Engineering team, you will mentor junior engineers, new-grads, and interns, fostering a culture of autonomy and continuous growth. You will partner closely with Product Management to refine requirements that exceed customer expectations and define system architecture with peer-level rigor. Ultimately, your work will directly enable operational resilience for the infrastructure and organizations that keep the world running.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Design and develop containerized microservices for a distributed multi-tenant system that ingests data and real-time events from multiple public clouds to deliver security insights and recommendations.
• Architect solutions with meticulous attention to detail, defending the design and architecture before peers through rigorous technical review and discussion.
• Mentor junior engineers, new-grads, and interns to accelerate their growth and integrate them effectively into the high-performance engineering team.
• Write high-quality code primarily in Go while working with data pipelines using SQL and other scalable interfaces, embracing new languages and technologies as needed.
• Take full ownership of critical features and subsystems, managing the entire software development lifecycle from requirements clarification to deployment and customer usage.
• Operate on the front lines of a live production system, experiencing operational challenges firsthand to drive the creation of more supportable and robust software.
• Champion code quality through early developer testing, functional testing, and integration testing to ensure the delivery of resilient products.
• Collaborate with Product Management to review and refine requirements, ensuring solutions consistently exceed customer expectations in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.
• Develop a deep understanding of fundamental customer problems through direct interaction with stakeholders and technical peers.
• Leverage AWS, Azure, and GCP extensively at the API and programming level, with added value from networking and security controls knowledge.
• Contribute to a Kubernetes-based platform by delivering containerized services that are scalable, observable, and maintainable.
• Apply strong skills in Go and SQL while utilizing REST API client patterns to build responsive and secure backend services.
• Use infrastructure as code tools such as CloudFormation, Terraform, and Ansible to automate deployment and ensure consistency across environments.
• Maintain solid grounding in TCP/IP networking and Unix/Linux programming to diagnose issues and optimize system performance.
• Thrive in a team-oriented culture that values continuous learning, technological trends, and collaborative problem-solving in a high-stakes security environment.

Requirements

• Hold a Bachelor's degree in computer science or an equivalent degree, with a Master's degree as a preferred qualification.
• Bring 8+ years of experience building distributed and scalable software systems that operate in complex production environments.
• Demonstrate a passionate commitment to software development, constantly learning and adapting to emerging technological trends.
• Show proven ability to work effectively within a team setting, contributing to shared goals and elevating the capabilities of those around you.
• Provide extensive cloud platform experience, including hands-on use of AWS, Azure, or GCP at the API and programming level.
• Highlight networking and security controls experience as a significant advantage in designing secure architectures.
• Have a strong background in Kubernetes and containerized service delivery, with a track record of deploying and operating such systems.
• Exhibit proficiency in Go and SQL, with the ability to write, review, and maintain production-grade code.
• Demonstrate experience with REST API client development and integration patterns across distributed systems.
• Apply practical knowledge of infrastructure as code tools such as CloudFormation, Terraform, and Ansible for reliable deployments.
• Maintain solid understanding of general TCP/IP networking principles and their application in cloud environments.
• Bring experience working in Unix/Linux programming environments to troubleshoot and optimize system-level components.
• Operate comfortably in a role that may involve access to software technology subject to U.S. export controls, ensuring full compliance.
• Commit to working onsite in Sunnyvale, California, for 5 days a week as outlined in the location requirement.

Nice to have

• Experience with immersive UI and visualization tools that help stakeholders understand security posture and attack paths.
• Background contributing to open source projects or publishing technical content that demonstrates thought leadership.
• Familiarity with security automation, playbooks, and incident response workflows in cloud environments.
• Prior work in highly regulated industries where security, compliance, and auditability are paramount.

Practical notes

This role requires 5 days on-site in Sunnyvale, California, at the headquarters. The position is full-time and involves access to software and technology subject to U.S. export controls, with any job offer contingent on the applicant's ability to comply.