About Us:
Proofpoint is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity. We protect how people, data, and AI agents connect across email, cloud, and collaboration tools. Over 80 of the Fortune 100, 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations trust Proofpoint to stop threats, prevent data loss, and build resilience across their people and AI workflows. Our mission is simple: safeguard the digital world and empower people to work securely and confidently. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.
How We Work:
At Proofpoint you’ll be part of a global team that breaks barriers to redefine cybersecurity guided by our BRAVE core values:
Bold in how we dream and innovate
Responsive to feedback, challenges and opportunities
Accountable for results and best in class outcomes
Visionary in future focused problem-solving
Exceptional in execution and impact
Responsibilities
Build and scale a big data platform processing billions of data points daily
Design resilient systems across synchronous and asynchronous (event-driven, streaming) paradigms
Develop RESTful APIs in a microservices architecture
Establish standards for scalability, fault tolerance, and performance optimization
Drive design decisions across streaming, processing, and storage layers for performance and cost efficiency
Support time-series, event-driven, and analytical workloads
Work with distributed messaging systems, scalable data stores (DynamoDB, Elasticsearch, etc.) and processing frameworks (Flink, Spark)
Ensure alignment with security, compliance, and data governance requirements
Champion AI-powered tools (e.g., GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code) to accelerate development velocity across design, coding, testing, and review
Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or equivalent
10+ years in distributed systems and backend architecture
Knowledge of CAP theorem, consistency models, partitioning, replication, and sharding strategies
Experience with streaming/messaging systems (Kinesis) and real-time/batch processing frameworks (Flink, Spark, Beam)
Proficiency in one or more of: NodeJs, Go, Java, Scala, or Rust; familiarity with Python, or C/C++ a plus
Experience with NoSQL and SQL databases (Postgres, Cassandra, MongoDB, Redis, DynamoDB, etc.)
Experience with graph databases (Neptune, Neo4J, etc.)
Cloud experience (AWS, GCP, Azure, or similar)
Familiarity with edge-to-cloud and multi-cloud/hybrid environments
Exposure to AI/ML data pipelines, large-scale analytics platforms, and AI-assisted developer tooling
Knowledge of enterprise security frameworks and compliance standards (SOC2, ISO, GDPR) is a plus
Why Proofpoint?
At Proofpoint, we believe that an exceptional career experience includes a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Here are just a few reasons you’ll love working with us:
Competitive compensation
Comprehensive benefits
Career success on your terms
Flexible work environment
Annual wellness and community outreach days
Always on recognition for your contributions
Global collaboration and networking opportunities
Our Culture:
Our culture is rooted in values that inspire belonging, empower purpose and drive success-every day, for everyone.
We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to [email protected].
How to Apply
Interested? Submit your application along with any supporting information- we can’t wait to hear from you!
Consistent with Proofpoint values and applicable law, we provide the following information to promote pay transparency and equity. Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets as set out below. Pay within these ranges varies and depends on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The actual offer will be based on the individual candidate. The range provided may represent a candidate range and may not reflect the full range for an individual tenured employee. This role may be eligible for variable compensation and/or equity. We offer a competitive benefits package, including flexible time off, a comprehensive well-being program with two paid Wellbeing Days and two paid Volunteer Days per year, plus a three-week Work from Anywhere option.
Base Pay Ranges:
SF Bay Area, New York City Metro Area:
Base Pay Range: 200,300.00 - 293,810.00 USDCalifornia (excludes SF Bay Area), Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Washington DC Metro, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and Alaska:
Base Pay Range: 167,300.00 - 245,355.00 USDAll other cities and states excluding those listed above:
Base Pay Range: 152,900.00 - 224,235.00 USDSkills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or equivalent
- 10+ years in distributed systems and backend architecture
- Deep knowledge of CAP theorem, consistency models, partitioning, replication, and sharding strategies
- Strong experience with streaming/messaging systems (Kafka, Pulsar) and real-time/batch processing frameworks (Flink, Spark, Beam)
- Proficiency in one or more of: NodeJs, Go, Java, Scala, or Rust
- Familiarity with Python or C/C++
- Experience with NoSQL and SQL databases (Postgres, Cassandra, MongoDB, Redis, DynamoDB)
- Experience with graph databases (Neptune, Neo4J)
- Cloud experience (AWS, GCP, Azure, or similar)
- Familiarity with edge-to-cloud and multi-cloud/hybrid environments
- Exposure to AI/ML data pipelines, large-scale analytics platforms, and AI-assisted developer tooling
- Knowledge of enterprise security frameworks and compliance standards (SOC2, ISO, GDPR)
Proofpoint Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Proofpoint and has not been reviewed or approved by Proofpoint.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage spans medical, dental, vision, life, and disability, complemented by global physical, mental, and financial health programs. Wellbeing resources such as mindfulness, resilience, and meditation courses are explicitly highlighted.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off provisions include PTO, paid holidays and sick days, with parental and family medical leave available. Added flexibility appears in wellness days, a hybrid-first model, and limited work-from-anywhere periods.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is considered competitive in many roles and settings, with external recognition indicating strong standing relative to peers. Feedback suggests employees in several departments view compensation favorably when considering base, bonus, and benefits together.
Proofpoint Insights
What We Do
We provide the most effective cybersecurity and compliance solutions to protect people on every channel including email, the web, the cloud, and social media.
