Senior SE Manager at Zscaler - Cybersecurity Leadership in Columbus
Career & Market Insight
This is a senior leadership role at a high-growth, publicly traded cybersecurity company (Zscaler, NASDAQ: ZS), offering meaningful career acceleration for sales engineering professionals ready to move from individual contributor or team lead to a fully-fledged SE management position covering a major US territory.
Compensation is strong: The base range of $175,875–$251,250 USD is above the median for SE Manager roles in cybersecurity, which typically range from $160K–$220K base. Add likely commission/bonus/equity and total compensation could be significantly higher, consistent with Zscaler's well-known generous OTE structures.
Skills you'll build and sharpen:
- Executive-level stakeholder management across matrixed GTM organizations
- Talent development, coaching, and org-building — highly transferable to VP-level roles
- Deep fluency in Zero Trust, SASE, and Gen AI security — among the hottest and fastest-growing technical domains in 2024–2025
- Value-based selling methodology applicable across the enterprise software industry
Green flags: Zscaler is a category leader in cloud security, which means this role provides strong brand equity on your résumé. The emphasis on "impact over activity" and ownership culture suggests autonomy is real, not just stated.
Watch for: The "high accountability with a sense of urgency" language, combined with managing a large enterprise territory, can translate to demanding hours. Candidates should ask specifically about team size, quota expectations, and what success looks like in Year 1 to calibrate work-life balance expectations before accepting.
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.
We are looking for a Senior Manager, Sales Engineering - Majors based in the Mid-Atlantic of the United States, reporting to our Director, Sales Engineering.
You will lead and grow the sales engineering organization for the core portfolio, including the Gen AI market, across the Central region in the US. You will align closely with GTM Sales Leaders, Product Management, and Engineering to execute strategic solutions and close deals for customers and partners.
What You'll Do (Role Expectations)
- Recruit, mentor, and develop the sales engineering team
- Refine and scale core sales engineering processes including discovery, technical qualification, and proof-of-concept
- Partner with sales leadership and clients to design and present business solutions that drive revenue growth
- Work within a matrixed environment to promote and support the Zscaler portfolio through value-based selling
Who You Are (Success Profile)
- You thrive in ambiguity. You're comfortable building the path as you walk it. You thrive in a dynamic environment, seeing ambiguity not as a hindrance, but as the raw material to build something meaningful.
- 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. True ownership involves leveraging dynamic range: the ability to navigate seamlessly between high-level strategy and hands-on execution.
- You are a problem-solver. You love running towards the challenges because you are laser-focused on finding the solution, knowing that solving the hard problems delivers the biggest impact.
- You are a high-trust collaborator. You are ambitious for the team, not just yourself. You embrace our challenge culture by giving and receiving ongoing feedback—knowing that candor delivered with clarity and respect is the truest form of teamwork and the fastest way to earn trust.
- You are a learner. You have a true growth mindset and are obsessed with your own development, actively seeking feedback to become a better partner and a stronger teammate. You love what you do and you do it with purpose.
What We're Looking For (Minimum Qualifications)
- Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience
- Proven track record in sales or systems engineering with experience managing and directing a sales engineering team
- Demonstrated experience in mentoring, coaching, and talent development
- Technical expertise in cybersecurity and networking
- Proven ability to communicate value-based selling in a matrixed GTM environment
What Will Make You Stand Out (Preferred Qualifications)
- Experience working with Zscaler or competitive solutions
- Deep understanding of SaaS-based technologies and regulatory compliance
- Experience teaming with large GTM and Partner Ecosystems in a matrix environment
Base Pay Range: $175,875 – $251,250 USD (excludes commission/bonus/equity where applicable)
Zscaler's salary ranges are benchmarked and determined by role and level. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries across all US locations and could be higher or lower based on job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
Benefits
- 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.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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