Software Engineer - AI Platform Team

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

The Role

As a Staff Software Engineer on our Satori AI Platform team, you will drive the architecture of the internal platform that every Proofpoint product team uses to build agentic applications — spanning AI-assisted development, evaluation-based release gates, OpenTelemetry observability for agents in production, and cross-product AuthX for AI workloads. Your direct users are fellow product engineers, and the products they ship protect business-critical communications for Fortune 100 customers 24/7/365. The patterns and primitives you set will define how mission-critical agentic software ships across the company. This is a uniquely-challenging role we empower small teams to make large impacts, the systems are inherently non-deterministic, and the bar for what we ship to product teams is high.

Your day-to-day

• Set architectural direction for one or more platform pillars AI-assisted developer workflows, eval-driven release gates, OpenTelemetry for LLM/agent traffic, cross-product AuthX, etc.
• Design agent runtimes and SDKs on frameworks like LangGraph, OpenAI Agents SDK, Anthropic's Agent SDK, and MCP, in Python (typed) and TypeScript/Node
• Define what "release-ready" means for an agent at Proofpoint the eval suites, safety checks, telemetry, and AuthX contracts that gate every rollout
• Partner with product team tech leads across the org to land your architecture in their stacks; turn one-off integrations into reusable platform capabilities
• Drive the standards for prompt management, model selection, cost/latency budgets, and observability across products Design, code, review, test, and deploy software features in our application stack — Staff engineers at Proofpoint still write code
• Mentor engineers across the platform and product teams; raise the company-wide bar for what production agentic software looks like

What You Bring To The Team

• Experience developing and supporting AI-powered applications, with exposure to agentic or LLM-based systems in development, testing, or production environments.
• Proficiency in Python and/or TypeScript/Node.js, with the ability to write maintainable, scalable, and well-tested code.
• Familiarity with agent frameworks such as LangGraph, LangChain, OpenAI/Anthropic Agents SDK, MCP, or similar technologies.
• Exposure to evaluation, monitoring, and observability concepts for AI applications, including experience with tools such as LangSmith, Braintrust, promptfoo, OpenTelemetry, or similar solutions.
• Experience troubleshooting application and service issues using logs, metrics, traces, and other diagnostic tools.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with engineering, product, and platform teams to deliver solutions and resolve technical challenges.
• Experience designing, developing, and supporting applications in cloud-based and/or microservices environments.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to clearly share ideas, provide updates, and participate in technical discussions.
• Demonstrated curiosity, attention to detail, and a willingness to learn new technologies and apply feedback.
• A proactive, team-oriented mindset with a willingness to take ownership of assigned work and contribute to team success.
• B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

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 accessibility@proofpoint.com.

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 136,200.00 - 214,005.00 USD

California (excludes SF Bay Area), Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Washington DC Metro, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and Alaska

Base Pay Range 112,700.00 - 177,100.00 USD

All other cities and states excluding those listed above

Base Pay Range 101,600.00 - 159,720.00 USD