About this role
Sr. Software Engineer, Threat Intelligence
This page describes a real job opening at Proofpoint.
The Role
This is a hands-on, high-autonomy role spanning the full development lifecycle. The primary focus is software development, with additional responsibility for database management and infrastructure as needed to support the team's systems.
Your day-to-day
- Build and maintain full-stack applications and backend services using Python, TypeScript, React, and Go.
- Own and manage large SQL databases backing applications and services used by the Threat Intelligence team, including schema design, query optimization, migrations, and operational health.
- Proactively identify problems before they become incidents: Seek out reliability, performance, and correctness issues. Improve runbooks, dashboards, alert quality, and automation.
- Collaborate closely with other engineering teams and threat intelligence stakeholders to deliver outcomes that strengthen the team's ability to produce actionable intelligence.
- Help manage and maintain AWS infrastructure supporting the team's services: VPC configuration, ECS, Aurora/RDS, EC2, Networking, SNS/SQS, CDK
- Adhere to best practices when it comes to CI/CD, observability, and monitoring: GitHub Actions, CloudWatch/Grafana, Docker
What you bring to the team
- Substantive Python experience in production or enterprise environments — we're looking for engineers who have designed, built, and maintained Python systems with real operational accountability, not solely scripting or automation.
- PostgreSQL experience is required. Candidates without direct PostgreSQL experience will be considered where they can demonstrate equivalent depth with a comparable relational database system.
- Hands-on AWS infrastructure management experience, including provisioning and operating resources such as EC2 instances, RDS databases, VPCs, and related services.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with FastAPI.
- Experience with ClickHouse or other columnar/analytical datastores.
- Experience working in a security vendor environment, with exposure to large volumes of raw telemetry.
- Understanding of knowledge graphs and graph databases.
- Comfort using AI-assisted tooling thoughtfully — for example, to accelerate implementation backed by sound planning and detailed design — paired with strong engineering judgment about when and how to apply it.
Nice to Have
- Experience managing, maintaining, and tuning PostgreSQL databases at scale.
- Familiarity with building modern CLI/TUI tooling.
- Familiarity working with Agentic/MCP technologies.
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.