Executive Recruiting Researcher

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. Role We are looking for an Executive Recruiting Researcher to join our team. This is a hybrid role based in San Jose, CA, reporting to the Head of Executive Recruiting. As an Executive Recruiting Researcher, you are the strategic intelligence engine of our leadership hiring. This isn't traditional sourcing; it is a high-visibility role where your market intelligence and talent mapping directly influence the leadership bench for our most business critical roles across the enterprise. Working closely with our Executive Recruiters, you will serve as a thought partner to our C-suite and VP-level stakeholders, providing rich insights needed to attract the "ungettable" talent that drives our global scale. What you’ll do (Role Expectations) Build comprehensive, visual maps of competitor organizations and technical ecosystems (e.g., SASE, Zero Trust, AI/ML, Agentic) to identify the "architects" of industry shifts Lead the implementation of short- and long-term hiring plans for complex technical functions, delivering qualitative and quantitative research that informs search parameters Cultivate long-term relationships with passive, high-level prospects, providing evaluations aligned with our Cultural Attributes and Ways of Working Proactively identify and map leadership talent from varied backgrounds to ensure we build a diverse and representative leadership team Monitor the security landscape—including M&A activity, funding rounds, and major breaches—to provide real-time education to executives on market availability 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. You adapt to what’s needed, navigating seamlessly between high-level strategy and hands-on execution. 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 data-driven. You use data and analytics to find the truth, measure what matters, and guide informed decisions. You value evidence over assumptions, replacing "I think" with "I know" to drive better outcomes. You lead with integrity. You do the right th