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 innovateResponsive to feedback, challenges and opportunitiesAccountable for results and best in class outcomesVisionary in future focused problem-solvingExceptional in execution and impact
The Role:
You’llhelp turn Applied AI ideas into dependable software that gets used in the real world — by
customers
and by our
internal threat analysts
. Your work will help the team move faster (better tooling and workflows), keep results consistent and reproducible (evaluation and tracking), and help analysts self-serve through well-designed prompts, context, and tools.You’llbe supported by senior engineers, butyou’llstill ship meaningful work and see direct impact.
Whatyou’lldo:
- Build practical Python softwareCreate and improve backend components, libraries, and CLI tools used across our Applied AI Research workflows.
- Help analysts self-serve LLM workflowsPartner with internal threat analysts to develop andmaintainprompt/context patterns, guardrails, and templates — and help roll these into a self-serve setup using tools likeLangfuse(or similar)for prompt management, tracing, and evaluation.
- Contribute to productising and deploying AI solutionsWork with senior engineers to move prototypes into production: packaging, integration, reliability, and deployment.You’lltake part in discussions abouttradeoffs(speed vs. quality, cost vs. latency, build vs. buy) and learn how production decisions get made.
- Support evaluation & reproducibilityContribute to lightweight evaluation harnesses, experiment tracking, and documentation so we can repeat results and trust what we ship.
- Use AI coding assistants thoughtfullyUse tools likeClaude Code, Windsurf, Cursor (or similar)to accelerate development while keeping a high bar for correctness, readability, and tests.
What you bring:
(We know no one checks every box — this is our ideal list.)
- 1–2 years of experiencein software development (or equivalent through internships + strong projects).
- Good software fundamentals: clean code, debugging, data structures, basic design/architecture thinking.
- Python, backend-leaning: comfortable writing small services, scripts, or CLI apps; familiarity with APIs and data handling.
- Interest in applied AI: exposure to AI tooling/data pipelines/context building (coursework, projects, or on-the-job).
- Hands-on with AI coding assistants: experience using at least one ofClaude Code, Windsurf, Cursor, or similar.
- Proof you like building: side projects, GitHub repos, demos, or hobby tools you can share.
Nice to have:
- Interest inagentic AI(tool use, workflows, simple orchestration).
- Familiarity with Docker, basic cloud concepts, or evaluation/observability tools.
- Comfort collaborating with non-engineers (e.g., analysts) and translating needs into tooling.
Howwe’lltrack progress:
In your first
3–12 months
,we’lllook for:
Shipped improvements
to our internal AI tooling (e.g., a CLI tool, pipeline step, evaluation feature, or reliability enhancement).
Analyst enablement
: prompt/context patterns and a workflow that makes analysts faster and more consistent (with tracing/eval viaLangfuseor similar).
Production contribution
: you help deliver at least one AI feature/workflow into a production-like environment with guidance (and you can explain thetradeoffswe chose).
Growing ownership
: you get faster at scoping work, asking good questions, and delivering maintainable code.
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!
