Staff AI Infrastructure Engineer

About Us:

We are the leader in human-centric cybersecurity. Half a million customers, including 87 of the Fortune 100, rely on Proofpoint to protect their organizations. We’re driven by a mission to stay ahead of bad actors and safeguard the digital world. 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.

Corporate Overview

Proofpoint is a leading cybersecurity company protecting organizations’ greatest assets and biggest risks: vulnerabilities in people. With an integrated suite of cloud-based solutions, Proofpoint helps companies around the world stop targeted threats, safeguard their data, and make their users more resilient against cyber-attacks. Leading organizations of all sizes, including more than half of the Fortune 1000, rely on Proofpoint for people-centric security and compliance solutions mitigating their most critical risks across email, the cloud, social media, and the web.

We are singularly devoted to helping our customers protect their greatest assets and biggest security risk: their people. That’s why we’re a leader in next-generation cybersecurity.

Protection Starts with People. Proofpoint.

About the Team

The AI Forge is an internal machine learning group that consults across Proofpoint's entire product portfolio. Our team of ML scientists and engineers thrives on advancing cutting-edge research, building high-impact solutions, and enabling a collaborative and innovative culture. Over the past several years, we have driven data-powered product features leveraging model architectures from classical methods to state-of-the-art transformers.

We are expanding our presence in Cork, Ireland with a focus on applying advanced AI to Proofpoint’s Human-Centric Security strategy. This team will take on some of the company’s most ambitious AI infrastructure and security challenges.

About the Role

As a Staff AI Infrastructure Engineer, you will provide technical leadership in the design and evolution of our Privacy Attested AI Platform, a cutting-edge system that ensures data confidentiality while powering advanced AI model training. You will drive architectural decisions, set engineering standards, and collaborate across research, product, and security teams to build resilient, scalable AI infrastructure.

This role goes beyond implementation: you will shape the long-term direction of how Proofpoint operationalizes AI securely at scale, mentor engineers across teams, and influence both internal stakeholders and external cloud partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of secure, scalable cloud infrastructure for AI, using Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Helm, etc.).
• Architect and optimize infrastructure for distributed, multi-GPU training and large-scale model deployment.
• Define and enforce best practices for privacy-preserving AI systems aligned with GDPR, CCPA, the EU AI Act, and other regulatory frameworks.
• Partner with product, research, and security leaders to ensure AI infrastructure aligns with organizational strategy and compliance needs.
• Evaluate and integrate emerging privacy-enhancing technologies into Proofpoint’s platform.
• Mentor engineers across teams, fostering technical excellence, knowledge sharing, and a culture of innovation.

Qualifications

• Proven expertise in architecting and operating public cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure) using tools such as Terraform.
• Strong background in Linux containerization and orchestration systems (Kubernetes at scale).
• Advanced proficiency in Python for automation, infrastructure, and platform services.
• Deep knowledge of data security, cryptographic methods, and modern privacy-preserving approaches.
• Demonstrated success in designing and operating cloud-based AI model training platforms and secure distributed systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Track record of setting technical strategy and guiding large-scale AI infrastructure initiatives.
• Hands-on experience with privacy-preserving AI (federated learning, differential privacy, secure enclaves, homomorphic encryption).
• Expertise in AI security, including adversarial threat models, identity management, and network security.
• Familiarity with compliance and regulatory trends (GDPR, CCPA, AI Act) and ability to translate them into engineering requirements.
• Experience mentoring and guiding engineers, influencing without authority, and driving cross-functional technical alignment.

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
• Learning & Development: We are committed to the growth and development of our team members, offering a range of programs including leadership and professional development workshops, stretch project assignments, and mentoring opportunities to help employees reach their full potential.
• Flexible work environment: [Remote options, hybrid schedules, flexible hours, etc.].
• 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 here https://www.proofpoint.com/us/company/careers. We can’t wait to hear from you!