How to Apply to Abnormal Security

10 min read Last updated March 7, 2026 34 open positions
Blake Crosley
Blake Crosley Researched using publicly available information, hiring data, and ATS analysis.

Key Takeaways

  • Study Abnormal's behavioral AI approach by reading their blog and threat research content at abnormal.ai/blog — interviewers expect you to articulate why their approach differs from legacy email security solutions like secure email gateways
  • Tailor your resume for each specific role using exact keywords from the Greenhouse job posting, especially terms like 'behavioral AI,' 'API-based,' 'business email compromise,' and any sales methodologies mentioned
  • Prepare a concise narrative for why cybersecurity and why Abnormal specifically — the mission-driven culture means generic 'I want to work at a startup' answers will fall flat
  • For sales engineering and GTM roles, practice delivering a 10-minute technical demo or value proposition pitch that balances security depth with business impact framing
  • Complete every field in the Greenhouse application, especially optional ones like LinkedIn URLs and screening questions, to maximize your visibility in recruiter searches
  • Prepare three to five distinct STAR-format stories that demonstrate ownership, velocity, technical depth, and cross-functional collaboration — you'll need different examples for each panel interviewer
  • Research Abnormal's competitive landscape (Proofpoint, Mimecast, Microsoft Defender) so you can speak intelligently about market positioning during interviews

About Abnormal Security

Abnormal Security is a high-growth cybersecurity company that has rapidly emerged as a category leader in AI-native email security. Founded in 2018 by Evan Reiser (CEO) and Sanjay Jeyakumar (CTO), both former machine learning engineers, the company built its platform on the premise that behavioral AI — not static rules or signature-based detection — is the future of stopping sophisticated email attacks like business email compromise (BEC), phishing, and account takeovers. Their platform ingests thousands of signals across identity, behavior, and content to baseline what "normal" looks like inside an organization, then flags anomalies with remarkable precision. This approach has attracted enterprise customers including many Fortune 500 companies, propelling Abnormal to a reported valuation exceeding $5 billion in recent funding rounds. The company culture is deeply engineering-driven but commercially ambitious, blending the intellectual rigor of an AI research lab with the urgency of a startup protecting organizations from real-time threats. Employees frequently cite the caliber of their teammates, the speed of product iteration, and a genuine sense of mission — cybercriminals cause billions in damages annually, and Abnormal's technology demonstrably stops them. With a lean but scaling team and approximately 34+ open openings spanning sales engineering, software engineering, marketing, and go-to-market roles, this is a company hiring selectively for people who thrive in fast-moving, high-ownership environments. Remote and hybrid flexibility varies by role, but Abnormal's headquarters in San Francisco anchors a culture that values collaboration, intellectual curiosity, and measurable impact.

Application Process

  1. 1
    Identify the Right Role on Abnormal's Careers Page

    Visit abnormal.ai/careers and browse their approximately 34+ open positions, which skew heavily toward sales engineering, software engineering, and go-to-market functions. Pay close attention to geographic requirements — roles like 'Mid-Market Sales Engineer (Florida)' or 'Mid Market Account Executive - Houston' are territory-specific, and applying outside your region typically results in automatic disqualification. Use the filters to narrow by department and location before committing to an application.

  2. 2
    Submit Your Application Through Greenhouse

    Abnormal Security uses Greenhouse as their applicant tracking system, so all applications flow through structured submission forms. You'll typically upload your resume, provide contact details, and answer role-specific screening questions. Some roles — particularly engineering positions — may include an optional field for a portfolio, GitHub profile, or link to published work, which you should always complete if available.

  3. 3
    Recruiter Screen (Phone or Video)

    If your application advances, a recruiter or recruiting coordinator will reach out — often within one to two weeks for priority roles — to schedule a 30-minute introductory call. Expect questions about your background, motivation for joining Abnormal specifically, and logistical fit (location, timeline, compensation expectations). Given the company's mission-driven culture, articulating genuine interest in cybersecurity and AI will differentiate you from candidates giving generic startup answers.

  4. 4
    Hiring Manager Interview

    The hiring manager round typically runs 45-60 minutes and dives deeper into your functional expertise. For sales engineering roles, this commonly includes discussing technical discovery processes, demo methodology, and experience selling to security or IT buyers. For software engineering roles, expect architecture-level conversations about systems you've built, particularly around data pipelines, ML infrastructure, or detection systems. Managers at Abnormal tend to probe for ownership mentality — they want to hear about times you drove outcomes, not just participated.

  5. 5
    Technical or Functional Assessment

    Depending on the role, you'll face a hands-on evaluation. Software engineers commonly encounter a take-home coding challenge or live coding session focused on real-world problems rather than abstract algorithm puzzles — think data processing, API design, or detection logic. Sales engineers may be asked to deliver a mock product demo or technical presentation, simulating how you'd present Abnormal's platform to a CISO or security team. Analytics engineers should prepare for SQL-heavy assessments and data modeling exercises.

  6. 6
    Cross-Functional Panel or Virtual Onsite

    The final stage typically involves meeting three to five team members across functions in a half-day virtual or in-person onsite. At a company of Abnormal's size and stage, you'll likely meet peers, adjacent team leads, and potentially a senior leader or VP. Each interviewer evaluates a different dimension: technical depth, collaboration style, communication skills, and cultural alignment. Panel members commonly compare notes in a structured debrief using Greenhouse scorecards, so consistency across your conversations matters greatly.

  7. 7
    Offer and Reference Checks

    Abnormal typically conducts reference checks before extending a formal offer, so have two to three professional references ready — ideally people who can speak to your performance in contexts relevant to the role (e.g., a former sales leader for SE roles, or an engineering manager for developer roles). Offers are generally communicated verbally by the recruiter before a written offer follows through Greenhouse. Given the startup's competitive positioning, the process from application to offer commonly takes three to five weeks.

Resume Tips for Abnormal Security

critical

Lead With Cybersecurity and AI/ML Context

Abnormal Security sits at the intersection of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, so your resume should immediately signal relevance to at least one of these domains. If you've worked with email security, threat detection, SIEM tools, SOAR platforms, or ML-powered products, ensure those terms appear prominently in your summary and experience sections. Even tangential experience — such as working with Microsoft 365 security, Google Workspace admin, or identity and access management — demonstrates familiarity with Abnormal's ecosystem. Don't bury this context; place it where Greenhouse's parsing engine and human reviewers will see it first.

critical

Quantify Impact Using Startup-Relevant Metrics

Abnormal is a high-growth startup, which means they're looking for candidates who drive outsized results with lean resources. Frame your accomplishments in metrics that matter to a scaling organization: revenue influenced, pipeline generated, customer accounts managed, detection accuracy improved, or deployment time reduced. Instead of 'Supported enterprise customers,' write 'Managed technical relationships with 40+ enterprise accounts generating $12M ARR, achieving 97% renewal rate.' Specificity signals that you understand how to measure and communicate impact in a business that reports to investors.

critical

Mirror the Language From Abnormal's Job Descriptions

Greenhouse relies on keyword matching during initial screening, and Abnormal's recruiters use structured evaluation criteria aligned with their job postings. Study each posting carefully and incorporate its exact terminology into your resume. If the job description says 'technical discovery' rather than 'needs analysis,' use their phrasing. If they mention 'behavioral AI' or 'API-based architecture,' reflect those terms in your experience descriptions. This isn't keyword stuffing — it's demonstrating that you already speak the company's language.

recommended

Showcase Enterprise Sales Cycle Experience for GTM Roles

A significant portion of Abnormal's open roles involve selling to or supporting enterprise and mid-market customers. If you're applying for sales engineering, account executive, or channel roles, your resume should clearly demonstrate experience with complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles targeting CISOs, IT directors, or security teams. Mention specific deal sizes, sales methodologies you've used (MEDDPICC, Challenger, etc.), and tools in your tech stack (Salesforce, Gong, Clari). Abnormal's buyers are sophisticated security professionals — your resume should show you can hold your own in those conversations.

recommended

Highlight Ownership and Velocity Over Tenure

Abnormal's culture values speed, autonomy, and high ownership — traits common in venture-backed companies growing aggressively. Rather than listing responsibilities chronologically, structure each role around what you built, launched, or improved and how quickly you did it. Phrases like 'stood up from scratch,' 'launched within 90 days,' or 'first hire to build the function' resonate with startup hiring managers. If you've thrived in ambiguous environments with minimal oversight, make that unmistakably clear.

recommended

Use a Clean, ATS-Optimized Format

Greenhouse parses resumes effectively, but overly designed templates with columns, text boxes, headers embedded in images, or non-standard fonts can cause parsing failures. Use a single-column layout with clearly labeled sections (Summary, Experience, Education, Skills), standard bullet points, and a .pdf or .docx file format. Avoid placing critical information like your name or contact details inside a header or footer, as some ATS parsers skip those regions entirely. A clean format ensures that both the automated system and the recruiter reviewing your profile see the same information.

nice_to_have

Include Relevant Certifications and Technical Credentials

For technical and sales engineering roles, certifications in cybersecurity (CISSP, Security+, CEH), cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), or data engineering (dbt, Snowflake, Databricks) can provide a meaningful signal — especially if you're transitioning from an adjacent domain. Abnormal's platform integrates deeply with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, so Microsoft security certifications or Google Cloud credentials are particularly relevant. List these in a dedicated 'Certifications' section near the top of your resume for maximum visibility.

ATS System: Greenhouse

Greenhouse is one of the most widely used applicant tracking systems among high-growth technology companies, and Abnormal Security uses it to manage their entire hiring pipeline. Applications submitted through abnormal.ai/careers are routed into Greenhouse, where recruiters review parsed resume data, screening question responses, and structured scorecards at each interview stage. Greenhouse enables hiring teams to tag, filter, and search candidates by keywords, making resume optimization and complete application fields essential for visibility.

  • Submit your resume as a .pdf or .docx file — Greenhouse parses both reliably, but avoid image-based formats like .png or heavily formatted designs
  • Complete every optional field in the application form, including LinkedIn URL, portfolio links, and screening questions — incomplete applications score lower in Greenhouse's candidate review workflows
  • Use standard section headers like 'Experience,' 'Education,' and 'Skills' to ensure Greenhouse's parser correctly categorizes your resume content
  • Incorporate keywords from the job posting naturally throughout your resume — Greenhouse allows recruiters to search candidates by specific terms like 'BEC,' 'email security,' or 'MEDDPICC'
  • Avoid multi-column layouts, tables, or text boxes that can confuse the parser and result in garbled resume data in the recruiter's view
  • If you're applying to multiple Abnormal roles, tailor each submission — Greenhouse tracks all your applications in a single candidate profile, and recruiters can see every role you've applied to

Complete Greenhouse Resume Guide →

Interview Culture

Abnormal Security's interview culture reflects its identity as an engineering-led, mission-driven cybersecurity company operating at startup speed.

Expect a process that is rigorous but respectful of your time — typically three to four rounds completed within two to four weeks. The company values intellectual curiosity, so interviews often feel more like technical conversations than interrogations. You'll be evaluated not just on what you know, but on how you think through problems, communicate your reasoning, and adapt when presented with new information. For engineering roles, the technical assessment is substantive. Rather than LeetCode-style algorithm challenges, Abnormal tends to focus on system design, real-world debugging scenarios, and problems directly relevant to their platform — think detection logic, data pipeline architecture, or API integration patterns. You may encounter a take-home exercise followed by a live review session where you walk through your solution and discuss tradeoffs. For sales engineering roles, expect a live demo or technical presentation where you'll simulate pitching Abnormal's value proposition to a mock CISO audience. Evaluators look for your ability to translate complex AI concepts into business outcomes that security leaders care about. Culture fit conversations at Abnormal probe for several specific traits. Ownership is paramount — they want people who take full accountability for outcomes rather than waiting for direction. Speed and bias toward action matter in a company still building its category. And because Abnormal protects organizations against real financial damage from cyberattacks, they look for genuine mission alignment — interviewers can tell the difference between rehearsed enthusiasm and authentic interest in the problem space. Panel interviews include cross-functional participants, so prepare to demonstrate versatility. A sales engineer might meet with a product manager and an account executive in addition to SE leadership. Engineers often meet with someone from a different engineering team to assess collaboration potential. Throughout the process, interviewers typically use structured scorecards in Greenhouse, which means each round targets specific competencies. Prepare concrete examples for each, and don't repeat the same story across interviewers — they compare notes.

What Abnormal Security Looks For

  • Deep understanding of or genuine curiosity about cybersecurity, particularly email-based threats like BEC, phishing, and account takeovers
  • Ownership mentality — demonstrated ability to drive projects and outcomes autonomously without waiting for explicit direction
  • Technical depth paired with communication clarity, especially the ability to explain complex AI and ML concepts to non-technical stakeholders
  • Experience thriving in high-growth, fast-paced environments where scope and priorities can shift rapidly
  • Enterprise-grade professionalism for customer-facing roles, including comfort presenting to CISOs, VPs of Security, and IT leadership
  • Data-driven decision-making — whether in engineering, sales, or marketing, a habit of measuring and optimizing based on evidence
  • Collaborative instincts and low ego, reflecting a startup culture where cross-functional teamwork is essential for execution speed
  • Resilience and adaptability, particularly relevant for go-to-market roles in a category-creation company where playbooks are still being written

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does Abnormal Security's hiring process typically take from application to offer?
Based on common patterns at high-growth startups using Greenhouse, Abnormal's process typically takes three to five weeks from initial application to offer. This includes a recruiter screen in the first week or two, a hiring manager interview the following week, a technical assessment or demo exercise, and a final panel onsite or virtual onsite. The timeline can compress for urgent hires or extend slightly for senior leadership roles. Responsiveness on your part — replying to scheduling requests quickly and having references ready — can materially shorten the process.
Should I submit a cover letter when applying to Abnormal Security?
Greenhouse applications for Abnormal may not always include a dedicated cover letter upload field, but if one is available, use it strategically. Rather than writing a generic letter, address two things: why you're drawn to AI-powered cybersecurity specifically (not just 'startups' in general), and one concrete example of how your experience maps to a key challenge in the role. At a company fighting sophisticated cyber threats, demonstrating that you've done your homework on their technology and mission carries more weight than formal cover letter conventions. If there's no cover letter field, consider weaving a brief motivation statement into your resume summary or the 'additional information' section.
What resume format works best with Abnormal Security's Greenhouse ATS?
Use a clean, single-column resume in .pdf or .docx format with standard section headers (Summary, Experience, Education, Skills). Greenhouse parses these reliably, but struggles with multi-column layouts, embedded tables, infographics, or text placed inside headers and footers. Keep your formatting simple — standard bullet points, consistent date formats, and no text boxes. Your goal is to ensure that what the recruiter sees in the Greenhouse candidate profile matches exactly what you intended. Aim for one to two pages depending on your experience level, and front-load cybersecurity, AI/ML, or relevant technical keywords in your summary.
Does Abnormal Security hire remote employees?
Abnormal's approach to remote work varies by role and function. Many of their go-to-market positions — such as territory-specific sales engineering and account executive roles — are listed with specific geographic requirements (e.g., Florida, Houston, DACH region), indicating that proximity to customers matters. Engineering and some corporate roles may offer more location flexibility, though this varies. Check each job posting carefully for location requirements, and during the recruiter screen, clarify the team's working model. As a venture-backed company headquartered in San Francisco, some roles may involve periodic travel to HQ for team gatherings or planning sessions.
What level of cybersecurity experience do I need to apply to Abnormal Security?
This depends heavily on the role. Software engineering positions prioritize strong engineering fundamentals — experience with distributed systems, ML infrastructure, or data engineering — and you can develop cybersecurity domain expertise on the job. Sales engineering and channel roles typically require demonstrated experience selling to or supporting security buyers, familiarity with the email security landscape, and comfort discussing threat vectors with technical audiences. If you're coming from an adjacent field like cloud security, identity management, or IT operations, you can bridge the gap by studying Abnormal's blog content on BEC and behavioral AI. The key is showing genuine intellectual curiosity about the threat landscape, not necessarily years of email security specialization.
How should I prepare for a sales engineering interview at Abnormal Security?
Sales engineering is one of Abnormal's most active hiring areas, so competition is strong. Prepare by deeply understanding their platform's behavioral AI approach and how it differs from legacy secure email gateways. Practice delivering a concise demo or technical narrative that explains how Abnormal detects attacks that traditional tools miss — frame this around business outcomes (financial loss prevented, SOC time saved) rather than purely technical features. Be ready to role-play a technical discovery call where you ask probing questions about a prospect's email security stack. Familiarize yourself with competitors like Proofpoint, Mimecast, and Microsoft Defender for Office 365, and be prepared to articulate Abnormal's differentiation without disparaging competitors. Finally, have concrete examples of deals you've influenced, including ACV and sales cycle length.
Can I apply to multiple open positions at Abnormal Security simultaneously?
Greenhouse consolidates all your applications into a single candidate profile, which means Abnormal's recruiting team can see every role you've applied for. Applying to two closely related roles (e.g., Enterprise Sales Engineer and Mid-Market Sales Engineer in the same region) is reasonable if your background genuinely fits both. However, applying broadly across unrelated functions — say, Software Engineer and Renewals Specialist — may signal that you're not clear on what you want, which can work against you. Be strategic: choose the one or two roles that most closely match your experience, and tailor each submission. If a recruiter sees a strong profile that's a better fit for a different opening, they'll often proactively recommend you for it.
What should I know about Abnormal Security's company culture before interviewing?
Abnormal's culture is shaped by its founders' machine learning backgrounds and the urgency of its mission — protecting organizations from cyberattacks that cause real financial harm. The company values intellectual rigor, speed of execution, and high ownership. Employees commonly describe a collaborative environment with minimal bureaucracy, where strong performers are given significant autonomy early. The 'behavioral AI' philosophy isn't just a product feature — it reflects a cultural preference for data-driven, evidence-based decision-making across all functions. During interviews, demonstrate that you're comfortable operating with ambiguity, making decisions without perfect information, and iterating quickly. Name-dropping values from their careers page is less impactful than sharing authentic stories where you exhibited these traits in practice.
How important is following up after an interview at Abnormal Security?
A thoughtful follow-up email within 24 hours of each interview round is always appropriate and can reinforce your candidacy. Given that Abnormal evaluates structured scorecards in Greenhouse, your follow-up won't change the formal assessment, but it provides an opportunity to address anything you felt you under-explained or to share a relevant resource that connects to your conversation. Keep it brief — three to four sentences thanking the interviewer, referencing a specific topic you discussed, and reaffirming your enthusiasm for the role and mission. Avoid generic thank-you templates; interviewers at high-caliber companies like Abnormal can easily spot them. If you completed a technical assessment or demo, a brief reflection on what you'd refine can demonstrate the self-awareness they value.

Sample Open Positions

Check Your Resume Before Applying → View 34 open positions at Abnormal Security

Related Resources

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Sources

  1. Abnormal Security — Careers Page — Abnormal Security
  2. Abnormal Security Company Profile and Reviews — Glassdoor
  3. Abnormal Security — About Us and Blog — Abnormal Security
  4. Greenhouse ATS — How It Works for Candidates — Greenhouse Software