How to Apply to Nordsec

Key Takeaways

Before applying, download and use at least one Nordsec product (NordVPN, NordPass, or Saily) so you can speak authentically about the user experience in your application and interviews
Target your application to a specific product squad by matching your resume's technology stack and experience to the exact team mentioned in the job title (Apps, Systems Team, Saily, NordLayer)
Optimize your resume for Lever by using a single-column PDF format with standard section headers and embedding the exact technical keywords from the job description
Prepare for the take-home technical assessment by reviewing Nordsec's open-source contributions and understanding their product architecture — your solution should demonstrate privacy-conscious engineering thinking
In every interview round, connect your answers back to Nordsec's mission of internet safety — this company hires people who care about privacy, not just people who can code
Research the specific product you'd be working on (e.g., Saily's eSIM technology, NordLayer's enterprise security features) and come prepared with informed questions about its roadmap and technical challenges
If you're applying from outside Lithuania, explicitly address your remote work setup and timezone overlap in your application — Nordsec's distributed model means they evaluate this carefully

About Nordsec

Nordsec (commonly known as Nord Security) is the cybersecurity powerhouse behind some of the world's most recognized digital privacy products, including NordVPN, NordPass, NordLocker, NordLayer, and the newer eSIM service Saily. Headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, Nordsec has grown from a VPN startup into a multi-product security ecosystem serving millions of users globally. The company operates at the intersection of consumer privacy and enterprise security, competing with the likes of ExpressVPN, Surfshark (now merged under the same umbrella), and 1Password. Nordsec's culture centers on autonomy, technical excellence, and a genuine mission to make the internet safer. Engineers and product teams are organized into focused squads — such as the Systems Team for infrastructure or dedicated Saily teams for eSIM development — giving employees ownership over meaningful product areas. The company embraces remote and hybrid work across multiple countries, which is reflected in roles like the Australia-based Market Development Specialist. With approximately 237+ open positions spanning macOS engineering, AI, DevOps, product management, and market development, Nordsec is in a significant growth phase. People want to work at Nordsec because they get to build products used by millions while tackling real privacy challenges. The engineering stack is modern — Kotlin for Android, Swift for macOS/iOS, and an increasing investment in AI and machine learning. The company offers competitive compensation, emphasizes work-life balance, and fosters an environment where challenging technical problems are the norm. If you're motivated by the idea of protecting people's digital lives while working with cutting-edge technology, Nordsec offers a rare combination of mission and scale.

Application Process

1
Explore Open Roles on Nordsec's Lever-Powered Careers Page
Start at Nordsec's careers page, which is hosted through Lever. Roles are typically organized by team (Apps, Systems, Saily, NordLayer) and seniority level (Mid-Senior, Senior), so filter carefully to find positions matching your expertise. Pay close attention to role-specific details like platform focus (macOS, Android/Kotlin) and product alignment, as Nordsec hires for distinct product squads rather than generic engineering pools.
2
Submit Your Application Through Lever
Complete the Lever application form, which typically asks for your resume, LinkedIn profile, and sometimes a brief cover letter or custom questions. Nordsec's roles often include screening questions about your experience with specific technologies (e.g., Kotlin, Swift, Terraform) or your interest in cybersecurity — answer these thoughtfully, as they serve as an initial filter. Upload your resume as a PDF to preserve formatting, and ensure your contact information is current.
3
Recruiter Screening Call
If your application passes the initial review, a Nordsec talent acquisition team member will reach out — typically within one to three weeks — to schedule a 30-45 minute introductory call. Expect questions about your motivation for joining a cybersecurity company, your understanding of Nordsec's product ecosystem, and logistical topics like location, work authorization, and salary expectations. This is your first opportunity to demonstrate genuine interest in digital privacy and Nordsec's mission.
4
Technical Assessment or Take-Home Task
For engineering roles (macOS, Android, DevOps, AI), Nordsec commonly assigns a technical task or coding challenge relevant to the specific team. An Android/Kotlin developer might receive a challenge involving network layer architecture, while a DevOps engineer could face infrastructure-as-code scenarios. Product and analyst roles may instead receive case studies or data analysis exercises. Turnaround times are typically 3-7 days, and Nordsec values clean, well-documented solutions over speed.
5
Technical Interview with the Hiring Team
This round is a deep-dive technical discussion, often conducted over video call with senior engineers or the team lead from the relevant squad. You'll walk through your take-home task, discuss architectural decisions, and face follow-up questions that test your depth of understanding. For roles on the Systems Team or Saily, expect questions about scalability, networking protocols, or platform-specific constraints. Come prepared to explain trade-offs, not just solutions.
6
Culture and Values Interview
Nordsec places significant weight on culture fit and alignment with their privacy-first mission. This round often involves a conversation with the hiring manager or a cross-functional team member, focusing on collaboration style, how you handle ambiguity, and your perspective on digital privacy and security as a broader societal issue. Demonstrating that you've used Nordsec products (NordVPN, NordPass, Saily) and have genuine opinions about them can be a strong differentiator.
7
Offer and Onboarding
Successful candidates receive an offer that typically includes competitive base compensation, benefits aligned with your country of employment, and potential equity or bonus structures. Nordsec's onboarding is structured around product squad immersion — you'll be paired with a buddy on your team and given meaningful project ownership early. The entire process from application to offer commonly takes 3-6 weeks, depending on the role's seniority and the team's hiring urgency.

Resume Tips for Nordsec

critical

Lead with Cybersecurity and Privacy-Relevant Experience

Nordsec builds products that protect millions of users' digital lives, so any experience with VPN protocols, encryption, network security, password management, or privacy-by-design architectures should appear prominently on your resume. Even if you're applying for a product or market role, framing your experience through a privacy or security lens signals alignment. For example, a Product Data Analyst should highlight experience with privacy-compliant data practices (GDPR, data anonymization), not just generic analytics work.

critical

Match Your Tech Stack to Nordsec's Product Teams

Nordsec's job titles reveal specific technology requirements: Kotlin for Android roles, Swift/Objective-C for macOS, Python and ML frameworks for AI Engineering, and tools like Terraform, Kubernetes, and CI/CD pipelines for DevOps. Mirror these exact technologies in your skills section and work experience bullets. Lever's parsing will pick up on these keywords, but more importantly, the hiring manager scanning your resume will immediately see platform alignment. Avoid listing every technology you've ever touched — curate your skills to match the specific squad you're targeting.

critical

Quantify Impact at Scale — Nordsec Thinks in Millions of Users

Nordsec's products serve a massive global user base. Resumes that quantify impact in terms of user scale, performance improvements, or reliability metrics resonate strongly. Instead of 'Improved app performance,' write 'Reduced cold start time by 40% for an Android app serving 2M+ daily active users.' For market development roles, quantify revenue impact, market penetration rates, or user acquisition metrics. The scale of your previous impact helps Nordsec gauge whether you're ready for their audience size.

recommended

Organize Your Resume by Product or Platform Focus

Since Nordsec hires into specific product squads (NordVPN, NordPass, NordLayer, Saily), structuring your experience to highlight platform or product focus is more effective than a generic chronological format. If you're a macOS engineer, group your Apple platform experience together and lead with it. If you're targeting the Saily eSIM team, emphasize any telecoms, connectivity, or mobile networking experience. This structure helps both Lever's parsing and human reviewers quickly identify your fit.

recommended

Demonstrate Cross-Functional Collaboration

Nordsec's squad-based structure means engineers work closely with product managers, designers, and data analysts. Include examples of cross-functional projects on your resume — shipped features where you collaborated with product, design, or QA teams. Use phrases like 'partnered with product to define requirements' or 'collaborated with data team to validate feature impact.' This signals you can thrive in Nordsec's team-oriented environment rather than working in isolation.

recommended

Keep Formatting Clean for Lever's Parser

Lever handles standard resume formats well, but avoid multi-column layouts, text boxes, embedded images, or heavy use of icons — these can cause parsing errors that result in garbled candidate profiles. Use clear section headers (Experience, Education, Skills), standard bullet points, and a single-column layout. PDF format is safest. Ensure your name, email, phone, and LinkedIn URL appear at the top of the document where Lever expects to find contact information.

nice_to_have

Include Open Source or Side Projects in Privacy/Security

Nordsec values engineers who are genuinely passionate about the cybersecurity space. If you've contributed to open-source security tools, built personal VPN configurations, written about encryption protocols, or participated in CTF (Capture the Flag) competitions, include these on your resume. For non-engineering roles, involvement in privacy advocacy, digital rights organizations, or security-focused content creation can serve a similar purpose. This is especially impactful for mid-level candidates looking to differentiate themselves.

nice_to_have

Tailor Your Summary to Nordsec's Mission

If you use a professional summary section, make it count by directly referencing your interest in digital privacy and consumer security products. A generic 'experienced software engineer seeking new opportunities' wastes valuable resume real estate. Instead, try something like: 'Android engineer with 5+ years building high-performance Kotlin applications, passionate about consumer privacy tools and network security.' This immediately contextualizes your candidacy for Nordsec's mission.

ATS System: Lever

Lever is a modern applicant tracking and candidate relationship management system that Nordsec uses to manage its 120+ open positions. It parses uploaded resumes to auto-populate candidate profiles and uses structured pipelines to move applicants through screening, assessment, and interview stages. Lever also allows Nordsec's recruiters to tag candidates by skills, team fit, and stage — making keyword alignment and clean formatting essential for visibility.

Upload your resume as a PDF to preserve formatting — Lever handles PDFs reliably, while Word documents occasionally lose structure during parsing
Use standard section headers like 'Experience,' 'Education,' 'Skills,' and 'Projects' so Lever's parser correctly categorizes your information
Include the exact technology keywords from the job posting (e.g., 'Kotlin,' 'Terraform,' 'CI/CD,' 'WireGuard') — Lever's search and tagging features allow recruiters to filter by these terms
Avoid tables, multi-column layouts, headers/footers, and text boxes — Lever's parser reads documents linearly and can scramble non-standard layouts
Fill out all optional fields in the Lever application form (LinkedIn URL, portfolio links, custom questions) — incomplete profiles may be deprioritized
If reapplying to Nordsec for a different role, note that Lever maintains candidate history — update your resume to reflect new skills and reference the specific new role to show intentional targeting
Keep your resume to 1-2 pages maximum — Lever displays parsed content in a compact candidate card, and excessively long resumes can dilute your key qualifications

Complete Lever Resume Guide →

Interview Culture

Nordsec's interview process reflects its engineering-driven, privacy-focused culture.

The company values technical depth, intellectual curiosity, and a genuine connection to the mission of making the internet safer. Expect a structured but conversational process — Nordsec doesn't typically rely on high-pressure whiteboard gauntlets or trick questions. For engineering roles (macOS, Android, DevOps, AI), the technical assessment is the centerpiece. You'll commonly receive a take-home challenge that mirrors real work you'd do on the team — building a small feature, designing an architecture, or solving an infrastructure problem. The follow-up technical interview dives deep into your solution: Why did you choose that pattern? What would you change at 10x scale? How would you handle edge cases? Senior engineers and team leads conduct these interviews, and they're genuinely interested in your reasoning process, not just the final output. Product and non-engineering roles follow a parallel structure with case studies, portfolio reviews, or analytical exercises replacing the coding challenge. A Product Data Analyst might analyze a sample dataset and present findings, while a Market Development Specialist could walk through a go-to-market strategy for a specific region. Culture fit matters deeply at Nordsec. Interviewers commonly probe for alignment with the company's values: Do you care about user privacy? Can you work autonomously within a squad? How do you handle disagreement? Many applicants report that demonstrating familiarity with Nordsec's products — having actually used NordVPN, NordPass, or Saily and having thoughtful opinions about them — creates a noticeable positive impression. Most candidates go through 3-4 rounds total (recruiter screen, technical task, technical interview, culture/values conversation), with the entire process typically spanning 3-5 weeks. Interviews are predominantly conducted via video call, accommodating Nordsec's distributed workforce. The atmosphere is professional but informal — expect first-name basis conversations with team leads who are genuinely evaluating whether you'd be a great teammate, not just a qualified candidate.

What Nordsec Looks For

Deep technical expertise aligned to a specific product squad — Nordsec hires specialists (Kotlin Android developers, macOS Swift engineers, Terraform-fluent DevOps) rather than generalists
Genuine passion for digital privacy and cybersecurity — candidates who use Nordsec's products and can articulate opinions about the privacy landscape stand out significantly
Experience building products at consumer scale — with millions of NordVPN users globally, Nordsec needs people who understand the challenges of performance, reliability, and UX at scale
Autonomous, self-directed working style — Nordsec's squad-based structure and remote-friendly culture requires people who can own problems end-to-end without heavy oversight
Strong communication and collaboration skills — working across distributed teams and product squads demands clear, proactive communication, especially for cross-functional roles
Growth mindset and adaptability — Nordsec is expanding rapidly into new products (Saily, AI-powered features) and new markets (Australia, APAC), so they value people who thrive in evolving environments
Data-informed decision making — whether you're an engineer optimizing performance metrics or a product manager prioritizing features, Nordsec expects you to ground decisions in evidence

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the Nordsec hiring process typically take from application to offer?

Based on common patterns for companies of Nordsec's size and technical hiring standards, the full process typically takes 3-6 weeks. The initial recruiter response usually comes within 1-3 weeks of application, followed by the technical assessment phase (which includes your completion time plus evaluation), one or two interview rounds, and a final decision. Senior or specialized roles (like AI Engineer or Senior DevOps) may take slightly longer due to additional stakeholder involvement. Responding promptly to scheduling requests and completing take-home tasks within the suggested timeframe helps keep the process moving.

Does Nordsec require a cover letter with applications?

Lever-based applications at Nordsec sometimes include an optional cover letter field or open-ended questions. While not always mandatory, submitting a concise, targeted cover letter can differentiate your application — particularly for non-engineering roles like Market Development Specialist or Product Manager where communication skills are paramount. Focus your letter on why you're drawn to Nordsec's privacy mission, which specific product team excites you, and what unique perspective you'd bring. Keep it under 300 words; recruiters reviewing 237+ open roles value brevity.

Can I apply to multiple positions at Nordsec simultaneously?

You can submit applications to multiple Nordsec roles through Lever, and the system will maintain separate candidate profiles for each. However, applying strategically to 2-3 closely aligned roles is more effective than blanket-applying to every open position. Lever shows recruiters your full application history, so applying to wildly different roles (e.g., Android Engineer and Market Development Specialist) can signal a lack of focus. If you're genuinely qualified for multiple related positions — say, Android Developer on the Systems Team and Android Engineer on the Saily team — it's reasonable to apply to both, but tailor each resume and any custom responses to the specific squad.

What technical skills are most in demand at Nordsec right now?

Based on Nordsec's current 237+ open roles, the most sought-after technical skills include Kotlin for Android development, Swift/Objective-C for macOS and iOS engineering, Python and machine learning frameworks for AI engineering, and infrastructure tools like Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker, and CI/CD pipelines for DevOps roles. Familiarity with networking protocols (especially VPN-related protocols like WireGuard and OpenVPN), encryption standards, and cross-platform development is highly valued across engineering teams. For product and data roles, proficiency in SQL, analytics tools, A/B testing frameworks, and product management methodologies is commonly expected.

Does Nordsec offer remote work opportunities?

Nordsec embraces a distributed work model, with roles available across multiple countries — evidenced by positions like the Australia-based Market Development Specialist. Many engineering and product roles are available as remote or hybrid, though some positions may require proximity to Nordsec's offices in Vilnius, Lithuania, or other hub locations. Each job listing on their Lever careers page specifies the location requirements, so review these carefully before applying. If you're applying for a remote role from a different timezone, proactively addressing your availability for overlap with core team hours demonstrates thoughtfulness.

What should I expect in the technical take-home assessment at Nordsec?

Nordsec's technical assessments are commonly designed to mirror real work on the team you'd be joining. An Android/Kotlin developer might build a small feature involving networking or data persistence, while a DevOps engineer could receive an infrastructure automation scenario. The key evaluation criteria typically include code quality, architectural decisions, error handling, testing approach, and documentation — not just whether the code works. You'll usually have 3-7 days to complete the task, and the follow-up interview will deep-dive into your design choices. Treat the take-home as a showcase of how you actually work, not a speed competition.

How can I stand out when applying to Nordsec with mid-level experience?

Many of Nordsec's open roles target the mid-senior level, which means they're looking for candidates who can contribute independently from day one without needing extensive hand-holding. To stand out, demonstrate depth in your platform specialty (not breadth across every technology), quantify your impact at previous companies with concrete metrics, and show evidence of ownership — shipping features end-to-end, mentoring juniors, or driving technical decisions. Including open-source contributions, security-related side projects, or a thoughtful blog post about privacy technology can push a mid-level application above the stack. Most importantly, articulate why cybersecurity and Nordsec specifically excite you.

What is the best way to follow up after submitting my application to Nordsec?

Since Nordsec uses Lever, your application status may be updated in the system, but you won't always receive proactive notifications for every stage. If you haven't heard back within two to three weeks, a polite follow-up email to the recruiter or talent team is appropriate — reference the specific role title and posting ID from Lever, and briefly reiterate your interest and relevant qualifications. Avoid following up more than once during the waiting period. Connecting with Nordsec recruiters or hiring managers on LinkedIn (with a personalized message referencing your application) is another effective and common approach that many applicants use successfully.

Does Nordsec value certifications in cybersecurity or cloud platforms?

While Nordsec primarily evaluates candidates on practical skills and real-world experience, relevant certifications can strengthen your application — especially for DevOps and security-focused roles. Certifications like AWS Solutions Architect, Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA), or CompTIA Security+ demonstrate baseline competency that complements hands-on experience. For AI Engineering roles, certifications or coursework in machine learning (from platforms like Coursera or fast.ai) can be useful if you're transitioning from adjacent fields. However, certifications alone won't substitute for demonstrated ability to build and ship products. List them in your Skills section on your Lever-optimized resume, but lead with your project experience.

How to Apply to Nordsec

Key Takeaways

About Nordsec

Application Process

Resume Tips for Nordsec

Lead with Cybersecurity and Privacy-Relevant Experience

Match Your Tech Stack to Nordsec's Product Teams

Quantify Impact at Scale — Nordsec Thinks in Millions of Users

Organize Your Resume by Product or Platform Focus

Demonstrate Cross-Functional Collaboration

Keep Formatting Clean for Lever's Parser

Include Open Source or Side Projects in Privacy/Security

Tailor Your Summary to Nordsec's Mission

ATS System: Lever

Interview Culture

What Nordsec Looks For

Frequently Asked Questions

Sample Open Positions

Related Resources

Similar Companies

Related Articles

Sources