What it’s like to be part of the team
CRITICALSTART has a professional office environment, but we don’t take it too seriously. We have an open office, meeting and collaboration spaces, phone rooms, wellness rooms and a break room with a ping pong table, gaming machine and shuffleboard. Let’s not forget casual dress every day!
Working at CRITICALSTART routinely involves using standard office equipment such as laptop computers and smartphones. We work in an extremely fast paced, fun environment. We’re also proud to provide reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions within our company.
Who are we?
CRITICALSTART is turning the managed security services market on its head by taking a bold, new approach to stopping cybersecurity threats. We need highly-talented and motivated people like you to make this vision reality! We’re proud of the team we’ve built, as our culture is founded on three very basic principles:
1. Do what’s right for the customer
2. Do what’s right for our employees
3. Don’t do things that suck
Benefits of working for CRITICALSTART
You will have a direct opportunity to drive significant shareholder, customer and employee value.
Enjoy a constant stream of new technologies—and new ideas—to learn and master.
The work you’ll do will directly impact the experience of our customers and the industry as a whole.
Join an open, supportive and collaborative work environment.
EDUCATION
Bachelors degree in Computer Engineering
EXPERIENCE
Integrating with 3rd party software/hardware platforms using methods such as SNMP/CLI and REST APIs. Worked on an global scale with internal & external partners to deliver new functionality.
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Work alongside Product Management to design and implement integrations with best-of-breed
partners and products (EDR/XDR/SIEM) into our Zero Trust Analytics Platform (ZTAP)
• Implement features & functionality that make it easier to investigate security alerts within ZTAP
• Resolve defects and performance issues
• Investigate and monitor errors in our cloud-based, muti-tenant services
GOALS
• Earn and maintain customer trust by preventing breaches
• Continually improve problem-solving skills by using technologies in a scalable and robust manner
CHALLENGES
• Working on a cloud-based SaaS platform
• Learning how to build scalable and robust systems that handle millions of events every day
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EDUCATION
Bachelors degree in Computer EngineeringEXPERIENCE
Integrating with 3rd party software/hardware platforms using methods such as SNMP/CLI and REST APIs. Worked on an global scale with internal & external partners to deliver new functionality.RESPONSIBILITIES
• Work alongside Product Management to design and implement integrations with best-of-breed
partners and products (EDR/XDR/SIEM) into our Zero Trust Analytics Platform (ZTAP)
• Implement features & functionality that make it easier to investigate security alerts within ZTAP
• Resolve defects and performance issues
• Investigate and monitor errors in our cloud-based, muti-tenant servicesGOALS
• Earn and maintain customer trust by preventing breaches
• Continually improve problem-solving skills by using technologies in a scalable and robust mannerCHALLENGES
• Working on a cloud-based SaaS platform
• Learning how to build scalable and robust systems that handle millions of events every day
Miguel Hernandez
Software Engineer
EDUCATION
BA in Business Management & BFA in Dance, UMass Amherst
EXPERIENCE
Oracle, Black Duck, Avecto, BeyondTrust
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Strategic planning with our partners to build out revenue-generating marketing campaigns
• Run CriticalStart-only events that generate leads to bring back to the channel
• Create memorable brand experiences that bring the CriticalStart brand to life
MOTIVATION
I am motivated by the people around me to keep learning and improving. I love “stealing”
bits from people I work with to create my own toolbox, whether that’s a template, a way of
communicating, a presentation style, anything! I’m not sure what role I will have in 5 years,
but I know that I’ll be better today than I was yesterday.
CHALLENGES
Implementing scalable processes and wearing a lot of hats. But that’s half the fun of it, right?!
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EDUCATION
BA in Business Management & BFA in Dance, UMass AmherstEXPERIENCE
Oracle, Black Duck, Avecto, BeyondTrustRESPONSIBILITIES
• Strategic planning with our partners to build out revenue-generating marketing campaigns
• Run CriticalStart-only events that generate leads to bring back to the channel
• Create memorable brand experiences that bring the CriticalStart brand to lifeMOTIVATION
I am motivated by the people around me to keep learning and improving. I love “stealing”
bits from people I work with to create my own toolbox, whether that’s a template, a way of
communicating, a presentation style, anything! I’m not sure what role I will have in 5 years,
but I know that I’ll be better today than I was yesterday.CHALLENGES
Implementing scalable processes and wearing a lot of hats. But that’s half the fun of it, right?!
Allie Stevens
Director of Channel & Field Marketing
EDUCATION
BS in Electrical Engineering, UT Dallas
EXPERIENCE
8+ years as a software engineer and site reliability engineer
RESPONSIBILITIES
Build and operate ZTAP, our product which supports the MDR business. Own delivery of my code and
features all the way to production. Participate in outage remediation and root-cause-analysis activities.
MOTIVATION
Currently studying for the OSCP exam to broaden my security knowledge
CHALLENGES
• New systems and components I have to familiarize myself with
• Growing pains since the company is growing very quickly
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EDUCATION
BS in Electrical Engineering, UT DallasEXPERIENCE
8+ years as a software engineer and site reliability engineerRESPONSIBILITIES
Build and operate ZTAP, our product which supports the MDR business. Own delivery of my code and
features all the way to production. Participate in outage remediation and root-cause-analysis activities.MOTIVATION
Currently studying for the OSCP exam to broaden my security knowledgeCHALLENGES
• New systems and components I have to familiarize myself with
• Growing pains since the company is growing very quickly
Jonathan Seawright
Senior Python Engineer
EDUCATION
Bachelors in Business, North Carolina State University | MBA, Georgia Tech
EXPERIENCE
Product Marketing, Vertical Marketing, Digital Marketing at mid-size to large tech companies
RESPONSIBILITIES
Drive awareness and demand through marketing programs aimed at our target audiences
GOALS
• Make a positive impact on the company and continue to grow and learn in my profession
• Work inside and outside the organization with people from different backgrounds with
different perspectives
• Use my creativity to drive demand for the business
CHALLENGES
• Increase demand in a competitive, ever-changing marketplace
• Cut through the noise in the digital space and reach our target with compelling content
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EDUCATION
Bachelors in Business, North Carolina State University | MBA, Georgia TechEXPERIENCE
Product Marketing, Vertical Marketing, Digital Marketing at mid-size to large tech companiesRESPONSIBILITIES
Drive awareness and demand through marketing programs aimed at our target audiencesGOALS
• Make a positive impact on the company and continue to grow and learn in my profession
• Work inside and outside the organization with people from different backgrounds with
different perspectives
• Use my creativity to drive demand for the businessCHALLENGES
• Increase demand in a competitive, ever-changing marketplace
• Cut through the noise in the digital space and reach our target with compelling content
Stephen Selgrade
Senior Marketing Campaigns Manager
EDUCATION:
Information Technology, University of North Texas
EXPERIENCE:
5 Years in IT Operations. Support and systems administration in the Finance and Education sectors.
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Provide enterprise support to the entire MDR organization and its customers
• SME on multiple EPP and EDR products to be able to provide application/deployment troubleshooting to customers with unique environments
• Work with product and development teams to communicate what customers want to see in our services
GOALS
• Consistently ask questions, absorb, and learn new things from every interactions with the people around me
CHALLENGES
•Given my internal hyperactivity requirement, every day presents a new set of unique problems to solve, and new opportunities to further my growth.
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EDUCATION:
Information Technology, University of North Texas
EXPERIENCE:
5 Years in IT Operations. Support and systems administration in the Finance and Education sectors.RESPONSIBILITIES
• Provide enterprise support to the entire MDR organization and its customers
• SME on multiple EPP and EDR products to be able to provide application/deployment troubleshooting to customers with unique environments
• Work with product and development teams to communicate what customers want to see in our servicesGOALS
• Consistently ask questions, absorb, and learn new things from every interactions with the people around me
CHALLENGES
•Given my internal hyperactivity requirement, every day presents a new set of unique problems to solve, and new opportunities to further my growth.
Joshua Chrestman
Support Shift Lead
EDUCATION:
B.A. Communication Studies , California State University, Long Beach
EXPERIENCE:
5 years, Ingram Micro (Marketing); 1 year, SC Fuels (Sales)
RESPONSIBILITIES
•Build out effective partner marketing programs that map to channel marketing KPIs
• Collaborate with national and distribution channel account teams and the demand generation
team to build and develop content strategies that will boost pipeline goals
• Work closely with internal stakeholders, channel, and technology partner networks to drive partner marketing efforts
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EDUCATION:
B.A. Communication Studies , California State University, Long Beach
EXPERIENCE:
5 years, Ingram Micro (Marketing); 1 year, SC Fuels (Sales)RESPONSIBILITIES
•Build out effective partner marketing programs that map to channel marketing KPIs
• Collaborate with national and distribution channel account teams and the demand generation
team to build and develop content strategies that will boost pipeline goals
• Work closely with internal stakeholders, channel, and technology partner networks to drive partner marketing efforts
Katie Pollaro
National Channel Marketing Manager
EDUCATION
Collin College
EXPERIENCE
5 years in customer service in the Retail and Entertainment industries. 2 years at Critical Start.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Manage MDR Customers from onboarding through each renewal period. Build and maintain
relationships with each customer, their teams, and different partners in the account.
GOALS
• Get customers to a solid state within their security posture by engaging all resources
within Critical Start to make that happen
• Help people, learn new skills, and find solutions to unique problems
CHALLENGES
Without a security or IT background, there was a bit of learning curve. But there is no better
place to learn than Critical Start.
-
EDUCATION
Collin CollegeEXPERIENCE
5 years in customer service in the Retail and Entertainment industries. 2 years at Critical Start.RESPONSIBILITIES
Manage MDR Customers from onboarding through each renewal period. Build and maintain
relationships with each customer, their teams, and different partners in the account.GOALS
• Get customers to a solid state within their security posture by engaging all resources
within Critical Start to make that happen
• Help people, learn new skills, and find solutions to unique problemsCHALLENGES
Without a security or IT background, there was a bit of learning curve. But there is no better
place to learn than Critical Start.
Marshall Mechler
MDR Customer Success Manager
EDUCATION:
BS (H) in Computer Science | Delhi University
Post Graduate Diploma in Information Security | IGNOU
MS in Computer Science | California State University, Fullerton
EXPERIENCE:
Before becoming a back-end developer at Critical Start, I worked at several roles as a Student Assistant, Graduate Research Assistant and as an intern in different fields.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Developing software solutions, features, and enhancements for our MDR platform. Monitoring
production environment, troubleshooting production issues, improving Azure Sentinel detections through detection engineering, product integration, reporting.
GOALS
Gain knowledge and use it to make meaningful contributions towards better cybersecurity platforms.
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EDUCATION:
BS (H) in Computer Science | Delhi University
Post Graduate Diploma in Information Security | IGNOU
MS in Computer Science | California State University, Fullerton
EXPERIENCE:
Before becoming a back-end developer at Critical Start, I worked at several roles as a Student Assistant, Graduate Research Assistant and as an intern in different fields.RESPONSIBILITIES
Developing software solutions, features, and enhancements for our MDR platform. Monitoring
production environment, troubleshooting production issues, improving Azure Sentinel detections through detection engineering, product integration, reporting.GOALS
Gain knowledge and use it to make meaningful contributions towards better cybersecurity platforms.
Priyanka Sharma
Software Developer
EDUCATION:
B.A. Business Administration/Marketing from SUNY Fredonia
EXPERIENCE:
• 11 years at Ingram Micro; Symantec (Broadcom); VMware (Carbon Black)
• Sales and Business Development, which crossed over into Marketing and Business Intelligence
RESPONSIBILITIES
Proliferating our MDR message through events to create pipeline.
GOALS
• Being the best I can while challenging the status quo
• Providing for my family and knowing I am giving 100%
CHALLENGES
COVID. Finding creative solutions to virtual fatigue and in-person restrictions
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EDUCATION:
B.A. Business Administration/Marketing from SUNY Fredonia
EXPERIENCE:
• 11 years at Ingram Micro; Symantec (Broadcom); VMware (Carbon Black)
• Sales and Business Development, which crossed over into Marketing and Business Intelligence
RESPONSIBILITIES
Proliferating our MDR message through events to create pipeline.GOALS
• Being the best I can while challenging the status quo
• Providing for my family and knowing I am giving 100%CHALLENGES
COVID. Finding creative solutions to virtual fatigue and in-person restrictions
Jeff Acker
Senior Channel & Field Marketing Manager
Providing cybersecurity awareness training to the Navy Special Warfare Group:
Scraping websites and social media to identify warfighters and gather intel on missions and personnel. Using image recognition and Exif data of photos to look for camouflaged warfighters, geographic icons, and reveal their locations. Catfishing personnel in order to extort money or information. Using psychological warfare to lower morale, socially engineer, or sway people to their side. These are just some of the methods our adversaries employ to gain tactical advantages. Unfortunately, personal digital defense strategies are not a typical part of military training. Until now.
Recently, Ross Williams, the Digital Forensics Incident Response Manager at CRITICALSTART, provided Cybersecurity Awareness Training to members and support staff of the Navy Special Warfare Group (NSWG) to help them understand the landscape of digital warfare and learn ways to minimize their digital exposure.
Ross Williams
Digital Forensics Incident Response Manager
CRITICALSTART transparency
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