If you are reading reviews about working at SecureLayer7 before an interview or an offer, this one is written for you. I am Rohit Hatagale, an AI Security Expert on the offensive security team at SecureLayer7. Instead of a polished recruiting pitch, I want to give you an honest, first-person look at what life at SecureLayer7 is actually like, what the work involves, and who tends to do well here.
What working at SecureLayer7 actually looks like
SecureLayer7 is an offensive security company. We were founded in 2012, we are CREST accredited, and we work as a hybrid team across Austin and Pune. On paper that reads as a penetration testing firm. In practice, the day to day is hands-on security work from the very start. New engineers are on real engagements early rather than shadowing for months, and that single fact is what most of the positive reviews are really describing.
The work: AI security, LLMs, and breaking our own products
My focus is AI security. I spend my time securing machine learning and large language model systems, researching threats like prompt injection, model abuse, and training data poisoning, and helping teams build AI applications that hold up against adversarial use. A lot of that work goes straight into our own products. At our 2026 annual event I presented the AI model progress behind BugDazz, our API security scanner, walking the team through how the model evolved, how we improved accuracy, and where we are taking it next.
If you want to work on AI red teaming and LLM security rather than just read about them, that surface is genuinely open here. It plugs directly into our offensive security services, so the research is not academic, it ships to real clients.
Recognition, and how growth happens here
SecureLayer7 leans hard on learning. Engineers are encouraged to research, write, and teach. At the 2026 annual event I was recognized as a subject matter expert for our internal AI and LLM training, for helping teammates get up to speed on securing AI systems. That is the pattern here: when you go deep on something, you are asked to share it, and that visibility compounds into real career growth.
Culture, and the FIREWALL values
The culture is built on eight values the team knows as FIREWALL: Follow your passion, Integrity, Reach for glory, Encourage innovation, We work and win in teams, Act decisively, Live for customer delight, and Lead by example. They are not just wall art. A few concrete things they translate into:
- Protected quarterly research time for original CVE work.
- Funded travel to conferences like Black Hat, DEF CON, and OWASP.
- A trust based culture where adults are not measured by attendance.
- Hybrid roles across the Austin and Pune offices.
- Admin rights on your own machine and freedom to choose your tools, because the deliverable is what matters.
The honest part, for anyone reading reviews
An honest review should include the trade-offs. The pace is fast and you will often carry more than one project at a time, so time management matters. If you want a slow, narrowly scoped role, this is not that. What you get in return is range: in a single quarter you might touch web, API, cloud, and AI security. People who are curious and self driven do very well here. People who want a rigid script find it harder. That is the honest calibration, and it is worth knowing before you apply.
What the SecureLayer7 reviews actually say
You do not have to take only my word for it. On Glassdoor, SecureLayer7 holds about 4.7 out of 5 across more than a hundred reviews, with roughly 93 percent of employees saying they would recommend it to a friend, and strong marks for work life balance, culture, and career opportunities. Our teammate Pranav shared his own story in the first post of this series, Life at SecureLayer7 from the 2026 Employee of the Year.
How the interview actually works
If you are preparing to apply, the process is practical and friendly. Expect questions on the OWASP Top 10, web and API penetration testing and VAPT fundamentals, and a hands-on capture the flag style challenge to see how you actually think, plus a walk through your past work. We care more about how you approach a problem than about memorized trivia. You can see open roles on the SecureLayer7 careers page.
Off the stage
It is not all keyboards. Between engagements we present, we celebrate wins together, and the first FIREWALL value really is Follow your passion. That part does not show up in a salary band, but it is a real reason people stay.
If any of this sounds like the kind of place you have been looking for, come find what the world missed with us.
By public review data it is well regarded, holding roughly 4.7 out of 5 on Glassdoor with about 93 percent of employees recommending it, and strong scores for work life balance and career growth. As an engineer here, what stands out most is real offensive security work from day one and a genuine culture of learning and research. The main trade-off is a fast pace, so it suits curious, self driven people best.
SecureLayer7 is an offensive security and penetration testing company founded in 2012, CREST accredited, with hybrid teams in Austin and Pune. The work spans web, mobile, API, cloud, and increasingly AI security, alongside in-house products such as the BugDazz API scanner.
Yes. AI security is a growing focus. We secure machine learning and large language model systems, research threats like prompt injection and training data poisoning, run AI red teaming, and build AI into our own products. It is a real career path here, not a side project.
It is practical and friendly. Expect the OWASP Top 10, web and API penetration testing and VAPT basics, a hands-on capture the flag style challenge, and a discussion of your past work. The focus is on how you reason about security problems rather than memorized answers.
SecureLayer7 runs a hybrid model across its Austin and Pune offices, so roles combine in-office and remote work. The culture is trust based and is not measured by attendance.
